Teaching architecture: Following key concepts with a social impact in design studio proposals

• Main Author: Sfintes, Anda-Ioana
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Architecture; Context; Decision making; Design; Proposals; Skills; Social impact; Students; Wayfinding
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0110274

Architecture, as a creative domain, allows its teaching and practice as well to highlight different features, equally important. One may focus upon creating better conditions for living, others upon the role of perception and of letting people experiment and experience space, others upon an architecture that allows its user to grow as a person and make sense of the world. In this context teaching architecture assumes helping the students acquire the needed skills and abilities for the profession, as well as helping them find their own path by exposing them to different challenges and allowing them to experiment and envision various ways of reaching outcomes. Given the status of proposal assumed by most of the design studio assignments, successfully implementing such features in designs depends in a first phase upon theme and context, upon the way they sustain each other, respond to one another, and then upon correctly identifying problems, challenges and needs at various scales, upon envisioning outcomes. The article shall focus upon the role and ways of addressing the potential social impact of architectural design studio proposals by following contemporary key concepts in a way that highlights, as skills acquired by the students, the capacity of understanding, of finding solutions and deciding, of following coherence, of designing an architecture that could change for the best the lives and experiences of its users. The method proposed starts with interdisciplinary bibliographic research besides the common architectural research of the assignment, of the program, of the context in order to identify the particular ways architecture could benefit its users. Research should further inform decision making regarding the key concepts to be followed (as, for example, social equity, accommodation of future growth, facilitation of discussions, exchanges and collaboration, wayfinding) and the coherent architectural responses. The article proposes a method to be applied in the design studio, already tested – as a first phase in a project – in workshops held by the author, focusing on certain contemporary key concepts, which highlight the very important role played by architecture in an anthropological perspective. The method proved its usefulness as the results showed the raised awareness of the students towards the potential impact of their design and openness towards understanding and further exploring it.