Design Studio in Case of Emergency: Implications for Future Digitalized Educational Experiences

Abstract

The unexpected, and extensive emergency situation between 2020-2022 created a test environment that incorporates valuable data for the digitalization of education. Using the data obtained from architecture and interior architecture students, this research focuses on one of the fundamental elements of architectural education, the design studio. Aiming online design studio (ODS) students from three different schools of architecture, this research tries to identify the technical resources utilized, students’ social interactions and mental status, and how these factors and demographic variables effected their ODS evaluations. The findings acquired by both qualitative and quantitative methods, show significant relations between the technical availabilities of the students with their overall satisfaction from the ODS experience, as well as the level of their social interactions, physical, and emotional status. While ease of reaching resources, watching recorded lectures and critics, presenting student projects digitally both for critics and juries, are appearing on the strong side of ODS, technical challenges for digital sketching and social requirement differences marked by student’s year of study (YofS) are observed on the week side. Although the research has substantial limitations, the findings are proposed to be valuable for the future research on developing a digital design studio environment in the future.