A tutorial exploring how Photoshop image layers can be used to convey architectural change.

Vital Stats

Who: Nic Coetzer
Where: School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town
What: Tutorial in which students create an image conveying architectural change.
Why: To develop students' practical skills in using Photoshop and to understand theoretical concepts in architecture.

The Design and Theory course develops students' understanding of the principles of design in relation to society and culture. However, Nic Coetzer observed that first year Architecture students often get little oppportunity to develop their own links between the practical skills and the more theoretical concepts in part because the discourse of architecture is so new to students.

Nic in partnership with the Centre for Educational Technology designed a practical activity around Adobe PhotoShop. We provided before and after images composed of different layers which students used to create an intermediary image to show the gentrification of a street over time. Students selected and ordered different layers and adjusted the opacity of the images. We used a script in Microsoft Word to detect which layers and what opacity they used in creating their intermediary image to generate appropriate questions for each student. the questions required them to explain their choices using the discourse of architecture.