Studio exercises are short-term and open-ended design activities that represent a constructivist learning approach by limiting design domains. They are student-centered, model and process-oriented educational tools. These qualities make studio exercises potential tools for integrating contemporary Digital Design thinking into architectural education. This research aims to reveal these potentials by defining an analytical perspective and logical connections between the pedagogical intentions of studio exercises and the theory of Digital Design.

The first chapter of this research includes a definition of the research problem. The research method and strategy, along with the data sources are explained. Research questions and sub-questions are listed, then the proposed contribution of this research is discussed. The second chapter is a definition of studio exercises in architectural education. First, the context of design studios in architectural education is explained regarding fundamental learning models. Studio exercises are evaluated within this context, defining their role in a constructivist design studio. The second part of this chapter includes various observations of studio exercises. These observations reveal the essential characteristics of studio exercises. At the end of this chapter, findings are discussed and research questions are clarified.

The third chapter is about a logical definition of Digital Architecture. Four fundamental transformations defined by Digital Architecture are explained. At the conclusion of this chapter, the importance of studio exercises for the education of Digital Architecture is explained and a down-to-top approach to studio transformation is proposed.

The fourth chapter is the intersection of the two above fields, including a definition of a digital transformation model for traditional studio exercises. The final chapter includes an evaluation of the findings and definition of further research and development subjects. The appendix section includes the translation notes and explanations of various studio exercises. Also, the computer codes of two digital studio tools mentioned within the research are included in this section.

This is the brief of my Ph.D. thesis completed at YTU in 2009. It includes example exercises from first-year studios, explaining their computational potentials within a logical construct. However, it was not finished completely, instead, it opened new perspectives for my studies today. The dissertation is in Turkish. You can download it here: [PDF File]

(“Folding”, 2008, N.Kozikoğlu, M.Erdoğan, F.Ö.Akipek)

(“27-Cube”, 2007, Ş. Yalınay)