New Approaches to Performance Space Design: Problem-based Learning Method in Architectural Design Studio

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 289 - 304, 15.12.2025

Ekrem Bahadır Çalışkan , Çiğdem Koç Aytekin

https://doi.org/10.46474/jds.1761699

Abstract

Performance spaces are multi-dimensional places that create complex links between the space, user, time, and experience. These spaces are not just passive settings; they are active in shaping the way performers and audiences interact with each other. In a design context where fixed functions are blurred and conventional uses are reinterpreted, it becomes possible to explore new modes of interaction within pre-existing spatial structures. Within the scope of the studio, it is aimed for students to conceptually explore performance spaces and develop creative solutions, with an approach to push the boundaries of traditional architectural thought. The study carries out the analysis of the studio works through three fundamental discourses. These include spaces that involve the spectator in the artistic process, spaces that are tailored to the artist's specific needs, and spaces that address the time issue. The results demonstrate that a problem-based learning methodology allows students to produce varied and substantiated spatial concepts, showcasing their innovative interaction with intricate urban, programmatic, and experiential contexts. Thus, the article critically examines a series of design proposals to explore how new approaches can be employed to rethink spatial organization, the dynamics between performer and audience, and the role of time and experience in shaping the live art environment. It highlights the potential of innovative strategies to reimagine these core elements of performance space design.

Keywords

architectural design studio , performance space , problem-based learning , design thinking , creativity

Ethical Statement

N/A

Supporting Institution

“The author declared that this study has received no financial support”.

Thanks

The authors would like to thank her students Oğul Can Aydın, Furkan Alaş, Nevasu Erenel, Sema Turan, İlkay Yıldız, Hatice Büşra Canbuldu, Zeynep Ekinci, Ayça Erciyas and Murat Bilen for contributing their work as part of the content for this paper.

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