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Studio Culture: The Role of Learning Environments on Education and the Profession

  
It may seem obvious, but it's worth stating plainly that the spaces we work in have a profound effect on the work we do. There has been an ongoing discussion in the profession--and one which is coming back to the fore--about the positive and negative attributes of firm culture in the U.S.  While this can be a vague area of discussion, and one populated by a vast array of different approaches in individual practices, I seek only to highlight the ways in which our physical spaces impact that culture, and how deeply rooted in our educational environments those attitudes can be.

Love it or hate it, there are many habits and attitudes that are formed in the crucible of the academic studio, and any conversation relating to making substantive and broad-reaching changes in firm culture must begin with a discussion of studio culture. ArchDaily recently posted a fascinating article revisiting the responses and comments to a previous piece addressing the "All-Nighter Culture" in architecture schools. The article does a remarkable job of presenting arguments both in favor of and opposed to this sentiment, but of particular note is the idea that seemed to be supported by both sides. Everyone seemed to agree that, for better or worse, physically locking students out of the studio space would only result in them pulling the same late-night hours at home. 

What this says is that, while you can control the access a student has to the studio facilities, you cannot control their personal or imposed motivations regarding work ethic.  That said, perhaps there are other approaches we can take to the physical environment of studio that may positively impact studio culture. In an ongoing study being undertaken by the AIAS, 48% of respondents indicated a strong preference for working in studio, as opposed to working at home or in some other location. However, almost 20% indicated that their physical studio environment was one of the primary factors in their stress levels during the academic term, and 47% cited their general health and well-being for the same question. 

Whether expressed or implicit, it would be hard to deny that architecture schools generally foster a spirit of competitiveness among students, and it is this competition that can produce a hostile studio environment, characterized by isolation, stress, and unending pressure to do better (than your peers). This issue is deeply mired in a number of related topics of discussion, including the globally perceived disconnect between academia and the profession, but I have to imagine that there is more we can do, in designing these spaces, to identify and address ways that the physical environment of studio can be re-imagined to make even marginal progress in shifting the current problems with studio culture toward more positive behaviors.  





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