Architectural Curriculum Research Articles

A mixed methods study of architectural education during the initial COVID-19 lockdown: student experiences in design studio and technology courses

PurposeThe paper aims to understand and assess architecture students' experiences of online teaching during the initial lockdown caused by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic between March–June 2020. The exploratory study was conducted across two architectural engineering departments of two separate campuses of the same not-for-profit, non-governmental higher education institution in Cairo, Egypt, focusing on two course streams within their architectural curriculum; design-studio-based courses (DC) and technology courses (TC).Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods approach was used, where a questionnaire-based survey was developed to gather qualitative and quantitative data based on perceptions of a sample of 245 students. The survey quantitatively queried five dimensions related to students' learning experiences and qualitatively sought to evaluate both the positive experiences and challenges the students experienced.FindingsFindings outline that students' experiences were neutral but veered toward the positive end of the scale. Three factors appear to have affected students' learning experiences; students' reliance on educational technologies, the stage of architectural education students were enrolled in when they went into lockdown, and finally, quality and timing of feedback received. While challenges were faced during transition to the digital realm, these may have compelled students to take ownership of the students' own knowledge construction.Originality/valueResults provide a nuanced understanding of how students dealt with this critical transformation in architectural pedagogy at a unique moment in history, highlighting merits that could have an everlasting impact on design education during and after times of pandemic.

Decolonising the curriculum: US Study Abroad: London Architecture and Urbanism – Albertopolis, South Kensington

This article focuses on ways of decolonising the curriculum of a one-semester London Architecture and Urbanism course taught differently across several US Study Abroad programmes in London. These introductory courses took place in the seminar room and out in the field. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a greater focus on teaching in open spaces. The courses are principally structured around the capital’s key public developments. Many of the sites have an older historical antecedence. They were largely built between the mid-eighteenth century and the opening decades of the twentieth century during the time of the Empire and the Industrial Revolution. While the Empire has gone, London continues to transmit ideas revolving around the cultural hegemony of a politically, economically and socially superior nation through its urban histories. These histories are sometimes explicit, but are more often hidden, as they become subsumed into London’s evolving cityscape. On this basis, introductory architectural courses that outline the city’s development, by default, recapitulate the values of British cultural imperialism. This article examines how London’s architectural history and imperial visions can be re-evaluated through the lens of a culturally responsive teaching and learning study abroad platform.

An instructive model of integrating sustainability into the undergraduate design studio

Architectural education prepares the students for their professional lives by teaching them design skills and technical knowledge. The design studio is a special course within the architectural curriculum, while the design itself is a structured process to accomplish a unique expectation of a product. The concept of sustainability in design is intended to ensure that the design product is in harmony with people and nature. The literature presented a lack of an instructive method of integrating sustainability into the design studio. This paper presents a comparison for the three executed consecutively experimental studies of integrating sustainability principles into the architectural design studio as well as presents a discussion of the experimental studios together with the evaluations and assessments. Also, it presents the post-course interviews' results, discussion, and conclusions. The paper's objective is to present an instructive model of Sustainable Architecture Design Studio (SADS) work that will provide the academic area a complete method that can be followed to integrate sustainability principles into the design studio.

Simulation-based optimization in architecture and building engineering—Results from an international user survey in practice and research

Although there is a substantial body of academic literature on Architectural Design Optimization (ADO), not much is known about actual ADO practices and user experiences. This paper presents results from an international user study of ADO with 186 respondents from various disciplines in architecture and building engineering. Compared to earlier user surveys from the literature, this survey employed a significantly larger sample size with active users of optimization in both industry and academia. The survey provides a comprehensive perspective on optimization in practice and highlights its utility for building design. Results can inform future developments of optimization tools to better suit needs and preferences of users, highlight a need to introduce optimization into architectural curricula, and ultimately contribute to the design of a more resource- and energy-efficient built environment. Most importantly, our survey suggests a non-ideal usage of optimization in design and research practice leading to, in the worst case, wrong conclusions drawn from optimization results. One prominent example in our survey is the potential over-reliance of (canonic) Genetic Algorithms for simulation-based problems: In the presence of low evaluation budgets, such algorithms will not converge, and modern model-based solvers would be more suitable. This demonstrates an urgent need to inform practitioners on more efficient tools suitable to the optimization task by, e.g., fostering the easy accessibility of such tools.

Reform and Practice of the Core Curriculum of Civil Engineering and Architecture Based on the “1+X” System

The “1+X” system has a great impact on the development of vocational education. Based on this system, it is imperative to carry out the reform and practice of the core curriculum of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Several vocational colleges have made attempts in the reform and practice of the curriculum, but the effect is not ideal. Under the influence of various factors, such as the lack of experience, there are also several problems in the reform and practice of the curriculum. Among them, the most apparent problems are as follows: the curriculum reform is not synchronized with the development of teaching materials, the pertinence of practical teaching is lacking, and the guidance provided for professional certificate examinations is not well-established. This paper specifically analyzes the problems existing in the reform and practice of the core curriculum of Civil Engineering and Architecture under the “1+X” system, and then puts forward effective strategies for these problems.

The Course Architecture is Key to Guarantee the Education Outcome of University Online Courses

The sudden and fitful COVID-19 pandemic has forced many universities to implement fully online education. Neither students nor teachers have time to buffer the psychological impact. In addition, education-related software and hardware are inadequate, thus inevitably reducing the quality of teaching and learning. In order to alleviate this passive situation as soon as possible, it is necessary to take into account the various factors of students, teachers, schools, society and others, which is a complex systematic project. From the perspective of teachers’ instructional design, this paper emphatically illustrates the significance of curriculum architecture construction to improve the education quality of fully online courses. A four-dimensional university course architecture and a architecture-framework-route three-level system are proposed. The implementation of this three-level structure system is illustrated with the National First-Class Undergraduate Course (Online) - Process Fluid Machinery as an example.

Architecture as a Matter of Inclusion: Constructing Disability Awareness in Architectural Education

Environmental and anatomic factors determine the limits of an individual's participation in daily activities. Design decisions determine the inclusivity of the built environment. Within this respect, disability studies take place in the architecture curriculum. This study investigates the disability and design relation within the context of architectural education. It seeks to answer how the experiencing method affects the approach of architecture students to the disability concept. For this purpose, the experiences and activities of undergraduate students of the "Disability in Design" elective course in the Department of Architecture at Duzce University have been analysed and evaluated. Within the scope of the study, enrolled students were asked to form 3–5 membered groups, choose a disability type, and experience the campus according to the determined disability. Data sources of this study are video recordings, empathy maps, student groups' reports, and observation results. The students' work was analysed and discussed to identify the effects of experiencing on disability awareness. The participating students of this study showed that through experiencing, they could relate the designed environment to the physical, emotional, and social aspects of disability. This study reveals that the experiencing method can be a powerful tool to help students comprehend the influential role of design decisions in the participation of different user groups in daily life.

Undergraduate Architecture Students’ Perceptions of the Reasons for Their Choice(s) of Profession

This study aims to analyze the factors, driven by intrinsic and/or extrinsic motivations, that affect the students’ choice(s) of profession before entering the school of architecture and to reveal how the participants’ perceptions of their “self-efficacy” about becoming an architect altered in parallel to the skills they acquire during their professional education. The research, based on the qualitative research methodology, is undertaken in a Bachelor of Architecture degree program in a private university in Istanbul and the data was collected through the participation of 40 undergraduate architecture students from different class levels. The data collection procedures covered four recorded focus group interviews with students at different class levels and the interview transcriptions were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The results regarding the reasons for studying architecture has revealed that the participants are influenced by (1) their self-perceptions, which overlap with the profession-related qualities and (2) the influence of their social environment and families. It is shown that the professional education that the participants have received has improved their design skills and supported their self-efficacy beliefs in this regard, but made them feel insufficient about technical-practical skills. The research findings have implications for the students who think to study architecture, the secondary education teachers, and the administrators and instructors of schools of architecture for various reasons: by uncovering the interrelated dynamics and requirements of the architectural profession and education, these findings may guide the attempts to choose a profession compatible with individuals’ capabilities and orientations and to structure a balanced architectural curriculum.

Influence of Architectural Curriculum on Sustainable Innovative Capability among Architecture Graduates in Nigeria

Influence of Architectural Curriculum on Sustainable Innovative Capability among Architecture Graduates in Nigeria

Developing excellent architectural education for best practices in Libya

During the last decade there has been a rapid transition to digitisation in the construction sector across interconnected project stages, including design, construction, and operation. The research described in this paper aims to establish pathways to develop an excellent architectural education in Libya, in regard to relevant concerns on restructuring the curriculum to bridge the gap between educational output and professional requirements. An extensive literature review is adopted at the initial stage of the described research in order to establish a comprehensive understanding of architectural education in Libya. The findings from a preliminary literature review indicate that the absence of appropriate plans and obsolete curricula are critical issues in the current provision and further development of architectural education in Libya, and it is important for the continuous improvement of a nationwide architectural education curriculum that can strongly support students to develop relevant knowledge and skills to be prepared for their professional careers in helping to rebuild the country. In addition, it is crucial to establish a comprehensive architectural education programme at undergraduate level by adopting advanced digital technologies and enhancing collaborative learning for students to develop their competence with the appropriate body of knowledge and skills, which are important for their future careers and to increase architects' contribution to the development of economy, society, and the culture in Libya. It is expected that the described research can make a good contribution for professional practice enhancement in undergraduate architectural education in Libya, and to inform academics around the world with regard to the latest research and development for the best architectural education practice in Libya.

Incorporating green building into architectural education: what can we learn from the value-belief-norm theory?

Purpose Aiming to find out how to incorporate green building into the architectural curriculum, this study aims to explore the psychological path for cultivating architectural students’ awareness and motivation to learn the green design concepts and related technologies. Design/methodology/approach Based on a global review of relevant architectural courses in universities, a set of green building learning behaviors was proposed and a survey was conducted in architectural schools in South China to verify the “value-belief-norm” theory through the lens of green building learning behaviors. The psychological path that affects students’ green building learning behaviors was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The results showed that biospheric and altruistic values could directly affect students’ motivation to learn green building, while personal norms served as the mediating condition for personal values and beliefs, and ultimately improved motivation. Practical implications The study suggests that the cultivation of environmental awareness and a sense of the ecological crisis should be developed through foundation courses, by establishing an ecological architecture curriculum, to more effectively guide students to learn and practice green building. Originality/value This study, for the first time, applied the “value-belief-norm” theory, which was developed to explain the psychological path for pro-environmental behaviors, to green building learning behaviors of architectural students.

Debunking the Apartheid Spatial Grid: Developing a Socially Just Architecture Curriculum at a University of Technology

Traditional universities are often interrogated on their pedagogic underpinnings, while universities of technology are often left unchallenged on knowledge production. Universities of technology are often assumed to be transformed because they are a post-apartheid creation, with a mainly black, working-class student body. This assumption has led to little interrogation of the university of technology and its relationship with knowledge production. This paper explores the nature of curriculum contestation and reform at a university of technology. It outlines the historical context of a university of technology and its approach to curriculum development, which has implications for current curriculum transformation efforts. Using autoethnographic research methodology, the paper tracks a multi-year journey towards the development of a transformative, socially just curriculum intervention in the extended curriculum programme for the Architecture and Interior Design programme at a university of technology. The paper concludes that curriculum change does not happen in a vacuum, that it is political, difficult and emotionally taxing, and that it is best done in collaboration with different education stakeholders.

Exploring the Neurological Basis and Motivation for Learning to Design during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Architectural design curriculum is based on the premise that students want to learn Architecture. However, there is a significant decline in the motivation and enthusiasm of Architecture students for designing projects within the studio courses. This phenomenon can be the natural result of the Covid-19 pandemic that locked young architect candidates down, forcing them to attend courses online. However, the motivation behind the act of designing is loosely related with the designers’ physical or online presence. This study aims to understand the basic motives underlying the desire to design by examining online architectural design education processes. The paper looks into cognitive processes, neuroscientific knowledge around the act of design, and pedagogical knowledge around learning to design. The main question of the research is to see whether the motivation to design can be explained in association with neurological aspects and whether it can shed light on methodologies on learning to design.

Provincial and Outdated?

What happens to a school when education is an international commodity and teachers are recruited globally? Bringing in their own luggage and agendas and asking, “Why not do something else?” The school does not fall apart. Modern management keeps it running smoothly. In terms of educational institutions, a good reputation seems to sustain. Elaborated strategies define potential new roles for the school in the world. Does culture beat strategy, is there a ghost in the machine that cannot be removed? Or is the school transforming into something found anywhere in the world, and mostly mediocre? A few years ago, a known figure in the EAAE system stated that: “There is no such thing as a global curriculum in architecture”, believing that schools gave priority to and took care of their own identities. Was this a false statement? Discussing the relationship between school and society, is the concept of belonging still valid and possible to pursue? If so, what measures are relevant?

The Gap between Architecture Education and Architectural Profession in Iran

Many graduates of architecture attracted to the job market find a profound gap between what they have learned in college and what is being done in their career in Iran. The educational problems that make architecture graduates inefficient in the job market are identified. Then solutions are offered to reduce the gap. Four types of questionnaires were distributed to the last year undergraduate students, professors of architecture schools and professional architects and their answers and suggestions were collected. The results show that there are some solutions for bringing architecture education closer to architectural profession: 1. participatory education, 2. establishment of non-governmental organisations, 3. linking faculties of architecture with architectural offices, and 4. revision of undergraduate curriculum of architecture.

A comparison study of integrating theoretical and practical components of the architecture education curriculum in Iran and Australia

Integrating different parts of the curriculum is one of the important challenges in architecture education. Curriculum development has an important role in linking theoretical subjects into practical design studios. This study focuses on an analytical comparison of two architecture curricula in different contexts of Australia and Iran. The purpose is to find the limitations and benefits of each curriculum through educational systems, teaching time for theoretical and practical subjects, and the map of courses and subjects. This paper contributes to the literature of architecture education through analysis of integrating different subjects. This study implements a document analysis method and a comparative case study method. The comparison indicates that although the architecture curriculum in Iran benefits from an extensive education with more subjects, wider content, and triple teaching time, it provides less opportunity for integrating theoretical and practical subjects. Furthermore, course structures at Australian universities benefit from greater flexibility and choice for students to individualise their course through elective subjects. Architecture education is a problem-based and project-based learning, so the results of this research have a wide application in research on higher education. Also, the findings of this study can assist design schools to improve their curricula through linking theory to practice.

Integrating technology subjects with design studio teaching: comparing curriculum of architecture education in Australia and Iran

PurposeDesign studio and technology subjects are two dominant parts of the architecture curriculum. How to integrate these different parts of the curriculum is one of the important challenges in architecture education around the world. With increasing internationalisation of both the profession and higher education, an understanding of similarities and differences across the globe is important. This paper illustrates two different approaches to such integration in two very different contexts: case studies at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia and the University of Tehran (UT) in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThe study implemented a case study approach based on document analysis methods. This paper explores the integrated role of technology subjects in architecture education, followed by a critique of the teaching of technology within the design studio. The analysis is conducted across four significant features of the curriculum.FindingsOverall, in both programmes, the aim is for students to develop architectural knowledge and skills; although the Iranian programme has a stronger focus on knowledge, the Australian programme has a stronger focus on the application of knowledge and skills, particularly within the design studio projects.Originality/valueThe comparative analysis of architectural education in these two different contexts offers an insight into alternative approaches to teaching technology. Such an insight may offer guidance in curriculum development to support the exploration of new hybrid approaches as well as supporting international student mobility.

Over a decade of decibels—Celebrating teaching architectural acoustics within an architecture curriculum to students with various majors and minors

Having grown up with a musically inclined father who inspired an early appreciation for acoustically related environments and studying under Gary Siebein at UF, the author bridges architecture and acoustics in both teaching and practice. Adjunct positions focused on environmental technologies and acoustic-based courses at UF and K-State led to the current position of Associate Professor of Architecture and OU Gibbs College of Architecture Research Fellow at The University of Oklahoma. Since beginning at OU in 2010, course assignments such as dedicated architectural acoustics electives, design studios, materials and environmental systems, and independent studies have integrated acoustics into curriculum objectives. With over 1300 students to date, majors include Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Environmental Design, Interior Design, and Pre-med with minors in Anthropology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Construction Management, Literature, Business Management, Geography, Foreign Languages, History, Mathematics, and Sociology. Opportunities for pedagogical applications include: hands on experiments; field measurements and data collection; study of musical instruments; precedent studies; laboratory and manufacturing facility tours; and material prototype fabrication with industry partners and other colleges. This presentation showcases how teaching broad spectrum acoustical topics resulted in acoustical integration within capstone projects, student coauthored publications and presentations, and student recognition.

Positioning historical evidences in architectural education: review of methods and contents

Purpose This paper aims to position the evidence in the history of architectural education, which has contributed to the development of architecture as a discipline. The paper focusses on the transformational stages of architectural education through history. It builds on considering its evolution from informal stages towards formal educational discipline and then standardization as a curriculum-based model in contemporary times. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a qualitative approach focussing on epistemological interpretations through triangulation. The qualitative data includes two main categories; first, historical research and second, interviews and focussed group discussions. It then adopts the triangulation method for the analysis of data. The exploration positions historical pieces of evidence encompassing important factors involved in the process that directed the changes while suggesting the modes of training of architects. The interviews and focus groups provide a valuable addition to historical data for connecting it to contemporary times. Significant modes examined include master pupil, apprenticeship and curriculum-based model, in addition to several fundamental skill sets such as drawing, painting and sculptures that remained constant in this process. Findings The historical pieces of evidence inform that architectural education has been inclusive and considerate towards cultural concerns throughout its developmental stages untill the currently adopted curriculum-based model. It concludes that the development of architecture as a discipline in formal education has been influenced by methods of disseminating knowledge, contents incorporated for teaching architecture, deliberate inclusion of relevant knowledge areas such as arts and cultural integrations of societies. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to a structured study to explore and position pieces of evidence in the history of architectural education considering its methods and contents. While it signifies the role of culturally sensitive contents in the architectural curricula, the scope of this research is not to focus on the development of any new theory, model or postulate regarding the inclusion of some specific contents. The implications of this research aspire to the best use of methods and contents deeply rooted in the development of the discipline, of architectural curricula in the future. It suggests the negation of possible overlooking of such content in curricula. Originality/value The study signifies the core argument of the relevance of architectural education to social and cultural concerns as an important facet in the developmental stages in the history of the discipline. The exploration of pieces of evidence is significantly important to avoid the inadvertent overlooking of the culturally sensitive content in architectural education in the future development of architectural curricula that were included purposefully.

Developing a low-carbon architecture pedagogy in Bangladesh

Architectural education and training can help ensure low-carbon emission for projects. Despite some broad initiatives to address this, there are still gaps in the curricula, theory and practices. The current pedagogical trends and approaches in Bangladesh are identified and examined for how climate mitigation is addressed in the architecture curriculum. This has revealed a lack of awareness, limited education and training, and inadequate pedagogical (i.e. teaching) approaches for low-carbon education in architecture curricula. A lack of alignment exists between curricula orientation and the national agenda for climate change and low-carbon development. In order to integrate a sustainable low-carbon education in the architecture pedagogy, a set of recommendations for pedagogical approaches, education and training framework is proposed to offer crucial guidance to academia and other relevant stakeholders. Practice relevance Bangladesh is acutely affected by climate vulnerability due to its geographical location in the Ganges Delta. Although mitigation and low-carbon development policies are part of the national agenda, this has not been incorporated into the additional capabilities required by architects to deliver this. Low-carbon design and sustainability issues in architectural curricula are still in the initial phases of development. A lack of awareness, inadequate education and training, and lack of alignment between curricula orientation and the national agenda are identified as important factors. A set of scalable solutions and recommendations for education and training for architectural students is suggested.