Collaborative Design Studio on Trial: A Conceptual Framework in Practice

Abstract

Addressing interactive and communicative aspects of design process, architectural pedagogy, and practices of urban education, collaborative design studio (CDS) has become a considerable area of interdisciplinary research in the past years. However, a growing body of knowledge in CDS studies shows that the criteria of evidence-based practices, empirical explorations, and theoretical conceptualization of CDS have not been addressed properly yet. Thus, adopting quantitative and qualitative approaches, the study tends to provide a conceptual framework for CDS studies and explore the interrelations between three parameters of the generated model through a case study of collaborative design studio in practice. Firstly, the study tends to conceptualize various dimensions of collaborative design studio based on the previous researches in terms of place, content, process, time, and size. Secondly, the study implements correlational research methods in terms of structural equation model (SEM) and factor analysis in order to explore interrelations between parameters of size, place, and process in a case study. In this way, findings of the study indicate that the parameter of size has significant influences on the process factor in CDS practices. Moreover, it suggests that the parameter of place is not likely to have considerable impact on the factor of process.