Abstract:

Design means using language to reconcile both the designer’s personal approach to conceptualization and debates which are open to the public. In an architecture department, the way novice architects express their designs, and the paths followed, are among the leading topics explored by academics. Especially in theoretical courses given outside the studio, the presentation of material via slides reduces the students’ participation and interest in the lesson and, parallel to this, the level of attendance. With this in mind, an experiment was made among 26 third-year students in a course on Contemporary Building Technologies given in an Istanbul school of architecture, with the aim of promoting one-on-one teacher-student participation and improving the students’ course performance. Said performance, along with the slide presentations during class, was measured using two distinct methods of examination. In the mid-term the classical method was employed, with students expressing in writing their thoughts on designs of their choosing as based on the knowledge they had acquired during the course. In the final semester, on the other hand, the students’ performance was measured by subjecting them to an examination in which they expressed their designs both in writing and in sketches. At the end of the experiment it was seen that the use of writing and sketching together as an architectural tool had improved interest and participation in the course compared to the mid-term. Although students of architecture have various ways of expressing themselves while reading the built environment, the conveying of their ideas through both sketches and writing as they conduct this reading played a significant role in improving performance. The present article calls attention to how students in schools of architecture, especially in theoretical courses, participate and perform better when writing and sketches are used together.

Keywords:

Writing, The use of writing as a tool, Sketch, The use of sketching as a tool.