International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296 Volume 7 Issue 6, June 2018 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Open Knowledge Community for Building Technology. An Approach on Continuum Design- Construction Teaching Methodology Dimitris Psychogyios 1 , Athina Stavridou 2 1 University of Thessaly, Department of Architectural Engineering, Pedion Areos, 38334, Volos, Greece 2 National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture, 42, Patision str., 10682, Athens, Greece Abstract: This announcement is an approach on continuum design-construction methodology. It presents the first results of pilot educational model for the teaching of building technology courses, as applied in the course Building Materials – Building 1&2 in the department of Architecture, University of Thessaly. It is the first phase of the development of an “Open knowledge community for building technology” (OKCBT). An “OKCBT” has double substance; on one hand there are the various “sites-nodes” where production of knowledge occurs, and on the other there is “digital network” connecting these. More specifically, “sites -nodes” are the places where the lessons –workshops take place, as well as the places where collectivities meet related to the production of the knowledge of Building Technology. The “digital network” is the pilot internet platform for interconnection of the Community. The ultimate goal of the research effort is two-fold. On one hand there is the broadening of educational tools and intelligent systems. On the other hand, there is progressive creation of an open catalogue of Building Technology which will be supplied by knowledge communities and will be capable of incorporating relative knowledge. The scope of reference extends from whole building and its construction modules to the building products and materials. Keywords: Open Knowledge Communities, Building Technology. 1. Introduction Knowledge communities are self-organized informal groups, which have a social meaning for their members, who positively assess the relations formed in the community. Knowledge communities are learning communities and they are formed around common goals and things that make sense. Knowledge communities are about a joint effort to solve problems, they are warehouses of tacit knowledge, they can make tacit knowledge explicit, they can keep the organization at the cutting edge of knowledge creation, they can utilize their members‟ emotional intelligence index and make a strong impact on education. The pilot development of the Open Knowledge Community for Building Technology is basically aimed at the acquisition of explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge related to the subject of building. This is why the community is approached in the sense of its double existence, so as to include the transmission of knowledge through the written and the spoken word, but also through experience, with the development of laboratories. A knowledge community cannot replace the bibliography of the science of building, nor is it solely based on the use of digital technologies for the transmission of knowledge. A knowledge community can, however, contribute to the update of knowledge related to the subject, the support of the educational procedure to incorporate new teaching practices, the extroversion and facilitation of the exchange of knowledge and experiences so much among professors as between professors and students, the strengthening of the role of students for the formation of a knowledge framework, the interconnection with extra-university collectivities and bodies concerned with similar practices and sharing common interests. 2. Methods / Approach In architecture, parametric logic involves the design of objects based on the description of the relationships between their properties. In this sense, it allows the re-definition of the final result by changing one or more of the item‟s components. Based on the above frame, two basic research questions are formed: 1) How does one form an open knowledge community whose core cell will be the Architectural Technology and Research Unit? 2) How does one form an open segmentation of building elements and components with an aim to create correlated lists of fixed and parametrically defined properties of the whole, the building units it is made up of, the building products and materials participating in these? Research states and evaluates a general hypothesis for the parametric definition of architectural / constructional elements and materials, and will identify the individual concepts related to this. For this reason, an Open Knowledge Community for Building Technology is being piloted, part of which is the digital platform. A second series of questions that arise on a second level is: Does this assumption lead to a different way of training architectural engineers? Can part of the course be designed through the creation of active collectivities (e.g. students and professors) in such a way that it can accept changes and unforeseen events, without losing its identity? Can it finally Paper ID: 7061803 DOI: 10.21275/7061803 777