Studio Properties: A Contribution to Knowledge in Design Education

In this paper, we present a critically reflective summary of a five-year collaborative project exploring the pedagogy of the Western design studio and the final output of that work, the book ‘Studio Properties; A Field Guide to Design Education’. We initiated the project in response to the absence of a comprehensive description or definition of the educational studio, which researchers could use to orientate their work, and educators could use to inform their teaching practices. The project concluded by rejecting any explicit description or definition of studio. Continuing that work, we proposed an alternative approach to understanding studio. Rather than attempting to define studio, we focus on making its properties visible and reveal its complexity and significance as a pedagogy. In the paper, we outline the process behind our conclusions and discuss some of the key knowledge and issues surrounding studio pedagogy. These issues include critical conditions that educators and researchers should consider when engaging with studio knowledge, particularly its contextualised and entangled nature.