An architectural studio experience through promenad architecture design

Abstract

Design is a phenomenon that develops by progressing through the architectural production process and contains the accumulation of different views. In architectural education, design is a dynamic and experimental structure where the process and final product are designed. In this study, the architectural project design process is addressed within the framework of the architectural promenade construct. In the architectural project studio, practices were made on perceiving, seeing, experiencing, and designing the space with the architectural promenade, a multi-dimensional concept defined by Le Corbusier. Space indexes were created using storyboards and inspiration boards during the visualization phase. While characterizing the space through concepts and emotions, concepts such as empathic approach, experiencing with movement, promenade, and cinematographic scenario came to the fore. The study aims to contribute to architectural pedagogy by sharing the implementation processes and strategies used in architectural project workshops. Content analysis was used as a method and the materials and designs developed by the students throughout the project processes were systematically examined. The material of the study consisted of project processes and the final products of the 4th-semester students in the 2019-2020 Spring Semester. The urban space with heavy pedestrian traffic, located in the city center of Trabzon, near the historical Kostaki Mansion, was chosen for students to develop promenade proposals by analyzing historical and environmental factors. In this process, it was concluded that students designed unique, context-oriented spaces by integrating urban context and spatial relationships through empathy and movement-based experience, which supports the significance of process-oriented studio practices in architectural education.