The National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS) is a national scholarly gathering dedicated to the study and practice of beginning design education. NCBDS has a dedicated community of educators whose interest in the challenges and attendant pedagogies and curricular strategies associated with beginning design propel the conference. For 30 years, the NCBDS has provided a forum for design educators to present papers and hold discussions related to introductory design issues.


30th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student 2014

College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
April 3-5, 2014 www.beginningdesign2014.org


MATERIALITY: ESSENCE AND SUBSTANCE

Statement of Theme

From the master/apprentice paradigm of learning building craft to the hallowed halls of formalized education, the historical trajectory of architectural study presents a challenge to integrating materiality within the conception and delineation of the built environment. Today representational tools and techniques are often compromised substitutes for the physicality of architectural works. Consequently, architecture’s pedagogical structures struggle to infuse tactility, material assembly, and making into the representational methodology of design education today.

After generations of architectural work being decoupled from the pressure of local resources, contemporary concerns for sustainability and material sourcing have shed new light on the need for architects, and thus architecture students, to comprehend the materiality of building in new ways. While design/build studios and material investigations embedded into the educational process attempt to bridge this divide, digital fabrication tools and highly engineered materials further challenge traditional means and methods.

With this history and these challenges, how might the materiality of representational artifacts align with both the design intent and the physical manifestation of buildings? How do foundational studies in design thoughtfully and effectively incorporate materiality and its inherent challenges and opportunities?



To engender various levels of scholarship at the conference – ranging from the presentation of pedagogical goals, projects and assignments, to research and scholarship on beginning design’s past and contemporary theories and practices – the 2014 NCBDS invites three levels of submissions:

FULL PAPERS, ABSTRACTS, and “tinyTED” PRESENTATIONS

Full papers are intended for advanced scholarship on issues important to beginning design. Full papers may include the presentation of curricular, project and teaching innovations but those innovations should be contextualized within a historical or theoretical framework. Abstracts are intended for scholarship in the early stages of development or for the presentation of pedagogical goals, projects and assignments. TinyTED presentations are intended to be succinct, image-based presentations of an idea, project,


SESSION TOPICS

Material / Immaterial
What do we teach and why do we teach it? What is the material of foundational studies and how does it promote the immaterial objectives of design education?

Essence / Substance
How do we employ material practices in curricula to promote understanding of the essence and substance of architecture? What are the roles of physical material, craft and making in beginning design?

Tools / Techniques
How do the evolving tools and techniques of investigation and representation intersect with the understanding of materiality? How have they changed or influenced beginning design education?

Assembly / Tectonics
How does the teaching of architecture as a set of systems promote understanding of the poetics of assembly and material practice? What is the ethos of material economy, efficiency, and ecology in foundational studies?

Open Session / Materiality
The Open Session acknowledges that there are papers that do not fit neatly into the above session topics. Limited accommodations will be made for additional proposals that address the general theme of the conference.

Special Session: 30 Years of Beginning Design
This special session will celebrate 30 years of NCBDS and reflect on the evolving nature of beginning design education over the past 3 decades (or more). Interested individuals with extensive experience should submit a proposal for a 10-minute topical presentation, and should follow the “ABSTRACTS” timeline for submissions. This session is intended to include invited panelists and accepted proposals.


All submissions will be reviewed by at least three reviewers. Selection of accepted submissions is based on innovation, clarity, contribution to the discipline of beginning design, and relevance to the session and conference topic. All authors will be notified of the status of their submission and will receive comments from the reviewers. Proposals should be submitted to only one topic area, but if submission is amenable to multiple topics, please indicate on the cover page. In the event of insufficient participation regarding a particular topic or format, the conference co-chairs reserve the right to revise the conference schedule accordingly.

Questions regarding this CALL FOR PAPERS/PROPOSALS should be addressed to:
Leslie Johnson – johnsonl@iit.edu
Please include “NCBDS 2014 – Call for Papers” in the subject line.


SUBMISSION FORMATS and TIMELINES

FULL PAPERS: Advanced scholarship and research related to the discipline of beginning design education, with an emphasis on pedagogical scholarship. Papers should relate to one of the session topics as described above. Full paper submissions will be included in conference proceedings and peer reviewed to encourage development for future publication.

FULL PAPERS: Due October 15, 2013
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: November 15, 2013
FINAL PAPER (EDITED, PUBLICATION READY): Due March 1, 2014

FULL PAPER FORMAT REQUIREMENTS:
• Cover Page: Title, Author(s) Name, School Affiliation, contact email address and Session Topic
• 3000 words maximum, including abstract and end notes
• 8 images maximum
• PDF digital format, limit 5MB
• Bibliography / end notes and image credits
• Paper layout in portrait, letter size, 1.5 line spacing
• Papers must be original work and the author must possess all permissions necessary for posting and publishing images and referenced content at the time of submission.


ABSTRACTS: 500-word statement of the proposed paper topic as it relates to the conference sessions. Abstract submissions will be peer reviewed. Final papers will be included in conference proceedings.

ABSTRACTS: Due October 15, 2013
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: November 15, 2013
FINAL PAPER (FOR PROCEEEDINGS): Due March 1, 2014

ABSTRACT FORMAT REQUIREMENTS:
• Cover Page: Title, Author(s) Name, School Affiliation, contact email address and Session Topic
• 500 word maximum, including end notes
• 3 images maximum
• PDF digital format, limit 5MB
• Bibliography / end notes and image credits
• Paper layout in portrait, letter size, 1.5 line spacing
• Papers must be original work prepared for this conference and the author must possess all permissions necessary for posting and publishing images and referenced content at both the proposal and final submission stages.


“tinyTED”: Proposals for 3-minute image-based presentations of an idea worth sharing. “tinyTEDs” will be presented in an informal setting one evening of the conference to encourage debate and discussion. The “tinyTED” portion of the conference is an opportunity to present an emerging idea, a course project, a rant, a rave, or just to test a concept. Proposed topics must relate to the conference theme but not necessarily to the specific session topics.

“tinyTED” PROPOSALS: Due January 15, 2014
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: February 15, 2014

“tinyTED” FORMAT REQUIREMENTS:
• Cover Page: Title, Author(s) Name, School Affiliation, and contact email address
• 100 word description of topic
• 5 representative images
• PDF digital format, limit 5MB