The teaching of structures to architecture students at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro: recent experiences and propositions for the future

Architecture represents the art of designing buildings, their spaces and forms, regarding comfort, functionality and aesthetics. Over the years, new techniques and materials have allowed for an increase in interest in the various fields of architecture, making it important to include new subjects in the course curriculum. Even so, there is a tendency for less interest in subjects in the field of structural engineering, in relation to subjects related to the creation of forms and architectural and urban planning projects. The teachers of these subjects at Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (FAU/UFRJ) have always been concerned with the ongoing trend of knowledge devaluation within the field of structures. Thus, over the years, additional subjects with a more qualitative approach have been introduced. The subject Modeling of Structural Systems is a notable example. It is worth mentioning the subject Structural Conception which shared the same project with other disciplines for many years in a space called Integrated Studio I. In this article, the authors seek to show the experiences and adjustments in the previously mentioned subjects and the Concrete Structures ones. A curricular adjustment was proposed and implemented aiming to transform the structural analysis learning into a simple and pleasant experience for the student, without losing basic knowledge necessary in keeping professional assignments.