The design studio is an important part of design and architectural education, because of the unique approach of pedagogy used (Dutton, 1987, Salama, 1995, 2012). This research uses this space to examine the physical characteristics and properties of the design studio as a space, considering the ways it influences the behaviours and emotions of its users towards learning and collaborating with one another. Starting from the Sheffield School of Architecture, where the focus towards engaged and reflective learning. Trying to answer the research question ‘How do the physical characteristics of the Design Studio influence certain behaviours of the studio user, relevant to collaborative learning?. Ultimately, attention is directed towards looking at their experience, which is created with the influence of the space, and the curriculum of architectural education, with both referred to as the ‘design studio’ (Crowther, 2013).
This research has ‘empowered’ users of the design studio (Literat, 2013), notably ‘students’ of four different universities in the context of the United Kingdom, through creating a hybrid research methodology that revolves around capturing their experience in relation to the physical space of the design studio. Under the umbrella of case study, using ethnography and focus groups, which were consisting of ‘Student Designer Engagement Map’, a method created based on a service design tool (Stickdorn and Schneider, 2011) to capture the current and aspired experience. These have then been analysed and interpreted through different lenses, i.e. the interior designer, tutor and the researcher.
The findings of the research were themed around spatial features in terms of social aspects, environmental control aspects and in terms of design organisation and furniture. The findings were related to the emotions experienced in the design studio through the project phases and stages. The hybrid methodology used and the methods have helped in creating a framework of propositional guidelines of design considerations, which may be beneficial for the stakeholders of the learning design studio and beyond.
