A Cross‐Cultural and Interdisciplinary Collaboration in a Joint Design Studio

Abstract

A design studio is a critical venue for design students, as they are educated to develop design thinking and other skills through studio courses. This article introduces a design studio project in which Korean and Malaysian students worked jointly for one semester to design affordable urban housing. The Korean students were interior design majors and the Malaysian students were architecture majors; thus it was thought that the students' areas of expertise were likely to differ. It was also anticipated that the students would display cultural differences in terms of housing and planning practices. The motive for starting the joint design studio was the idea that a cross‐cultural collaborative working setting could redefine students' thinking styles and stimulate students to obtain non‐routine perspectives on the design of buildings and spaces. Through observation and interviews, we explored how students tackled affordable housing problems within the context of cross‐cultural and interdisciplinary design education. Collaborative learning in a joint studio situation supplemented students' expertise, re‐orienting approaches to design and opening up a holistic approach to the design issues of affordability, sustainability and community. Overall, the practical learning in the joint studio project validated the importance of exploring alternative solutions based on varied levels of information, and input of those from different educational and cultural backgrounds. The cross‐cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration allowed for a previously unavailable enhancement of design education by encouraging students to obtain divergent thinking for innovative design ideas.

Visual Communication for Students’ Creative Thinking in the Design Studio: Translating Filmic Spaces into Spatial Design

“…Guilford pointed out that creativity is closely related to the ability to reconstruct problems and reinterpret thinking, which leads to freedom from fixedness when developing logical solutions [16]. Constructive awareness is essential for promoting reinterpretations in design development [17,18]. Constructive perception provides designers with the opportunity to be more creative by allowing them to change focus and perceive in different ways [19].…”

A collaborative design studio approach to safeguard waterfront resilience in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zeland

“…(De Hei et al, 2015;Neuman, 2018). This approach encourages students to learn non-routine perspectives and promotes cultural exchange and an appreciation of diversity through sharing different design perspectives, learning new approaches and techniques (Hirt and Luescher, 2007;Kim, Ju and Lee, 2015). In this process, knowledge is socially constructed, through a learning process that occurs via conversations, collaboration and constructive conflicts.…”

Designing an archaeology centre for students

“…The creativity is driven by original connections between fields and cultures, new modes and techniques (Hasirci & Demirkan, 2003;Hasirci & Demirkan, 2007), and the approach to design in both students and instructors, peer-to-peer interaction, student-centric learning, technical and theoretical knowledge, design skills and self-confidence is increased with cross-cultural exchanges (Ozkan & Mutdogan, 2018;Tasli-Pektas, Aybar, Savut & McKinnon, 2015). The student projects that combine the technical and social aspects contribute positively to students' education (Bruno, 2017;Kim, Ju & Lee, 2015). Moreover, understanding social relations and diverse values and how they reflect on design strengthen thee design education by exposing students to the richness of other cultures (Bonenberg, 2016;Dorst & Cross, 2001;Hadjiyanni, 2006).…”