Studio-based architecture pedagogies in the new normal

The COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020 and forced entire communities into widespread social distancing. This impacted education with the cancellation of face-to-face learning and a turn toward online, remote, and digital platforms for teaching and learning. The impact of this was heavily felt in studio-based subjects such as architecture, where working exclusively within the digital environment can reduce discursive qualities, limiting material observation, fabrication, and assembly as part of an evidence-based design argument. As programs and professors attempted to transpose their courses and assignments into an eLearning solution, they faced the challenge of meeting or reconsidering traditional approaches, supporting infrastructure and their definition of 'making culture' in the context of a professional architecture degree. This paper presents findings from an ongoing research study investigating student reported perceptions toward novel teaching pedagogies.