STELLA 3D: Introducing Art and Creativity in Engineering Graphics Education

Abstract

The current higher education curriculum is designed based on the acquisition of skills. In engineering degrees at Spanish Universities, the improvement of spatial skill is a basic competence to develop together with other general ones such as the ability to make a decision, teamwork, creativity and so on. There is much research work related to the improvement of spatial skills in engineering but the same does not happen with the incorporation of artistic and creative aspects, for instance teaching methodology. In La Laguna University, all along the 2013/2014 academic year in the subject First Year Engineering Graphics Studies, a workshop on creative tridimensional modelling (Stella 3D) has been carried out. Its objective is to improve the spatial skill competence which uses traditional concepts of normalised views. The above-mentioned workshop starts from a pictorial work of art by Frank Stella that will be used as a normalised view from which we will be able to generate different tridimensional solutions. Before and after carrying out the experience, aspects such as spatial skill, knowledge about normalised views and students' opinion about creativity in engineering are measured. The obtained results show us that Stella 3D workshop may be a creative tool which does not only help to improve knowledge but also develops competences such as spatial skill and creativity.