Developing design skills in an introductory mechanics of solids course

One challenge architectural and civil engineering departments face while preparing their students for the global workforce is including design projects that tackle real world problems, in an already full academic curriculum. This paper describes an approach to helping students develop structural engineering design skills in an introductory level mechanics of solids class. This approach includes three components: (i) a process book, (ii) a design workshop, and (iii) a postdesign workshop critique. The specific design skills that students learn and practice include problem scoping, brainstorming, sketching, generating and evaluating alternative schemes, and critique. Additionally, through this project, students contextualize their understanding of the fundamental principles of solid mechanics. The merit of this project is that students can successfully learn design skills in an existing introductory engineering course.