Exposure to Examples

The paper reports on a study about the effects of using cases, i.e. concrete examples from the past, in architectural education. The study was actuated by the close attention architectural design receives in the field of Case-Based Reasoning, as reflected by the development of various Case-Based Design systems. Although often specifically education-oriented, these systems rarely have become widely used tools in schools of architecture. This raises the question whether the role of cases in architectural education is sufficiently understood to develop effective CBD systems. While CBD researchers generally assume cases to play a crucial part during design, there is no established theory explaining how. The primary goal of our study was therefore to explore the effects of using cases in architectural education. Exposing students to examples is not generally applauded by design teachers, as it is thought to increase the danger of design fixation. Only few view cases as a vital basis for creativity. A more specific goal of our study was thus to investigate whether cases either limit or improve creative design solutions. In the study, 2nd year architecture students had to design an entrance hall for an apartment building. Half of them had access to entrance hall projects of previous years, the other half did not. Analysis of students’ designs revealed some interesting effects. In particular, the probability of getting a higher score for the concept, the choice of materials and colors, and the creative character of their project, was positively influenced by exposure to examples. Yet, this positive influence only occurred for the more skilled and motivated students.status: publishe