The Design Studio

2014 ◽  
pp. 93-110
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Design Studio ◽  
University Culture ◽  
Reflection In Action ◽  
Technical Rationality ◽  
To Come ◽  
The University

The design studio is the prototype of design education, particularly for architects but more and more for engineers too – though engineers prefer the word “lab” to “studio.” Although the design studio is known today mainly through the “reflection in action” theory of Donald Schön (1984, 1988), this manner of education first developed at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the seventeenth century for the promotion of neoclassical aesthetic values, and it has continued ever since to be used, even by the Bauhaus in Germany in the early twentieth century after function had replaced form as the primary architectural value. The principal value of the design studio for Schön is that it properly emphasizes creativity for designers, instead of analysis and criticism, as preferred by the “technical rationality” of university culture as a whole. The university has responded by criticizing the design studio for being too subjective and therefore isolated within the academic world. In recent years the design studio has also been criticized for being elitist by focusing too much on aesthetic concerns, instead of promoting cultural sensitivity to social justice and environmental sustainability. Other critics complain that the design studio still relies on paper and hand drawings too much, instead of committing fully to ICTs and the virtual reality (VR) of cyberspace. Such criticisms, however, tend to be overstated, and the design studio is likely to continue in its present form for some time to come, because that is where most designing students learn the culture of design and develop a lifelong identification with their instructors and their fellow students.

scholarly journals Academy-profession-market. Problematising tensions in the live project

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Michael John Davis
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Studio ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Market Conditions ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
To Come ◽  
The University

<p>This paper examines a form of “live project” that casts the design studio topic in three distinct roles. In one guise it is a collaborative, “real world,” engagement with a range of stakeholders. In another it presses toward the production of buildings, while in a third, it acts as the vehicle for higher level academic design research. Within the design studio at the University of Auckland, School of Architecture and Planning these three imperatives are juxtaposed to define the contested territory from which the architectural project emerges as negotiated, speculative-yet-realisable outcome.<br />The aim of this discussion is to demonstrate the triple focus model of live project and the problem currently confronting it: a local instance of a complex, widespread problem between the architectural academy, the profession and the market.<br />Since 2007 a succession of community groups, businesses and developers have brought their projects to the design studio at the school. Typically they have come looking for speculation as to the potential of their projects, the kind of breadth of exploration that generally is not viable within commercial architectural organisations. Meanwhile, through these projects, students are asked to conduct research into the development of their own critical, architectural making practices.<br />The text begins with an account of one particular project – a speculation as to the development opportunities of heritage buildings on “earthquake prone” sites in Auckland for one of the country’s most progressive developers. It looks at the larger academic, professional and market conditions being responded to and thus situates this type of live project before concluding with an outline of potentials for its advancement. In so doing it signals work to come.</p>

Articulating Design Education

2014 ◽  
pp. 22-47
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Communitarian Ethics ◽  
Reflection In Action ◽  
And Control ◽  
Problematic Feature

Design as an activity may be conceptualized analytically by saying that it consists, first and foremost, in the ability to create visual images of new structures and products; secondly, in the ability to produce such images in a way that will balance the economic demands of clients with the cultural demands of society; and finally, in the ability to use and control various ICTs for the production of visualizations. At the core of design activity is the phenomenon of creativity, the most mysterious and problematic feature of design, because it is thought to emanate from the imagination in a way that precludes and defies rational choice and control. J. P. Guilford’s concept of divergent thinking helps to explain creativity, as does Donald Schön’s concept of reflection-in-action, contrasted to Herbert Simon’s argument that design thinking is primarily problem solving, but ultimately, creativity and imagination appear to be elusive and uncanny concepts. Aristotle’s insistence on the formally teleological nature of making suggests that there may be a difference between art, or pure creativity, and design, or technical creativity, with its emphasis on utility. Creativity has always been required of designers, but in today’s world cultural awareness is also needed, in order to comply with communitarian ethics, with its emphasis on co-operation and consensus building, directed mainly toward environmental sustainability. Finally, expertise in the use of ICTS is now being universally advocated for all designers.

Effect of Providing an Opportunity for Competition in Design Education

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Iino ◽  
Masayuki Nakao
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Functional Requirement ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Good Design ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Students First ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
To Come ◽  
The University

We have been offering conceptual design courses to graduate level mechanical engineering students. The courses are taught at three different graduate schools; Kyushu Institute of Technology, Sophia University, and The University of Tokyo. The mechanisms of course offering are different among these three schools, however, the underlying theme is the same. That is to identify a problem that the students want to solve and work in groups to come up with creative solutions. The students first go through sessions to sharpen their sense of feeling inconveniences. We then emphasize the importance of properly stating the functional requirement for their yet-to-build solution. Engineering students often struggle with this first stage. Once they set the goal, the course teaches brainstorming, Design Record Graph, and prototyping. Last year, we experimented with a final assignment of producing posters of their new products. The posters were collected and presented at an adult conference. The conference participants cast votes for their preferred posters. The top three winners received book cards to purchase books. This poster competition gave the students high incentives to produce good design proposals. The winning factor was not just technical supremacy but the votes were strongly affected by the solution presentation on the posters. It provided a good opportunity to teach engineering students that technology alone is not always the most important factor in winning businesses.

THE POTENTIAL OF REASONING METHODS AS A TEACHING STRATEGY SUPPORTING STUDENTS’ CREATIVE THINKING IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Hee Choi ◽  
Mi Jeong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Analogical Reasoning ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Design Studio ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Reflection In Action

Much research has emphasized the importance of ‘learning by doing’ in design education. Reasoning methods would be an effective strategy to support students’ reflection-in-action in designing. ‘Knowing how’ is associated with ‘design thinking’, and further, with ‘creativity’, which is essential for design outcomes. This research explores the potential of reasoning methods, specifically analogical reasoning and metaphorical reasoning, in design education for encouraging students to produce creative thinking in a design studio. For one semester, students were educated to adopt analogies and metaphors in designing and how students approached given design problems to produce design ideas was observed. The results showed that adopting reasoning methods as a teaching strategy in a design studio encouraged the development of the students’ design thinking by reorienting their approach to design, which eventually led to enhanced creativity in designing. Based on the results, this research presents critical issues to be considered for encouraging students to utilize analogical and metaphorical reasoning in designing.

The Sinful University?

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel James Cook
Keyword(s):  
University Education ◽  
Moral Failure ◽  
To Come ◽  
The University

There is a difference between doing something well and doing something good. And there is a difference between failing to do something well, and failing to do something good. In this paper, I assess our contemporary University in the latter sense of failure. While the University can be ineffective, or fail to function well, there is more at stake if the University, as an institution, is in conflict with nature. That is, it is one thing for the University to be ineffective in its means, but here I will pose the question: is the contemporary University sinful? Using Josef Pieper's elucidation of moral failure and John Henry Newman's analysis of the proper ends of University education, I defend the thesis that because the aim of our contemporary University seems to come in conflict with the goal of nature as a whole, it may be understood as sinful.

Social Science Theory for Environmental Sustainability

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc J. Stern
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Persuasive Communication ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Social Science Theory ◽  
Science Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Communication Conflict ◽  
To Come ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Social science theory for environmental sustainability: A practical guide makes social science theory accessible and usable to anyone interested in working toward environmental sustainability at any scale. Environmental problems are, first and foremost, people problems. Without better understandings of the people involved, solutions are often hard to come by. This book answers calls for demonstrating the value of theories from the social sciences for solving these types of problems and provides strategies to facilitate their use. It contains concise summaries of over thirty social science theories and demonstrates how to use them in diverse contexts associated with environmental conflict, conservation, natural resource management, and other environmental sustainability challenges. The practical applications of the theories include persuasive communication, conflict resolution, collaboration, negotiation, enhancing organizational effectiveness, working across cultures, generating collective impact, and building more resilient governance of social-ecological systems. Examples throughout the book and detailed vignettes illustrate how to combine multiple social science theories to develop effective strategies for environmental problem solving. The final chapter draws out key principles for enhancing these efforts. The book will serve as a key reference for environmental professionals, business people, students, scientists, public officials, government employees, aid workers, or any concerned citizen who wants to be better equipped to navigate the social complexities of environmental challenges and make a meaningful impact on any environmental issue.

scholarly journals Teaching Sustainable Responsibility through Informal Undergraduate Design Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8378
Author(s):  
Louise R. Manfredi ◽  
Meriel Stokoe ◽  
Rebecca Kelly ◽  
Seyeon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Informal Curriculum ◽  
Exchange Program ◽  
Sustainability Literacy ◽  
Material Conservation ◽  
Rich Data ◽  
The University

Recent reports, initiatives, and activities around higher education institutions revealed the relevance and value of sustainability education through both formal curriculum and informal curriculum activities. While the significance of sustainability education has continuously improved by raising awareness among new generations of students, it has not adequately promoted pro-environmental behaviors or attitude changes. This research study used a linear pretest–posttest experimental approach to understand whether two codesigned interventions; a trash and recycling bin system, and a Materials Exchange program, could improve sustainability literacy and material conservation behaviors across the School of Design. Additionally, a mid-experiment focus group study was conducted to provide text-rich data for analysis of 3R behaviors. Analysis of the data collected revealed that these interventions were reasonably successful in improving responsible material management. To have a greater impact on sustainable behavior, it is suggested that a formal educational experience should supplement the informal interventions described in this paper to onboard students as they enter the design studio culture. Additionally, the expansion of the trash and recycling bin station system into the university dormitories is discussed. This work has successfully catalyzed a collaboration between all School of Design stakeholders to address studio waste in a tangible way.

scholarly journals Intelligent Class Scheduler in Kathmandu University

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Gajendra Sharma Rabin Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Exchange Of Information ◽  
Class Schedule ◽  
Lecture Room ◽  
Class Scheduling ◽  
To Come ◽  
The University ◽  
Knowledge Portal

Imagine the University where everything runs smoothly, there is no need to worry about information that needs to be known where the University shares all information in your ear. Imagine that you know every location of your University and the schedules are relevant. This research focuses on the problem faced by Kathmandu University (KU) students while searching for their lecture room and managing their class schedule. This research is carried out for proposing knowledge portal for an intelligent class scheduling and location directing on the central campus of KU. The quest of the information world to make everyday easier has driven us to come up with the concept of such an app and this research consists of role of knowledge management for the development of an application by sharing and exchange of information between individuals and the administration. The university will be benefited in at least a small way through the paper.

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