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

А common education in the first three years of а bachelor programme of
environmental design will connect the thinking of tomorrow's
professionals who understand the need for integrated design and
planning along with а genuine interaction between the professions.
Perhaps, eventually, within the context of the UAE as an example for the
Gulf region, it seems reasonable to argue that well-mannered, carefully
proportioned and simply-styled buildings exhibiting due
acknowledgement of appropriate environmental, cultural, and
technological considerations should be the minimum standard of
architecture delivered to clients by tomorrow's architects and
contractors. In turn, civic spaces can emulate successful interiors by
becoming environmentally reassuring settings that people actually want
to experience. Hence, emerge the importance of paying great attention
to design at the front end stage where most of the innovative and
creative ideas emerge and collaborated.
It was found in the exploratory survey 149 conducted by the researcher in
the UAE that design courses in the UAE are usually taught by less
experienced instructors. Considering the time-consuming nature of
these courses, usually most of the practical work is done in the studio by
the student, indeed these courses are usually tutored by mature student
undertaking higher degrees in the university than the instructors
themselves. It was also observed that the courses are taught using the
traditional form where the students gather in the design studio room and
spend hours sketching manually or using CAD programs that they have
been taught in previous traditional courses. Students work separately
on their designs and rarely communicate until the design is finished.
Even though the UAE‟s school system design is taught from the first
year of study to the final year (see Appendix A) most of the teaching
concentrates on the students‟ use of the tools of the specific technology
rather than teaching them on how to utilise it to produce creative
designs. It was also observed that the students spend long hours in the
149 Al-Ali, A. I. (2007). ‘Readiness for the use of technology via VDS: the case of the United Arab Emirates’.
Embodying Virtual Architecture ASCAAD. p439-456
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