An Introduction to Design Studio Experience: The Process, Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

This paper explores design education in studio settings and presents insights from a design studio based on parametric design thinking. The first-year design studios are essential parts of the architectural education. In these studios, design decisions are taken on a more abstract level, there are less constraints, and the exercises are designed to explore the potentials of design, within the framework of various scales, ranging from human to building, and then to urban. The Introduction to Design course is constructed with interconnected exercises based on concepts such as modularity, the parameters of human body and spatial perception. The first exercise is designing an architectural structure through computational thinking. The second exercise is about to explore the design potentials of cube modules with each other, with rule-based design approach. To better understand the importance of ergonomics in design, the third exercise focuses on the concept of movement through human body. The aim of the fourth exercise is to study a physical environment and to investigate spatial perception in the built environment. The main aim of this design studio is to teach design with computational approach while focusing on improving the cognitive skills of the students. An Introduction to Design studio experience that is formulated according to these features is described in this study.

Keywords

• Design studio
• parametric design thinking
• computational design approach
• design education

References

1. Chan, C. S. (2012). Phenomenology of rhythm in design. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 1(3), 253-258.
2. Betancourt, M. C., Quintero, L. M., & Cereceda, G. (2014). A Discussion on Algorithmic Thinking in Product Design Process. In DS 77: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2014, 13th International Design Conference, 1035-1042.
3. Denning, P. (2009). The profession of IT beyond computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 52(6), 28-30. doi:10.1145/1516046.1516054.
4. Hacihasanoglu, O. (2019). Architectural Design Studio Culture, Journal of Design Studio, 1(1), 5-15.
5. Jackson, P. (2011). Folding Techniques for Designers-From Sheet to Form. Laurence King Publishing.
6. Koch, A., Schwennsen, K., Dutton, T.A., Smith, D. (2002). The Redesign of Studio Culture: A Report of the AIAS Studio Culture Task Force, Washington DC.
7. Laban, R. (n.d.) Labanotation (online). Available at: https://labaninstitute.org/about/laban-movement-analysis/ (accessed 04 July 2020). 2
8. Lebée, A. (2015). From folds to structures, a review. International journal of space structures, 30(2), 55-74.

9. Milovanovic, J., & Gero, J. (2020). Modeling design studio pedagogy: A mentored reflective practice. In Proceedings of the Design Society: DESIGN Conference (Vol. 1, pp. 1765-1774). Cambridge University Press.
10. Oh, Y., Ishizaki, S., Gross, M. D., & Do, E. Y. L. (2013). A theoretical framework of design critiquing in architecture studios. Design Studies, 34(3), 302-325.
11. Oxman, R. (2017). Thinking difference: Theories and models of parametric design thinking. Design Studies, 52, 4-39.
12. Purcell, A.T. and Gero, J.S. (1998). “Drawings and the design process”, Design Studies, 19(4), 389-430.
13. Rowe, P. G. (1987). Design thinking. MIT Press.
14. Saulnier, C. R., Bagiati, A., & Brisson, J. G. (2016). A comparison of student design activity preferences before and after a design-based wilderness education experience. In Proceedings of the 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
15. Schön, D.A. (1985). The Design Studio, RIBA, London.
16. Stewart, I. (2007). Mathematics: some assembly needed. Nature, Vol. 448, No. 7152, pp. 419.
17. Stiny, G. (2006). Shape: talking about seeing and doing. MIT Press.
18. Wing, J. M. (2010). Computational Thinking: What and Why?, The Link - The Magazine of the Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, 1-6.
19. Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33-35.
20. URL-1: https://www.medipol.edu.tr/akademik/fakulteler/guzel-sanatlar-fakultesi/bolumler/mimarlik/program-bilgileri/ders-detayi?DersBolumID=338602#DersProgramYeterlilikleri
21. URL-2: https://www.medipol.edu.tr/en/academics/undergraduate-schools/fine-arts-design-and-architecture/departments/architecture/program-information#programYeterliligi