The Metaphoric Perceptions of Architectural Design Students On The Concept Of Jury System In Architectural Design Education

Abstract

The core of the architectural curriculum is based on the design studio which focuses on learning by doing. The learning process in the design studio is takes place in critic sessions. These sessions are kind of communication of ideas and transmitting of knowledge from instructor to student.

In contrast to other disciplines, in the architectural design education the evaluation and the assessment are the important part of the learning and teaching process. The Jury system is a traditional architectural learning assessment tool. In this system the student present his/her work in the front of the jury and get feedback or criticism. According to Webster (2006), Jury is the most performative stage of education where the student and agency (the discipline of architecture-as represented by the critics) actually interact. (Webster, 2006).

The aim of this study was to reveal the perceptions of architectural design students’ about the ‘Jury system’ as an grading system in architectural design studios. The participants for this study included second, third and fourth grade architectural design  students enrolled in the Department of Architecture  at the Faculty of Architecture of Mersin University during the 2014-2015 school year. To collect data, each participant was asked to complete the prompt “A jury is like . . . …because . . . …..”  . Phenomenological design was used in the study. The content analysis technique was used to analyze and interpret the study data. The detailed discussion will be presented in full paper.