Computational Design Thinking for first year architectural design studios

Digital design tools are actually changing the way we design architecture, even if we never choose to use any software. This paper examines and proposes an initial design approach towards Computational Design Thinking for first-year architecture students, without the use of any parametric software. It investigates some of the main points of a Computational Design Thinking approach and then proposes a method for teaching design studios. The method refers to digital design tools/software we use as architects, introducing ways to manipulate physical form, almost the same way that digital design software manipulates digital models. Finally, the paper documents the outputs and evaluates the application of this method in teaching first year design studio in a UK university.