Impacts of Pandemic on Urban Pedagogy, Research, and Practice: Online Studio Pre-Requisites, Opportunities, and Pitfalls
Abstract
![](/public/site/graph.png)
Online studios gained popularity in the wake of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Physical “lockdown” of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) forced the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan to allow universities to carry on learning and examination through the online mode. HEC developed protocols and in consultation with university administrations recommended faculty training, procedural formulation, and technology development requirements for the continuation of online classes and examination. This initiative motivated the departments and schools of architecture in different universities to undertake online classes as well as studios. Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), the accreditation body, laid down further protocols for conducting online studios and juries. Thus, between spring 2020 and spring 2021 an online studio pedagogy emerged. The current study brings together thinking, experiences, and viewpoints on online studio pedagogy through a review of webinars and online documentation, conducted along with the interviews of professionals, academics, and students. The main objective of this research is to verify the significance of online studio vis-à-vis studios and juries conducted physically. It also aims to delineate the pre-requisites, opportunities, and risks involved in online studios in the context of Pakistan. Students’ feedback on the importance and preference of online or physical studio was collected through online survey and face to face (F2F) discussion. SPSS was used to correlate the variables. The study would help studio instructors and learners to improve their capabilities, equipment, environment, and daily discipline. Moreover, it is also expected to contribute in the discussion on National Curriculum development towards a more realistic, relevant, and resource efficient means for architectural education.
Downloads
References
Architects Accreditation Council of Australia. (2019). Online architecture education and the Australian context. https://www.aaca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Online-Architecture-Education-Paper.pdf
Al Maani, D., Alnusairat, S., & Al-Jokhadar, A. (2021). Transforming learning for architecture: online design studio as the new norm for crises adaptation under COVID-19. Open House International, 46(3), 348–358. https://doi.org/10.1108/OHI-01-2021-0016
Alnusairat, S., Al Maani, D., & Al-Jokhadar, A. (2021). Architecture students' satisfaction with and perceptions of online design studios during COVID-19 lockdown: The case of Jordan universities. International Journal of Architectural Research, 15(1), 219–236. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-09-2020-0195
Ceylan, S., Şahin, P., Seçmen, S., Somer, M. E., & Süher, K. H. (2021). An evaluation of online architectural design studios during COVID-19 outbreak. International Journal of Architectural Research, 15(1), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-10-2020-0230
Fleischmann, K. (2019). From studio practice to online design education: Can we teach design online? Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 45(1), 1–19. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/208589/
Geropanta, V. (2020). Mind the gap - Education and profession. In Shaban, K. J. Rethinking Architectural education in South Asia (pp. 102–109). Institute of Architects Pakistan. https://iap.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Rethinking-Architectural-Education-in-South-Asia_compressed.pdf
Higher Education Commission. (2013). Curriculum of architecture B. Arch (5 - Year). https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/universities/RevisedCurricula/Documents/2012-2013/Architecture%202012-13.pdf
Hassanpour, B. (2022). Transformational contribution of technology to studio culture: experience of an online first-year architecture design studio during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Architectural Research, (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-12-2021-0328
Iranmanesh, A., & Onur, Z. (2022). Generation gap, learning from the experience of compulsory remote architectural design studio. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 19(1), Article e40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-022-00345-7
Ibrahim, A. F., Attia, A. S., Asma'M, B., & Ali, H. H. (2021). Evaluation of the online teaching of architectural design and basic design courses case study: College of Architecture at JUST, Jordan. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(2), 2345–2353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2020.10.006
Jenson, M. K. (2007). Educating the 21st century architect: Complexity, innovation, interdisciplinary methods and resarch in design. In A. M. Salama & N. Wilkinson (eds.), Design studio pedagogy: Horizons for the future (pp. 47-62). The Urban International Press. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303079610_Design_Studio_Pedagogy_Horizons_for_the_Future#fullTextFileContent
Komarzyńska-Świeściak, E., Adams, B., & Thomas, L. (2021). Transition from physical design studio to emergency virtual design studio. Available teaching and learning methods and tools—a case study. Buildings, 11(7), Article e312. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11070312
Ozorhon, G., & Lekesiz, G. (2021). Re-considering the architectural design studio after pandemic: Tools, problems, potentials. Journal of Design Studio, 3(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.46474/jds.927181
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. (2021, October 15). Final results (Census-2017). https://www.pbs.gov.pk/content/final-results-census-2017
Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners. (2020a). State of architecture and town planning profession in Pakistan. https://pcatp.org.pk/document/Report_2020_State_of_Profession_Survey_Report.pdf
Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners. (2020b). PCATP policy guidelines for online teaching-learning and assessment implementation during COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.pcatp.org.pk/document/Policy%20PDF%2020-4-2020%20final.pdf
Salama, A. M., & Wilkinson, N. (2007). Design studio pedagogy:Horizons for the Future (pp. 3-10). The Urban International Press. https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/49951/
Salama, A. (2020). Learn, un-learn, re-learn. In Shaban, K. J. Rethinking architectural education in Pakistan (108–153). Institute of Architects Pakistan. https://iap.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Rethinking-Architectural-Education-in-South-Asia_compressed.pdf
Shekhawat, G. S. (2020). Mind the gap – Education and practice. In Shaban, K. J. Rethinking architectural education in South Asia (178–287). Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP). https://iap.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Rethinking-Architectural-Education-in-South-Asia_compressed.pdf
United Nations. (2018, July 24). Unleashing the potential of a young Pakistan. https://hdr.undp.org/content/unleashing-potential-young-pakistan
Wragg, N. (n.d.). The design studio and design education. http://designonline.org.au/the-design-studio-and-design-education/
![Implementing the Pre-requisites](https://journals.umt.edu.pk/public/journals/8/article_2871_cover_en_US.jpg)
Copyright (c) 2023 Humaira Nazir, Fazal Noor
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JAABE follows an open-access publishing policy and full text of all published articles is available free, immediately upon publication of an issue. The journal’s contents are published and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license. Thus, the work submitted to the journal implies that it is original, unpublished work of the authors (neither published previously nor accepted/under consideration for publication elsewhere). On acceptance of a manuscript for publication, a corresponding author on the behalf of all co-authors of the manuscript will sign and submit a completed Copyright and Author Consent Form.
Copyright (c) The Authors