VIRTUAL New Schools of Thought

Abstract

In Higher Education the design studio has evolved as a space of learning that facilitates experimentation, discovery and personal growth as an enduring typology within creative education. When design departments are incorporated within larger institutions where most subjects are taught through lectures and seminars a difficulty can arise trying to create a studio culture within a classroom setting. This study explores the distinctive character of the design studio and design pedagogy to develop recommendations for institutions and educators as to how to provide and manage studio spaces that will strengthen their students’ creative skills and experience. Applying Henri Lefebvre’s position that space is never neutral but is constructed through multiple inter-related social and political dynamics. This study examines five key spheres of influence on the studio as a signature space of learning: the geographic location, the socio-economic status of the area; the pedagogic philosophy; the spatial configuration; and the digital strategy developed for the learning environment. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the parameters of a studio manifesto and to create a theoretical framework that can consider the relationships between the multiple variables that shape the student experience, the thesis references the work of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and his work on habitus, field, and capitals. The framework is developed by applying Doreen Massey’s theories that geography shapes social relations and power dynamics, Donna Haraway’s work on situated knowledges and the work of bell hooks and Paulo Freire in relation to educational equality. It is anticipated that the outcomes of the analysis and the new recommendations will consist of guidelines that enable institutions to create studio spaces which can be configured to their specific socio-geographic contexts and to digital transformations in pedagogy.