25 Sep 2020
UNPLUG AND REBOOT
A DAY AWAY FROM ONLINE MODE TO STIMULATE DESIGN THINKING
Organized by School of Architecture, REVA University, Bangalore, India.
Number of Students attended: 39 from 5th semester B section
Course: Architectural Design IV
Date: 25.09.2020
Faculty Studio coordinators - Prof Vidya Srikanth, Asst prof. Kiruthika Selvi, Ar. Rajkumar
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”– Vincent Van Gogh
Introduction to Problem Statement: The 5th semester students have been about 8 weeks into the Design project of Student Housing. The Design studio pedagogy adopted is that of ‘Project Based learning’ where in real world issues are identified and the problem statement is formulated by the students after understanding issues faced by Stakeholders with the help of primary surveys, conducting literature review, background research, precedent studies and need for the project.
The Methodology: The students are divided into small groups of 6 to 7 and mentored by one of the 3 Faculty coordinators, in addition to this; special lectures by Industry experts augment and substantiate the learning. The studio sessions are arranged in 2-hour modules, occurring 4 days a week conducted through MS teams. Group leaders collate the contributions from the members and present the work through PowerPoint presentations.
Hitting a Wall: It was observed that students were experiencing “online Fatigue” due to the difficulties faced in communicating the design using a screen or device constantly. Creativity was not flowing at the desired pace and a cohesive Design was not emerging. To circumvent the problem, a “day away from Device” was conceptualized. Students were instructed to work with their hands with available model making materials, sketchbooks and colors to visualize interesting outdoor elements, striking visual elements like installations, staircase, connecting bridges that can later be incorporated into the Design, akin to a “Part to a Whole” design process.
Teaching-Learning Outcomes: Theentire exercise was a refreshing change for the students as well as studio coordinators, who were surprised to see the output and thinking process of students. The sketches and models were a throwback to the initial semesters where manual drawing and model making skills are honed and perfected. Students were glad to have a day away from the device and enjoyed using their hands to once again create ideas. It will be a revelation to observe the progress of the design and see if this “Parts to a whole” idea will be implemented.For the Faculty members it was learning in the famous dictum “Less is More”, when minimum inputs as facilitators produce maximum results!
We thank the Honorable Chancellor for providing the online learning platform that facilitates learning even for courses like architectural design, albeit with a bit of pedagogical innovations. We are thankful to Director Dr. Sapna Papu for encouraging faculty members to carry out such sensorial learning exercises that bring in a desired mix of blended learning.
