Past practices, new methods: the digital design

In November 1849, a year after arriving in Chile, the French architect Claude Francois Brunet de Baines, having been commissioned by President Montt opened at the University of Chile, the first course of the career of architecture. Since then, higher mathematics and descriptive geometry have been part of the curricula of the school. This article analyzes the evolution of the central focus of inquiry of the CAD programs, and its impact, both in the formation of the architect, as well as in their professional practice. The content of the curriculum has been affected by the continued progress of science and technology. The current development of CAD technologies requires the convergence of various sciences, including biology, epistemology, computer science, programming and computational geometry, important for the understanding of the new modes of production of architecture.