A Critical Assessment of an Extended Learning Environment in Interior Design Studio

Abstract

This paper presents a critical assessment of an interior design studio that was constructed face-to-face then online as an extended studio environment through spatial and technological means. In the Interior Design Studio III, students were expected to design an experiential retail store aiming at answering the contemporary customer and brand interactive experience. The concept of ‘interactive experience’ was central not only in terms of a project outcome but also of the studio process: an experiential learning environment is designed to enhance the understanding of the design studio. Within this scope, the collaboration with the maker lab of the university provided technological interfaces and analog model making methods while also expanding the limits of studio space. The interactive experience would not only result in the project outcome but also be integrated to the studio model. This studio model and the topic was conducted face-to-face in the campus three semesters consecutively, while the following two were held online. The study is based on exploratory research using qualitative techniques to analyze the design process of the students in the face-to-face and online experiential learning environment. The main objective is to overview and assess the interior design studio by providing a new perspective to the students about space and user relationship regarding interaction and atmosphere not only in terms of the given design problem but also the ‘environment’ they are experiencing the ways of design.

Keywords

• Interior design studio
• Interactive experience
• Experiential retail design
• Extended learning environment

Thanks

We would like to thank all the participating students and the OpenFab for their collaboration.

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