Course Description

Crowdsourcing is an innovative information production method that is based on the distribution of tasks to participants through the Internet. Among the most important examples of crowdsourcing are Wikipedia and the Linux operating system.

The goal of this workshop is to develop an architectural design crowdsourcing method by conducting a series of design experiments.  These experiments will examine the effectiveness of these processes and are part of a broader study in the School of Architecture in cooperation with the School of Computer Science.

In the previous semester, we were able to develop a preliminary model based on a process that includes manual sketches, SketchUp models, Autocad drawings and a mixture of selection processes. The tasks were carried out by the students through management software that was developed.

The next workshop will be divided into four parts:

    • Introduction - in which we will study the basics of crowdsourcing processes, we will discuss the architectural context and will review some examples, with an emphasis on complex and creative products.

    • A preparation exercise - in which we will experience the process of crowdsourcing and plan a small seating area.

    • Design experiment - we will plan a small building, and in each lesson, we will perform various design tasks in order to reach a 1:100 architectural solution.

    • In the third part, we will review the insights that were identified from the workshop.

During the workshop we will engage in a variety of online work processes:

    • Prepare a project brief, requirements, and identify interests and stakeholders.

    • We will produce sketches that communicate architectural ideas.

    • We will learn to model using the Sketchup software.

    • We will draft architectural plans using Autocad software and implement teamwork protocols.

    • We will evaluate the quality of design products.

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