4.2 STUDIO CULTURE POLICY
University of Oregon Department of Architecture
(DRAFT
August, 2006)
The
first architecture school in the United States to abandon the highly
competitive beaux arts model, the University of Oregon Department of
Architecture champions a constructive, collaborative studio work environment.
The 1923 University Catalog asserts the departmentπs emphasis on ≥honesty of
thought and expression, and the stimulation of a spirit of cooperation.≤ We remain committed to this approach,
one that simultaneously respects the intellectual freedom of individuals and
the need for a congenial studio community. While the attitudes and aspirations
of our community are diverse and responsive to the changing needs and circumstances
of the architecture profession, our design studio culture policy reflects and
affirms enduring principles of fundamental value.
Creative
collaborative engagement
Studio learning should be rewarding, exciting, interactive, spirited, and
joyful. Shared studio projects become common ground for open discussion and
creative design explorations. We
encourage all members of the studio community to offer constructive criticism
and exchange opinions, knowledge, techniques, and experiences. In the intermediate
level of our studio sequence, students with different types and levels of
experience are intentionally grouped together so they can both teach and learn
from one another.
To
support peer teaching and encourage a spirit of sharing, studios are graded on
a pass/no pass basis only. This eliminates competition for grades and promotes
a culture of mutual support and collaboration. Studio instructors conduct
individual exit interviews with students and document their evaluations of each
studentπs performance in objective written assessments that address both
process and product with emphasis on the growth and development of student
designers. Students have the opportunity to evaluate design studio faculty.
Through this evaluation process, we promote honest communication while working
to improve the success of future studios and the success of individual students
and faculty members.
Every
student admitted to the program has the opportunity to succeed, and, if
successful, a guaranteed place in the program until graduation. There are no gates or internal
application processes designed to reduce the number of students graduating or
limit any studentπs access to program completion. Success in the program is a
personal responsibility. Students must meet all design studio performance
expectations and take an active role in their own development as designers by
maintaining a portfolio of design work and making efforts to respond to the
feedback they receive from their studio instructors.
Sensitivity
to context
We
celebrate the architectπs responsibility and capability to improve human
conditions and environmental quality. In the design studio we understand the
context of our endeavors as complex, where physical, ecological, social, and
cultural concerns demand acknowledgement, and where diverse stakeholders
deserve a voice. Studio projects explore many kinds of places and building
types while addressing the individual and collective needs of the people for
whom architecture is created. With two campuses, one in Eugene and one in
Portland, and opportunities for studios to travel beyond the region and
internationally, we are committed to exploring approaches to architecture that
make meaningful, appropriate contributions to diverse physical and cultural
contexts.
Comprehensive
design integration
In
founding the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, Ellis F. Lawrence
envisioned the study of architecture in close association with the study of
related building arts. We remain committed to the highest standards of tectonics
and beauty, to understanding how works of architecture are assembled, while
continually exploring the meaning of craft in the context of increasingly
sophisticated practices and technologies that characterize contemporary
society. We are pragmatists and idealists, viewing design as a form of
research, with innovation the consequence of tenacious studio exploration and
continuous dialogue. We encourage intellectual inquiry as the basis for design
exploration, and we seek design excellence without dictating a specific design
aesthetic or ideology.
Our
studio culture is based on a tradition where studio teaching serves as the
primary means of integrating all the meaningful design issues--social and
behavioral, cultural, environmental, site and context, technological,
theoretical, economic, political, and professionalãnecessary for meaningful
design solutions. At the University of Oregon all members of the architecture
faculty contribute to design studio teaching and all areas of expertise have
equal status in the design studio so that students are exposed to the diverse
knowledge base of the faculty and can therefore develop a more comprehensive
vision of practice. We also value
the lessons we learn and the contributions we make to the university community
through design studios that undertake interdisciplinary collaborations.
Recommended
design studio practices
Working
in the Studio
We
encourage that work take place in the studio during studio meeting times and,
when possible, at other times when informal interaction among studio members
can take place. It is essential
that studio participants respect the property of their peers and the university
and maintain a professional work environment that supports the creative
pursuits of all members of the studio.
Collaborative
Design
We
encourage design studios to include collaborative learning experiences that
prepare graduates for professional teamwork.
Involvement
with Others
We
encourage the involvement of other disciplines, outside professionals, and
client representatives who contribute knowledge and alternative perspectives to
our design investigations. We also encourage students to take a design studio
in an allied discipline and faculty members to consider team teaching design
with colleagues from other programs at the university and at other
institutions.
Integrating
the Real and the Ideal
Studio
investigations that draw from the conditions of particular sites and the needs
of the people who occupy them help us to understand diverse constituencies and
places in all their richness. The
department encourages approaches to design-based learning that engage students
in meeting the needs of real communities and learning from the world.
Diversity
of Approaches
We
support a diversity of approaches to studio instruction and offer a broad range
of studio experiences in our curriculum. Faculty teaching studios are
encouraged to support student interest in diverse approaches to design, and
students are encouraged to bring forward and take interest in approaches that
are new or unfamiliar.
Sustainable
Design
All
studios, regardless of emphasis, are encouraged to incorporate methods for
enabling students to address sustainable design.
Human
Scale and Activity
We
encourage studio projects that include the development of spaces of appropriate
human scale that support clearly articulated human activities. Our concern is
not only buildings but the spaces around and between them so as to ensure
legibility and identity throughout the built environment.
Experimentation
with New Methods and Media
We
encourage speculative, innovative approaches to studio education as well as new
design methods and media that may prove effective in addressing contemporary
needs and concerns.
Involving
GTFs and TAs in Studio Teaching
We
consider graduate teaching fellows and teaching assistants to be important
members of the design studio community. Many will become future design
teachers. We encourage opportunities to involve them in various aspects of
design studio education.
Challenging
Every Student
The
studio learning experience should challenge every student at an appropriate
level supporting individual student strengths and helping to remedy weaknesses.
Time
Management and Reasonable Workloads
As
members of active learning communities, students taking studio are entitled to
an appropriate balance between design studio and their other curricular and
extra-curricular responsibilities.
Design studio education should address time management strategies that
help students achieve success in all their endeavors. If studio meetings
outside of scheduled class times are needed, they should be developed
collectively with the consent of all members of the studio community and
instructors of other courses that may be affected.
Interactive
Reviews
We
view reviews as learning experiences that foster an open two-way dialogue
between students and reviewers with diverse perspectives. Students should be
active participants in the reviews of their peers. Faculty members who are new to the department are encouraged
to experiment with the ≥Oregon review≤ format. (An Oregon review resembles a
poster session in which all students simultaneously exhibit their work while
invited reviewers meet with individual students or student teams at pre-arranged
appointment times. In this kind of
review there are several scheduled critique discussions taking place
concurrently, and students generally have more than one discussion over the
course of the review. Between
their scheduled critiques, students visit the exhibits of other studios,
participate in one anotherπs critiques, engage in informal discussions about
projects, and present their work to visiting friends and professors.)
Academic
Advising in Studio Exit Interviews
The
exit interview is an opportunity for both student and faculty member to review
the studentπs progress toward completing his or her degree programs and to
develop an individualized strategy for addressing any weaknesses identified.
Maintenance
of the Design Studio Culture Policy
This policy statement and the recommendations it contains will be reviewed periodically in open forums that invite the participation of all students and faculty members.