From Propagation to Negotiation of Ideologies in the Architectural Design Studio

Abstract

This paper investigates modes of active communications and propagation of ideas and ideologies in architectural education in general and the design studio in particular. Based on survey of students' opinions, modes of tutorials, assessment and production, it investigates the extent to which students enjoy freedom of choice, liberal thinking and ability to develop independently from their design tutors. While challenging current modes of one-to-one design tutorial paradigms, it experiments with alternative means of tutor-free and student-led workshops, where students are able to develop their conceptual ideas in the absence of their tutors at an early stage of design development. It analyzes the process of practical implementation of interactive tools in architectural education which places the diversity of students' cultural experiences, contextual awareness and individual interests as a crucial resource for design inquiry. The cyclical development of interactive learning strategy is examined through two settings: first, it discusses ideology-driven design tutorials that influence students' conceptual ideas; second, it reports on a liberal approach to the design studio, where students are given larger freedom to define their own position and intuition towards the practice of architecture, both in England and in Northern Ireland.