Title

Using K’nex to Teach Large Scale Structures to Architects and ConstructionStudents

Author Info

Allen C. Estes, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis ObispoFollow
Craig Baltimore, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis ObispoFollow

Recommended Citation

Published in 121st ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings: Indianapolis, IN, June 15, 2014.

Abstract

The College of Architecture and Environmental Design at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) is the only college in the nation that includes architecture (ARCH), architectural engineering (ARCE) and construction management (CM) programs in the same college. Given the unique mix of disciplines and the emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, the ARCH and CM students take a five-course structural engineering sequence from the ARCE department. A challenge of these courses is to maintain some degree of computational rigor while offering a broader perspective that will benefit the ARCH and CM students. This paper reports on one means of accomplishing this using K’nex toys to illustrate the entire design -construction sequence and relate how structure fits into this process during the sequence’s culminating course.

Disciplines

Architectural Engineering

Copyright

2014 American Society for Engineering Education.