The Paperless Studio
In the 1990s Bernard Tschumi implemented, what was then, a novel idea of the "Paperless Studio'' at the scale of a school. It was an experimentation where the design was encapsulated within the computer and displayed through the screen. The paper which was a necessary sibling of the drawing instrument took a leave of absence during Tschumi’s reign. As radical of an idea as these were back then, we are confronting a much more consequential experiment of the “Studioless Studio” today. It is prompting the hard question of “Can architectural education proceed effectively as usual without the studio?” This short essay aims to reveal a few findings observed from the past ten months.
Architectural education has always been predicated on spending long hours in the studio and working amidst fellow students. The studio as it was pre COVID-19, is a locus of exchange for students and teachers. The spread of the pandemic has meant a sudden early-semester turn from face-to-face studios and classroom lectures to home learning. Although technology has eased some aspects of the transition, teachers and students have to unlearn the preconceived expectations of the studio and find new ways of adapting to the crisis.
Pivoting Online
As the studio pivot to remote teaching, unique challenges have arisen, especially in the foundation studios for which the students have not experienced the ‘normal’ studio culture. The studio is the embodiment of architectural learning. It is both a physical and metaphorical space. From peer-to-peer critiques to spontaneous chats and pin-ups, all contributes to the heart of learning. Unlike lectures and tutorials, studio experience cannot be completely mirrored in virtual spaces. However, an extreme situation provides a major impetus for rethinking the status quo. On the one hand, the pandemic presented a mounting challenge as no one has ever seen. On the other hand, it is also a perfect opportunity to ‘unlearn’ the preconceived expectations of architectural education.
Unlearning what you knew
In The Storm of Creativity, Kyna Leski asserts “Unlearning is about questioning what you think you knew”. This was the point of departure for us which triggered a set of questions: What is the studio? Why do we need it? What alternative can we provide in lieu of its absence? In the summer of 2020, amidst the pandemic, the School of Architecture offered a one week and whole day, summer architecture camp designed for high-school students with inclinations for art, design, and architecture. It offered opportunities to discover answers to our questions.
It is challenging to conduct the design studio online, although less problematic for advanced students, it is mighty difficult for beginning students. Particularly when the students have not yet been through the studio ritual. With most having no experience in drawing, design, digital modeling, or exposure to the studio, students of the programme have been learning remotely since day one. One of the most important things we realized is the need to establish a common ground between the two sides of the computer screen. To address this, we developed various forms of downloadable templates. The use of downloadable templates becomes crucial for providing common ground between student cohorts and tutors to work together across the computer screens. The templates, whether it is foldable paper, scaled human figures, or measurable grid, is a physical connection between both parties and the starting point of the design projects.
Print your templates and see you in Zoom
Starting from an A4 print paper template, students begin their projects by folding, cutting, and scaling their design ideas. Progressively, over the course of the week, notions of scales are implemented through the incorporation of different paper thicknesses. By working with conceptual projects, such as
‘Undulating landscape’ and ‘Warping Form’, the projects transformed steadily through drawing and model making. And examined through a system of upload and download protocols.
Although impossible to completely recreate the face to face experience. Since the pivot in February, we have learned a few ways of achieving the specific learning objectives by pairing it with suitable technologies. There are three online platforms needed. The first facilitates the means to communicate, present ideas, or show work-in-progress in a composed manner. It is a linear process made possible with the combined use of software and platforms such as Powerpoint and ZOOM. This process echoes the pin-up or final presentation. Second, the means to share the production of the studio to a wider audience. The display of work mirrors the end year exhibitions. It is a non-linear experience one can adopt by the use of social media such as Instagram, Google Photo, Flickr, or a website. The third platform is a means to work interactively through a problem or engage with at the beginning of a proposition, for instance, Mural, Miro, or Conceptboard, that resembles the weekly ‘desk-critiques’. These are platforms that offer interactivity such as sketching, sharing of case studies, or videos.
Can architectural education proceed effectively as usual without the studio? As much as we attempt to find equivalencies, the aura and atmospheric quality of the studio is difficult to recreate. Those moments of walking by an improvised pinup on the hallway, spontaneous discussion in the corner of the shop, passing observations of reviews in progress, or ad-hoc assemblies of students from different programs working beside one another in the commons. The serendipitous encounters are still irreplaceable. For now.