Student-Centred Studio Environments: A Deep Dive into Architecture Students’ Needs

Abstract

Architectural education has long placed a strong emphasis on the studio, which serves as a crucial place for teaching and learning. The architecture studio is a dynamic and lively place where students can engage in design discussions, exchange ideas, and receive feedback from instructors and peers. Despite recognising the vital role architecture studios play in shaping the learning experience of architecture students, limited research has explored which specific attributes of the studio environment are most important to students. This research aims to address this gap by determining the priorities of architecture students regarding key studio attributes. The research employs a quantitative approach using the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) model and a questionnaire survey. A pilot study was conducted with undergraduate architecture students. The results reveal the ranking and relative importance of key studio attributes, organised into five categories: Physiological Facilities, Information and Communications Technology, Indoor Environment Quality, Territoriality, Furniture, and Reference. This research provides a valuable reference for designing student-centred studio environments and demonstrates the viability of using the BWS method to determine students’ priorities for studio attributes.