framework for the implementation of a virtual design studio model in ...

architecture within universities. 29 Architectural departments in Western
countries facilitated IT to challenge the role of computers in architectural
practice and within academic institutes. These challenges produce CAD
visualisations and digital records and facilitate sharing of drawings and
documents. Andia 30 conducted a survey that examined the effects of
using computers on architectural practice and education in the United
States, Europe and Japan, throughout the past three decades. He
identified five trends that have developed in the architectural academic
community; namely design methods, CAD visualisation, paperless
architecture, information architecture and virtual design studio (VDS).
VDS, the fifth and fashionable trend, according to Andia explores the
potential of communication in the digital era and facilitates the enormous
cultural exchange in these traditionally protected environments in design
studios. Maher et al 31 defines VDS as a computer-supported
architectural studio where team members can be remotely distributed
across space and time. Thus, students and staff can interact and
exchange information using their desktop computers, making the
traditional physical studio out of place. Hence, a precise definition of the
VDS can be that it is a networked design studio that is assumed to
enhance the performance of the architecture students in their learning of
design subjects, where the use of computer-mediated tools such as
synchronous and asynchronous techniques and 3D visualisation
techniques are combined with appropriate learning methods to achieve
effective learning. Many studies 32,33,34,35,36 have explored the advantage
of using VDS in design education.
29
UNESCO. (2003). op.cit. p3.
30
Andia, A. (2002). op.cit. p11
31
Maher, L. M., Simoff S. J. & Cicognani (2000). op.cit. p6.
32
Andia, A. (2002). op.cit. p11.
33
Clayton, M. J., Warden, B. R., Parker, T. W. (2002). op.cit. p229.
34
Kubicki, S., Bignon, J., Leclercq, P. (2008). Cooperative Digital Studio IT-Supported Cooperation for AEC
Students. Santiago, Chile
35
Kvan, T. (2001). ‘The pedagogy of virtual design studio’. Automation in Construction. 10. p345-353.
36
Merrick, K., Maher, M. L. (2007). ‘Motivated reinforcement learning for adaptive characters in openended
simulation games’. ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment
Technology, (ACE 2007). Salzburg, Austria. p127, 127-134.
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