Questioning the Role of Critical Thinking in Architectural Design Education

Abstract

The education of architecture is constantly questioned and how it should be done is evaluated. These studies and evaluations are viewed as important for keeping the discussions up to date and sharing them. While the studies expand with the questions and the concepts renewed through them, they also raise many new questions. The discussion along the axis of 'critical thinking' extends from the problem of the mentioned peripheral architectural education, the studio culture and the first year design education. A case study using hermeneutics and supported by interviews with instructors, students, and graduates has been conducted. At the end of the study, views on the studio approach were combined with those on acquiring critical thinking. The results emphasized that the studio environment needs new/different narrative to achieve critical thinking, and it is important that this environment exists for design studios particularly in the first year. The importance of questioning, critical thinking, creative thinking, and awareness of everyday life conditions was emphasized.

Keywords

• holistic approach
• thinking skills
• critical thinking
• architectural design education
• studio culture.