Trends in graduate research on it & architecture: A qualitative comparison of tendencies in brazil and abroad

Abstract

Applications of information technology (IT) in the architectural profession have greatly increased in the past decades, ranging nowadays from concept design to automated construction. There are countless applications in the architecture practice that go well beyond representation, such as BIM software, generative design systems, and rapid prototyping and fabrication. For this reason, IT has been a frequent graduate research topic. In the present research academic graduate theses that dealt with IT in architecture since 1999 were surveyed and categorized, with the purpose of comparing the topics, applications and methods that are studied in Brazil and abroad. We hope that the differences found will help Brazilian architecture schools to update their IT curriculum, overcoming old prejudices against the use of computers in the creative phases of design.