DESIGN ART STUDIOS

EVOKING INTEGRAL STUDENT INSPIRATION TRHOUGH ARCHITECTURE OF THEIMAGINATION IN BOTSWANA.

By

Nigel Mangwarara

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

BA (hons) in Interior Architecture

At

The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (F.A.B.E)

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology

Gaborone, Botswana

2015

Declaration page

I hereby declare that this thesis proposal is my original work submitted for the partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture and it does not contain previous work published by other people unless referenced.

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Student name Signature Date

This document has been submitted for evaluation with my approval as the university supervisor.

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Signature Date

ABSTRACT

Institutions that offer design courses in Gaborone have encountered students spending little time in Studio environment and lacking creative inspiration due to a number of factors such as studio openinghours, efficient spaces & how our environment visually stimulates our creativity. This thesis aims to assess the importance of a well-planned and visually aesthetic design studio in Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and how the presence of one will lead to easierdesign problem solving and creativity in the pedagogy of architecture.

INTRODUCTION

What attributes of architecture could make learning easier? ‘In many schools, studios are underfinanced and therefore poorly planned and prepared: projects are often outlined by instructors on a napkin during lunch on the day the class begins, and presented to the students verbally’ (Scott Brown, 1979, p.70.)

The aim of this project is to assess the importance of a design studio in Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and how the presence of one will lead to easier design problem solving and creativity. Studio opening hours andthe importance of peer learning will also be assessed.

As (Hannah Vowles et al.,2012) wrote

‘The shift from the predominance ofthe drawing board to that of CAD andlaptop, together with a renewedrecognition of the value of ‘making’,has affected space requirements. Thepredominance of the internet, socialnetworking, mobile phones, virtual learning environments have all given impetus to a ‘devolved studio’ or ‘dispersed studio’, both in time and space, and a move from the physical to the virtual world’.

Contemporary college design within Gaborone rarely reflects a desire to createan environment where learning could be encouraged by the building itself.

Studies undertaken in this area have been focused on opening hours of studios and space requirements within studios.

Image 1.3: Limkokwing design studio with drawing boards andtables. Spaces not partitionedfor model making and other design

Image 1.2: Limkokwings architecture designstudio showing no presents of design in its spaces.

Definition of terms

Design - a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other objectbefore it is made.Studio - a room where an artist, photographer, sculptor, etc. worksEvoke - to bring a feeling, memory, or picture into the mind.Inspiration - the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.Architecture - the art or practice of designing and constructing buildingsImagination - the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.Integral - built to form part of something larger and not separate from it

REASON FOR RESEARCH AREA

My interest in this research arises from being an architectural student at Limkokwing and having noticed lack of required spaces such as model making spaces. The design studio at this institution is also a dull grey color with only drawing boards and tables which does not inspire creativity or encourage students to spend more hours within the studio.

Image 1.3: Limkokwing design studio with drawing boards andtables. Spaces not partitionedfor model making and other design

Image 1.4: students engaging in creative cooperative design

Image 1.5: modeling space in astudio

Will the presents of a well-planned, technologically advanced and aesthetic studio in Limkowing University of Creative technology (Botswana) influence students to spend more time in the studio undertaking their projects?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS

Do the current design art studios in institutions that offer design expand the mind of students to be more creative just by the way they arestructured, the function of spaces within a studio and their appearance?

• Will the presents of a well-structured and aesthetic studio make students spend more time on solving design issues within their campus?

• Will a studio open for 24-hours a day seven days a week see increased quality on student works and work done before deadlines?

• What attributes of design could make a studio more influential to students? This thesis seeks to answer these questions through the research of existing design studios and will later lead to the design ofa design art studio at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. Empirical research will be carried out to demonstrate the value of the studio environment in the students learning experience.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH

The construction of a design art studio could be a success in students overallperformance, their interest in undertaking in design activities and general growth of knowledge due to shared ideas. (McClean, 2009, p.2) wrote that a studio was ‘once an activity, an environment and a culture’.

Studio opening hours will also be assessed with the aim of trying to justify 24 hour studios with regard to enabling students to access such a facility whenever they see it fit.

This study will help other institutions with design courses to understand the value of a well-planned and visually acute design studio within the compass that will better student’s response to lectures and inspire them to think outside the box.

Other stake holders such as business owners with architectural firms will alsofind this thesis useful.

METHODS OF INQUIRY

The quantitative method of inquiry will be used, this is the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating pre-existing statistical data using computational techniques.

The measurement strategy employed to collect data in this research was survey questionnaire. In addition, personal interviews of design studio structure will be conducted. First, a qualitative study of lecturer intentions during lessons given in the studio was conducted using interviews. Second, feedback received from the teacher interviews will be used to create a questionnaire tobe distributed to design students.

The questionnaire will be used to determine student perspectives on design artstudios

Image 1.5: modeling space in astudio

Image 1.5: modeling space in astudio

2.4; 24%

6.6; 66%

1; 10%

DATA ANALYSISSPEND TIME IN INSTITUTION TO DESIGNWORK FROM HOMEVISIT OTHER CENTERS

Figure 1.1: pie chart showing where students prefer to work from, the %

have been derived from results compiled from the questionnaire.

LITERITURE REVIEW

Cam Shaw states that “Design is more about observing the world around you, then about personal creativity.”

‘The introduction of Building Information Management (BIM) and 3D printing into design, management and supply systems is beginning to change the way the studio is organized and construction is delivered’(Hannah Vowles et al.,2012).

Studio spaces are dispersed, where within a studio structure: modeling space, presentation, brainstorming and conceptualization and general gathering space are separate. The design studio in Limkokwing Botswana resembles an ordinary room with the exception of drawing boards.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Validation Board processes results on every validated program. Recent reports have tended implicitly to applaud good quality large studios as a ‘crucial peer learning opportunity’. Our review of the Board Reports found that there is an implicit belief that ‘studio culture’ is a good thing that needs to be preserved and developed. .” (Hannah Vowles et al., 2012).

Passers by

Figure 1.2 Limkokwing presentation system, room with lecturers and students (Doidge,6)

They are uncertainties whether studio opening hours, peer learning and environmental comfort while students are learning have an impact on standard of work and overall results.

The AIAS Report (Koch et al., 2002) questions whether having access to studio 24 hours a day, seven days a week and thus being able to work on projects at any time develops a culture that devalues scheduled time, and therefore time management.

The NAAB Studio Culture condition (condition 5) reads:

The school is expected to demonstrate a positive and respectful learning environment through theencouragement of the fundamental values of optimism, respect, sharing, engagement, and innovation

between and among the members of its faculty, student body, administration, and staff. The schoolshould encourage students and faculty to appreciate these values as guiding principles of professional

conduct throughout their careers.The [school’s Architecture Program Report] must demonstrate that the school has adopted a writtenstudio culture policy with a plan for its implementation and maintenance and provide evidence of

abiding by that policy. The plan should specifically address issues of time management on the part ofboth the faculty and the students. The document on studio culture policy should be incorporated in the

APR as Section 4.2

The architectural design studio today is unique, as it is at the same time based on a pedagogical method and on a spatial concept. It is a group of people working together, generally in a large flexible space led by an instructor where investigations take place, and students learn through doing, through making, and also through critique, through understanding, and through recycling of ideas. The components of studio learning are:

Studio Pedagogy The Department believes in and supports the pedagogical benefits and purpose of the studio teaching method: problem-based learning, and learning by doing.

Studio Space The inherent flexibility of the traditional studio space promotes interaction between students and faculty, as well as the opportunity for students to sharein, learn from, and contribute to each other’s work (peer learning).

Studio Culture The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group in the studio context, in this case the architectural community at Cornell (students, faculty, administration, staff, and visitors).

Studio Extensions Extension of the traditional studio space, including shop, library, computer lab, review and exhibition spaces

.

References

• Borden, I., Crawford, C., Farren-Bradley, J., Heron, K., Low, J., Parnaby, R., Porter, D.,

Roberts, A. & Saxon, R. (2010). Subject benchmark statement: Architecture. Gloucester,

UK: The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

 

• Turckes, S. & Kahl, L. (2011). Be a teen design hero: 4 lessons the classroom can learn from the design studio. [Online] http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665654/4-lessons-the-classroomcan-learn-from-the-design-studio (Accessed 15/03/2014).

 

• Vowles, H. (2000). The crit as ritualized legitimation procedure. In: Nicol, D. & Pilling, S.

(Eds.). Changing architectural education. London: E & F Spon, pp. 259-264.

 

• Vowles, H. (2012) ‘Journal for Education in the Built Environment, Vol. 7, Issue 2, 26-49

 

• Scott Brown, D. (1979). On formal analysis. In: Scott Brown, D. (2009). Architecture words

4: Having words. London: Architectural Association Publications, pp. 69-78.

Bibliography

• Borg, W.R. And Gall, D.G. 1990. Educational Research: An introduction. New York. David Mckay Company.

 

•  Bestly Russell, and Ian Noble .visual research: An introduction to research Methodologies in graphic design. New York :AVA publishing ,2005

• Lauren Brenda ed. Design Research: methods and perspectives. Cambridge Massachusetts :MIT Press,2003

• Jenn ,and Ken Visocky O’ Grady designer's research manual: succeed in design by knowing your clients and what they really need Rockport publishers 2009

https://unclutterer.com/2011/03/29/scientists-find-physical-clutter-negatively-affects-your-ability-to-focus-process-information/

Our eye, a complex organ composed of many working parts, is our contact to visual stimuli from our surroundings that are passed on to the occipital lobe

http://www.archiculturefilm.com/

http://www.designboom.com/architecture/crab-studio-finalizes-abedian-school-of-architecture-01-13-2014/