Some of my classmates and I had the opportunity of having our structural engineer John Moore as a guest speaker/teacher in our Architectural Seminar class (ARCH 4210). He taught us the fundamental principals to buildings and their structure. The purpose of his teachings was to help us understand the basic structural principles and material qualities that are needed to understanding architecture. This was a great opportunity for us because we are currently in the process of understanding our structure. We were needing to know the proper materials & structural elements to include in order to make sure its built efficiently and his teachings gave us great incentive to move forward.
