Abstract. In recent years, the advances in data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are disrupting all sectors, impacting the industry and academic fields. In the AEC sector, there have been a rising number of user-friendly “computational design services” generative and parameterised solutions driven by AI engines. However, if in one hand these services provide rapid solutions with minimal cognitive load, on the other hand, they obscure logical processes from computational design thinking, transforming them into black boxes and limiting the designer on making use of technology to create novel solutions. To overcome these challenges, the teaching of computational design thinking should be integrated in architecture education on undergraduate and master programs. This study conducts a critical literature review and proposes a framework to be implemented in architecture education, discussing the complexity involved in the learning process. The framework provides a layered approach that unfold the levels of abstraction of the nested black boxes of computational design and AI in an educational context.
Keywords Computational Design Thinking, Architecture Education, Black Box, AI.