Studio Culture
Hi guys! It’s Linda and today we’re going to explore studio culture when studying architecture at uni. It’s a very different environment to what you might be used to in school or lecture-type contact hours.
Studio culture is a different type of educational environment that you might not be used to when you first start. If you’ve come from sixth form or college, then classrooms are probably the norm for you, which vary greatly from what it’s like to study in studios.
Student-tutor relationships are more mature at university, because you’re now entering into an adult environment and you are seen as equal to your tutors. This carries through into studio. Tutors are referred to by their first name, which introduces a level of mutuality and even informality into your interactions. Something you have to expect and get used to is the blunt nature of feedback that you might get as you develop your design. Because your tutors get a first-hand experience of your thinking process, and tutorials are literally opportunities to pick apart your designs to see what works and what could be improved, it might feel personal when aspects of your projects are criticised. Eventually, you will come to terms with the fact that this is for the better in the long-term. This is the quickest way to learn how to improve your designs and will prepare you for tough clients when you propose your ideas in the working world. Having a tutor who you get along with does make a difference, but again, if you just feel comfortable with a tutor who tells you what you like to hear all the time, you’re not really taking much from these sessions than you would if you’re being challenged to think more critically from different perspectives about your work.
Studio at the University of Westminster
Don’t get too attached to your work during the development stages. When face-to-face studio sessions resume (for some of you, this might already be the case for the upcoming academic year), be prepared to have your work drawn over, models taken apart and ideas received differently by different tutors. The more things you redo, the more you’re moving forward with your design and getting closer to a better design solution for your project. At the same time, don’t become complacent and make iterations of your work based on your feedback just to make your tutors happy. To a certain extent, there is no right or wrong way to go about your projects, and sometimes your tutors can be wrong about the direction in which they encourage you to develop your work. The best way to overcome this issue is to know your design well and have points to back up your decisions. There’s nothing worse than losing yourself and losing out on the opportunity to build up your identity as an architect by trying to make everyone happy.
The relationship you have with the rest of your peers depends on how well you naturally get along as a studio group. Some students are very open to each other’s ideas; this promotes discussion and allows everyone to learn from each other. Others might keep to themselves and be more protective of their work. The nature of the latter can make group work difficult, but the fear of having your ideas copied can lead people to be more reluctant to share their work. I’d say the use of WhatsApp group chats (including the main one that students usually create before freshers) made connecting with students a lot easier and helped stay connected during lockdown, even when a lot of students returned home outside of London or went out of the country. But whilst physical studios allowed for some conversations to take place, remote learning cannot faithfully replicate the creative atmosphere fostered in this environment. Both relationships with tutors and studio peers vary across each studio and therefore not every studio will have the same dynamic. Where some studios might be really loud and collaborative others may be quieter. This just depends on which group you are put in and how you make the most of the opportunity to engage with the people in your group. Something you will realise is that there are also students that like to move across studios during the day, doing a bit of their work in different parts, communicating with other people and making friends with those from other groups. Our year group last year was split up into eight studio groups, and we had different variations of our second semester brief (the first semester work was the same across the year). It was interesting to see how different challenges were tackled across our cohort. Sude and I had to design a sculptor’s studio, whilst Elif had to do the same but for a deltiologist, designing for a collector. I enjoyed seeing how all our projects developed across the terms.
Crits also provide an opportunity for studio groups to mingle. These presentations are public to most people, so there’s no reason why you can’t (and shouldn’t) listen in on some crits from other groups. Again, observing the culmination of weeks and months of work can be an opportunity to learn different ways to approach design problems, and really shows how there is no particular way to come out with a great project. Guest critics (including practicing architects) can also attend your crits, so it’s worthwhile knowing what you’re proposing like the back of your hand.
Hopefully, this post gave you an insight into what studio is like under normal circumstances. Don't forget, your experience in the studio does vary on a lot of different factors like tutors and your peers but it is mostly determined by your attitude (towards these sessions) and your perseverance to improve. At the end of the day, studio culture becomes what you make of it. We hope you enjoyed this week's post! If you have any contributions or comments make sure to leave them in the comments under our Instagram post on @archidabble or get in contact with us from the 'Contact' page. Come back next Friday for a new post!
