Architectural Design Studio: Digital and Traditional

Abstract

The nature of the task of representing architecture alters to reflect the state of architecture at each period of time. In simulating architecture, the necessary conversion from that which is inhabitable, experiential, functional, and at times, indescribable to an abstraction in an entirely different media is often an imperfect procedure that centers on its translation rather than the actual design. The objective in visualizing any architectural design is to achieve a situational awareness that allows for meaningful criticism of the design. Computer-aided three-dimensional (3D) visualization technology has made available new representation techniques. Surpassing the traditional means of graphic illustration and scaled models, this technology has been primarily developed to decrease the amount of abstraction between architecture and its documentation. The general objective of this paper is to present a study carried out over the last six years in which the progress of students in a traditional studio was compared to the progress of similar students in a digital studio. We have assessed the effects of the tools over the six-year period (24 different projects) by evaluating solution-generation in trial-and-error process and learning problem-solving strategies based on the Cognitive Flexibility Theory paradigm. Students using the digital studio were found to generate more and various solutions consistently