Exploring Influential Teaching and Learning Factors on Architecture Students’ Form Creation Ability: Case of EMU Introductory Design Studio

Design process in architecture education is based upon Learning-by-Doing method which leads students to understand how to design by practicing rather than studying. First-year design studios as starting educational stage provide integrated knowledge and skills of design for newly jointed architecture students. Within the basic design studio environment, students are conducted to transfer their abstract thoughts into the visual concrete decisions under supervision of design educators for the first time. Therefore, introductory design studios have predominant impacts on students’ operational thinking and designing. Architectural design thinking is quite different with students’ educational backgrounds and learning habits. This new educational challenge at basic design studios creates severe need to study the reality of design education at foundation year and defining appropriate educational methods with convenient project types with intention of enhancing architecture education quality. Material of the this study has been gathered through the two academic semesters direct observation at first year second semester design studio at Faculty of architecture at EMU (known as FARC 102), Fall and Spring academic semester 2014-15. Distribution of a questionnaire among case study students and interview with upper design studio students who passed same methods of education in past 2 years and conducting interviews with instructors are other used methodologies in this research. The findings come to the conclusion that students’ performance through the design process tends to be individualistic and owe more intuition rather than formalistic procedure. Students also, have been faced with some challenges and dilemma through externalizing their design ideas and thoughts as the concrete products on their form-creation procedure. Furthermore, exerting relevant design strategies through the students’ learning process has enriched their design knowledge, skills and experiences better than just making forms through the design process. The research iv data has also indicated that students’ performance through their design process has isolated design studio from their done design studies. In addition, the professional structure of design evaluation which has been based on the students’ final products and grade rather than their design process causes increasing students’ obsessed with their final design grades and neglecting on their concept generation and design development process. The results of this study reveal a risk of a mismatch between the implemented teaching method, project type and scale in this particular level and students’ learning style. Although, the existence of such risk due to varieties in students’ profile could be expected to some extent but, sort of recommendation can support educators to reach maximum compatibility. Keywords: Architecture Education; Basic Design Studio; Educational Method; Form Creation Skill