Architectural Studio Research Articles

INTRODUCING STUDIO ORIENTED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (SOLE) IN UPM SERDANG: ACCESSING STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING (SCL) IN THE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO

This article reports the initial results of the exploratory research related to student-centered learning (SCL) in final year Architecture studio education in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). SCL is defined as an approach to empower students in their own learning. Although studies on the adaptability of this concept in education has increased, there are few studies conducted for the benefits of architectural education from studio design perspective. In this article, we define SCL as an approach to increase student autonomy in learning curve especially in making decisions related to design subjects using a summative and formative approach. The objective of this article is to experiment the SOLE model and how it can move forward. The SOLE (Studio Oriented Learning Environment) model encompasses lecturing, sharing and peer review that is inspired by self-regulated theory. However, several problems and difficulties were identified namely, a lack of tutor input and problems in discussion dynamic in addition to resistance to peer assessment. This article suggests a number of improvements for future recommendations. The study will benefit educators in the architectural field in contributing to helping students to build on unique background knowledge and at the same time let the students generate learning opportunities and reconstruct knowledge dynamically in an open-ended learning environment to implement SCL in the studio module.

Analysis of facility needs level in architecture studio for students’ studio grades

Architects must be able to play an active role and contribute to the realization of a sustainable environment. Architectural education has inherited many education research used qualitative and quantitative methods. The data were gathered by conducting (a) observation,(b) interviews, (c) documentation, (d) literature study, and (e) Questionnaire. The gathered data were analyzed qualitatively to find out what equipment needed in the learning process in the Architecture Studio, USU. Questionnaires and Ms. Excel were used for the quantitative analysis. The tabulation of quantitative data would be correlated with the students’ studio grades. The result of the research showed that equipment with the highest level of needs was (1) drawing table, (2) Special room for each student, (3) Internet Network, (4) Air Conditioning, (5) Sufficient lighting.

The third dimension of Pliny the Younger’s villa at Laurentum in S. K. Potocki’s vision

The Villa Laurentina project seeks to present Count S. K. Potocki’s brilliant vision of the legendary villa of Pliny the Younger at Laurentum near Rome, first rendered in the 1770s in over thirty colour drawings. This unique work, amazing in its formal and stylistic homogeneity, was produced in Rome, in collaboration with two Italian artists – Giuseppe Manocchi and Vincenzo Brenna – and probably Franciszek Smuglewicz, a Polish painter active in Rome. All the architectural plans, sections of facades and walls of the rooms are provided with scale bars in palmi romani and braccia polacche. The first stage of the project was to transfer the eighteenth-century drawings on to programs used in architectural planning studios. For this purpose, scans of the plates were transferred to a CAD programme, which enabled the plan traces, sections and renditions of the walls to be made. Historical systems of measurement were calculated according to the metric system.

Architecture Studio Learning: Strategy to Achieve Architects Competence

In most Schools of Architecture, Architecture Studio is at the core of the architectural learning process. In the process, students are trained to have the skills of architectonic spaces design based on the study of the site, its function, and its aesthetics. Students are also trained to have awareness and understanding about the impact of their design on the surrounding environment, both physically and socially. Also, students are trained to present their designs in various forms such as visual graphics, verbal narratives, and three dimensional model animations. Indonesian Association of School of Architecture (APTARI Asosiasi Perguruan Tinggi Arsitektur Indonesia) and Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI - Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia) has formulated an education Standards, Curriculum, and Achievements of Architect Professional Program to be referred by Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (KEMENRISTEKDIKTI – Kementerian Riset, Teknologi, danPerguruanTinggi) as the guidance for the implementation of Architect Professional Program (PPA - Pendidikan Profesi Arsitek) in Indonesia. One of the eight recommendations is the PPA Content Standard which contains the learning for the achievement of IAI Architect Competencies through the recommended study materials. However, the recommended study materials did not indicate the activity of the Architecture Studio learning model (Final Report of APTARI Part II and IAI). Will architect’s competence be achieved if the learning process withoutarchitectural studio learning model? The formulation of the curriculum that is developed independently by the IAI recommends the learning of Architectural Studio as Professional Studio. The size of the SKS is large enough to enable someone who follows the lesson to intensively gain experience in designing the building as a real architectural work. This Architecture Studio learning model is interpreted by PPAr organizer universities with various forms, among others: (1) apprenticeship of architects; (2) supervised studios; And (3) project simulation studio. From various models of Architecture learning model mentioned above, all aim to achieve 13 Architect Competence as formulated by IAI. Which model is effective in learning the Architectural Studio mentioned above? This exploratory study would like to compare the three forms of Architecture Studio learning model to see how much the achievement of the targeted competencies by measuring the success of Competency Test activities still use the standards implemented by LPJK by involving assessors from IAI. The results of the comparison will show the compatibility of the implementation of the Architecture Studio learningmodel what is considered effective. These findings will certainly benefit the development of future PPAr implementation, especially if the Architecture Studio model can be commensurate with the studios developed by the School of Architecture in various countries, at least in the region of 21 member countries ARCASIA.

Surform: An Architectural Vocabulary of Morphogenesis

The term morphogenesis in architecture is usually associated with parametric design strategies. I intend ‘morphogenetic’ in a different sense. Architecture in general, and architectural education in particular, are awash in proposals that might be best described as ‘biomorphic.’ Yet, in my experience, students and practitioners have neither fundamental understanding of shape-as-surface nor the vocabulary necessary to describe such designs. This vocabulary, including a powerful generalisation of biomorphic shape, is readily available in the work of Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855). Gauss’s generalisation recognised that there are only three types of surface: positively curved, negatively curved and surfaces of zero curvature. This paper offers a concise exposition of Gauss’s formulation, a proposal for a vocabulary sufficient to clearly discuss such shapes in design contexts and a plea for an architectural pedagogy that moves beyond notions of space as bounded emptiness (i.e. beyond perspectival constructions). These reflections are a product of an educational experiment conducted in a first year architectural studio during the spring of 2017. Surform is a neologism, shorthand for ‘shape conceived as surface.’

Effects of Educational Buildings Conditions on Education Quality

Quality and productivity of education system is a major issue nowadays. There are lots of factors influencing education quality, one of these important factors is the condition and quality of the building. An educational building should provide a safe and healthy environment which students can study and work at their maximum health and productivity. Buildings may fail to provide such condition; Sick building syndrome (SBS) is one of the main reasons for this issue. Some of the common symptoms are headache, loss of concentration, runny nose, itching, dry skin and dry eyes. SBS is not always easy to recognize and lack of awareness amongst designers and users about SBS leads to problems like reducing the productivity or learning capacity of students in an educational building. In this research, signs of SBS have been observed and analyzed in the Architectural Studios of EMU (Eastern Mediterranean University) to find out if the students are suffering from SBS effects and propose some possible solutions for their improvement.

Project Spotlight: Jersey Shore redevelopment project uses composite precast concrete cladding

This new five-star, oceanfront, multifamily development in Long Branch, N.J., designed by James Monteforte of Monteforte Architectural Studio, uses Smith-Midland Corp. SlenderWall precast concrete building panels for their aesthetics, light weight, strength, durability, and energy efficiency.

Reflections on studio-based learning: assessment and critique

PurposeSince the teaching of architecture is now carried out in architectural studios with the critique session as the core of its assessment, the aim of this paper is to analyse architecture students’ attitudes, satisfaction levels and experiences in terms of different critique and assessment methodologies.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on two main approaches – the literature and questionnaire survey. In addition, the study relies on the author’s personal observations in design studio teaching and as a practitioner of the method.FindingsIt is important to establish clear goals for design critique and assessment and to include different critique methodologies – self critique, peer critique, group critique and professional critique. All such methodologies should be undertaken in an interactive environment that facilitates communication and exchange of scholarly thoughts among students, instructors and other professionals.Practical implicationsThe study involves the investigation of students’ responses and reactions to the various critique methodologies and their underlying practices in the context of Egypt. This is based on the questionnaire survey undertaken by the author in 2016. The questionnaire is designed to generate both qualitative and quantitative data.Social implicationsThis study aims to understand the students’ perspective about their design experiences with regard to studio-based learning and its impact on their education.Originality/valueWhile the topic of design critique about students has been studied heavily in the Western world, there is a lack of similar information in most Egyptian universities. To fill this gap, the Architecture Program at Port Said University was closely observed.

Design dialogues. Ambiguity of “Design” within Architectural Studio

<p>The ambiguous nature of the word “design” offers up a complex dialectic dialogue for the architectural studio lecturers to impart to their students. Discussing the “design”, more commonly referred to as the programme or scheme, is quite a different beast to the process or design methodologies the students use to create an architectural proposition or “design”. Clarity around this notion of design as both the process, in being design-led, and also as the end result, becomes a necessary task for studio lecturers to inculcate into the student body.<br />This paper aims to navigate through the mire/path of the design methodologies as adopted within architecture studio teaching at second year level within the Bachelor of Architectural Studies, Unitec Department of Architecture – by way of using the tried and tested notions of First Insight / Empathy, Preparation, Incubation, Illumination, Verification, with the anticipation that these are the essential tools with which to interface teaching and practice, within the context of a “live build project”.<br />Three years’ worth of case studies of large scale Interdisciplinary and collaborative “live build projects” in Christchurch in conjunction with the Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA) are used to demonstrate and investigate the heuristic design processes that are an integral part of a prospective architect’s arsenal of skills. These case studies offered a complex window of tasks, not least that the students were designing in Auckland 1000 km away from the Christchurch sites, and each year posed a different set of problems and clients-related issues. Luxcity 2012 / Canterbury Tales 2013 / CityUps 2014 were the students’ responses to FESTA’s call to rejuvenate the city centre after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, and all of which were assembled only for a 24-hour period over Labour Day Weekend.</p>

Innovative research units in architecture studios in New York

Various New York architecture studios have research entities, or labs, which are each unique in their scope, funding and their stakeholders. They do not offer alternative or tangential ways to practice architecture. Instead, these units live and work in the studio context and adhere to the protocols and cultures of architecture offices. They follow similar design-think/problem-solve paradigms but operate with different frameworks and business models, providing different services. They challenge the binary division of client and architect, and are located in a different position in the decision-making process.Research units like this are growing in number, with architecture studios diversifying their work portfolio in an attempt to amplify their popularity and influence. As a result, architects’ creative and political interests have produced new exploratory platforms with stable financial performance within their business models. Thornton Tomasetti's CORE Studio has collaborated with Autodesk on cutting-edge design software almost since its inception. Snøhetta's brand design unit was commissioned to design Norwegian banknotes, and Prada/AMO, as a design-powerhouse duo, has had significant influence. The field of architectural design, often relegated to intellectual isolation or wrongly commodified, is thus finding innovative ways to detach product and process, and capitalising it in novel and sophisticated ways. Such initiatives seem to have launched the studios concerned into new markets and disciplines, harnessing the transdisciplinary nature of the profession while expanding the scope of their curiosity.In 2014, I interviewed leading protagonists from successful in-house research units in New York. We discussed their methods and how they manage their financial and human resources. I explored with them what prompted their bold exploration into new, creative territories. This paper presents excerpts from four interviews with: Shogei Shigematsu, OMA/AMO; Richard Olcott, ennead/Lab; Jonatan Schumacher, Thorton Tomasetti/CORE Studio and; Michael Sorkin, Terreform.

Going out into the field: an experience of the landscape architecture studio incorporating service-learning and participatory design in Taiwan

Landscape architecture education is a newly developed profession in Taiwanese higher education where the studio is the core curriculum. This paper discusses an alternative studio model where students construct their knowledge and skills through service-learning and participatory design in a real-world environment. A case study based on a first-year undergraduate landscape architecture studio using this system is used to explore the practical factors influencing the implementation process and the extent to which they affect the consistency between pedagogical objectives and actual performance. It argues that, although students can feel challenged because of their limited professional competence, multiple roles and adjustments to field-based education, the value of learning through experience can help transform experience into new action.

The Antwerp (stair) case: how a modernist architect staged his educational and ideological programme

This paper looks at the educational project of Belgium’s acclaimed socialist and modernist architect Renaat Braem (1910–2001). While Braem is foremost remembered as a militant opinion maker, his work as an educator and an artist has received little scrutiny. When Braem was appointed interim director at the Antwerp National Higher Institute for Architecture and Urban Planning (NHIBS) in 1962, his first action point was not to change the curriculum. He instead reconstructed the physical configuration of the school. With an eye-catching staircase painting, he accentuated an important passage in the school building: the one from the administrative offices and library to the architectural studios. Claiming a central position in the institute, the staircase functioned as a stage and an auditorium on which an ideological and educational programme was enacted in an implicit, yet very physical manner. This article not only looks at what the painting represents, but also at how it represents by applying Randolph Starn’s three categories of seeing: the glance, the measured view, and the scan. This threefold reading of the painting enables us to unpack (a) Braem’s educational project based on a socialist ideology and (b) the institutional climate of the 1960s. In the institutional debates, hovering between tradition and the rationalisation of education, Braem’s staircase painting proposed a third way. It revised the existing doctrines by reconciling the rational approach with a stronger focus on the human in the built environment.

RECYCLED SHIPPING CONTAINERS AS A TOOL TO PRACTICE MODULARITY IN ARCHITECTURE STUDIO

The paper proposes a new approach to practice modularity in architecture studios by offering fixed shipping container units to be adopted in architecture educational process, the main goal of this educational adaptation is to offer a new alternative to assess the Modular Design Process by integrating sustainable approach with educational one for early years’ students, Qualitative and quantitative research designs were adapted to provide flexible approaches through the course stages which depends on the aim of each stage. Different methods will be applied to students to examine the effectiveness of using containers to develop modularization concept through all design process, and to encourage them discussing new skills with developing old ones. The grading system, analyzing data, two questionnaire and external judgment committee will be the main tools to be used. Recommendations will offer other methods to improve teaching Modularity, especially in the preliminary stages of design process to develop and enhance the student’s skills.

La España de Kahn: un viaje y una ensoñación

Louis kahn's interest in European architecture in general, and in the Spanish one particularly, is known and well documented. Yet, it was not until 1972 when the American architect visited our country. The reason was the invitation by the Barcelona Fair to participate in the Technical Conference about Construction and Urbanism, held in the Montjuich Campus from 6 to 9 June 1972. The singularity of this visit inspires to analyze in depth the Conference and his brief stay in Spain. Kahn shared the event with some of the most prominent architects at the time as kenzo Tange, James Stirling and Frei Otto. kahn gave the lecture titled Architecture and human agreement , a deep talk where he expressed his concerns about the nature of art and architecture. After that, he spent some days visiting Barcelona where David Mackay, partner of the architecture studio MBM, showed him some of his works along with Antoni Gaudi's masterpieces. Nevertheless, kahn's relationship with Spain does not end in Barcelona. His classical education, and the influence of other architects, encouraged his enthusiasm for the great examples of Spanish architecture and, especially, with Granada and Cordoba. Up to the point to prepare a specific trip to visit these two cities two years after his visit to Barcelona. Yet work problems suspended momentarily this travel and his unexpected death a few weeks later ended with this dream trip. Despite of that, the analysis of the work of kahn reveals certain Spanish influences. For example, the relation between central space of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla with the Court of the Myrtle of the Alhambra; or the geometrical solutions of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester or the Dominican Motherhouse in Media with the Palace of Charles V. All these relations express the interest and knowledge of kahn about f the Spanish architecture but also, the desired of trip never realized ( at least physically).

Multifunctional Public Space As Exemplified By the Concept of the Development of Kopernik Square in Opole

In 2015 the authorities of the city of Opole decided to sell a part of Kopernik Square, one of the main city squares, to a private investor. The objective of this project was the extension of the existing shopping mall and the construction of an underground car park within the scope of a public-private partnership. In order to find the best solution to design the remaining part of the square, a competition for its development was announced in cooperation with the Opole branch of the Association of Polish Architects. The article presents a description of the studies and analyses of the aforementioned space conducted by the db2 architekci architectural studio for the purpose of preparing a competition entry. The square development concept was based on an analysis of the urban context of the Opole city centre. The character of the public spaces within a twenty-minute walk from Kopernik Square was analysed. In the course of the works, a decision was made to develop the public space in a manner different from that originally intended by the Investor. A graphic visualization of the maximum scope of the shopping mall extension was presented in accordance with the urban layout of this part of the city, allowing the preservation of the historical view corridors. The article presents a competition entry prepared by us along with a justification of decisions concerning the design. One of the fundamental design assumptions was the connection of all frontages with the square and the creation of a recreational part abounding in green areas. The concept provided for the division of the area into three parts of various characters. The central part of the square is a green area of a recreational character – a space so far absent in the city centre. Catering and food services, shops, parking spaces for bicycles as well as services related to the parking area are located at the southern frontage of the square under one roofing. The area directly adjoining the shopping mall is an open multifunctional and partly roofed square - a place where cyclical events are held in the city. The project allows for a harmonious combination of various functions performed by Kopernik Square. The adopted traffic solutions, in particular the entrance to and exit from the underground car park have a positive influence on road traffic in this part of the city. Due to maintaining the historical urban layout and view corridors, the new building development does not overwhelm the square space but constitutes its harmonious closure.

The Craftsman Building: Gustav Stickley’s “Home” in New York City

In May of 1913, Gustav Stickley opened The Craftsman Building, a twelve-floor store, restaurant, workshop, and office between 38th and 39th streets just off of Fifth Avenue in New York City. By expanding his enterprise to include The Craftsman Building, Stickley aimed to educate on principles of good design, promote his products, and create a destination for a communal experience of his ideal Craftsman interiors. Stickley’s Craftsman Building, or as he called it, the Headquarters for Home Builders, fostered a direct connection between the public and the Arts & Crafts home through object lessons, immersive environments, model rooms, and a behind-the-scenes perspective that foregrounded the materials and skills of craftsmanship. The building was an integrated “home” of the Craftsman movement and a place for consumers to source and harmonize objects for their own homes. Education was central to Stickley’s mission, seen through the didactic nature of the sales floors and the public-facing furniture-making and architectural drafting studios. Notable features included an exhibition space dedicated to construction and interior design as well as a farm-to-table restaurant, with a state-of-the-art kitchen open to visitors. Stickley’s overambitious investment in The Craftsman Building ultimately led to his business’s demise.

Sustainable Architectural Design Studio Towards the Development of Creative Learning Environment

The design studio has always been the key feature of architecture education. Unfortunately, the design studio in universities focused too much on cost and the uniformity of design throughout the whole campus and this leads to office-like layout which is designed without taking note on the psychological approach of the architecture students using the spaces. This paper intends to elucidate this problem and tries to find the best design solution for a sustainable architectural design studio towards an effective studio learning outcome vital for a creative learning environment. This study has found out that there are three key factors that contributed in the development of creative studio learning environment among occupants which are—the needs to have a transformable private and personal space, multi-functional interactive space and livable natural setting. This study is important because suitable architectural studio will not only provide a creative learning environment to the users but also established referential guideline for future architects.

DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S MASTERPIECE, FALLINGWATER

Abstract. Since 1988, the professional staff of Architectural Preservation Studio (APS) has been involved with the conservation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA. Designed and erected from 1935 to 1939 as a weekend home for the Kauffman family, the complex consists of the main house and guest house. After five years of reports and prototype repairs, we produced a two-volume master plan. Using original Frank Lloyd Wright drawings from Avery Library as background drawings, we measured every surface and reproduced the drawings in CAD, also developing elevations of every room. Stone-by-stone drawings of every flagstone floor and terrace scheduled to be lifted were also created using overlapping film photography that was assembled into a photo mosaic. By 2005, we designed, administered and completed a four-phase exterior restoration, with the paint-stripping and repainting of interior rooms being performed during the brief winter period when the building is closed to the public on an ongoing basis. In 2016, we were invited back to the site to review conditions and advise on routine maintenance. At that time we proposed to re-document the buildings, this time using laser-scanning. Laser-scanning of the exterior was performed in May of 2016, and of the interior in March 2017, each over the course of four days. This paper will make a comparison between manual and digital techniques in terms of Fallingwater’s documentation.

The Architectural Project Experience Process for the Education Center of Gifted and Talented Children

The instruction model for the children with different intelligence and talents should also be different. Therefore, after identifying the personal development line and the quality, the instruction model should be changed according to the development line executed by the children. Within the framework of these opinions, "gifted and talented children's educational center architectural project" was studied as 6th term Project at Selcuk University Faculty of Architecture Department of Architecture, ADOBE / Toprak Architectural Design Studio in 2015-2016 Spring Semester. The education center was formed as open, semi-open and closed spaces involving educational units, socio-cultural spaces, accommodation units, managerial and service units and the recreation arrangements for educational and relaxation purposes. Considering children as the basic users of the center, the project was provided to have sustainable ecologic and human-friendly spaces within the scope of today’s trends. The projects designed at the end of the education period are the products of architectural studio experience having the quality of being a student term project. This study has the purpose of being a clear invitation to the scientific collaborative studies that can be performed on this subject and sharing this architectural experience period with the science world.

Adaptation | A Reflection on Contemporary Chinese Architecture (In four case-studies)

Reflecting upon a decade of engaging with, researching, writing, curating and discussing critical and contemporary Chinese architectural developments (profession and projects), the author presents ‘adaptation’ as a modus operandus for Chinese architects to bypass both rapid cultural changes as well as a volatile and demanding building construction climate. Seeking to understand the underlying concepts, methods and motives behind selected projects of four distinct contemporary practices (Amateur Architecture Studio, Atelier Chen Haoru, ZAO/standardarchitecture, Zhao Yang studio) the author discusses how these adapt to progress. Besides, the aforementioned practices encompass in China three distinct generations of architects, all practicing, to a large extent, in a similar spatial, social and economical environment. Focusing on the passage of time and the progress of the profession, rather than pointing out a figure or structure frozen in time, and through case-studies linked to the authors’ exhibition ‘ADAPTATION – architecture and change in China’ (Venice Architecture Biennale 2014), the paper seeks to discuss how architects effectively adapt and transform their thinking, practice and design in relation to ongoing demands and insights. Relating these to professional discourse, use of local materials and knowledge, to the volatility of clients, governments and markets, these alternative practices (alternative to the dominance of design institutes, to generic solutions and to Western, modernist, theories and practice) aspire to keep control over the design process. Across the four discussed practices, similarities in approach, materiality, methodology, educational and environmental concerns are contrasted with differences in architect-client relation, public appreciation, public and personal influence, laws, academic discourse. Through the lens of understanding how architects transform their modus operandi, tentatively the concept of ‘in(ter)depedent practices and projects’ (or mutual reliance between different generations of independent architects) can be explored.