Architectural design students' explorations through conceptual diagrams

Abstract

Views of creativity highlight the importance of incubation or the significance of sketching as a means of seeing emergent properties. Both views put design students at a disadvantage. This study investigates the strengths and weaknesses of an alternative approach to design education, in which students were asked to develop a design idea through conceptual diagrams. This study investigates how conceptual diagrams might help architectural students to see the relationships between concepts and space and coordinate their dual development through conceptual diagrams. The study presents the development of the ideas of 13 second-year architectural students. Students' logbooks, together with their midterm and final review presentations, were studied to determine whether students drew any conceptual diagrams, whether they were instrumental in spatial organization, and how they introduced changes during the design process. The findings showed that this particular design education approach helped students start the design process and stay focused throughout the design process.