Studio Culture

A reflection on one of my experiences related to studio culture at Louisiana Tech University, begins to shed light on its purpose in the foundation of architecture curriculum. Coming to LaTech from Louisiana State University-Shreveport & Baton Rouge under the discipline of Mechanical Engineering, the studio culture is one that I did not grasp at first. In fact, it took me a while to fully understand the role it plays in the grand dance of Architecture. I commuted back and forth from Shreveport for a while before it began to wear me down and I considered how necessary it was that I get closer to the studio environment. I first thought I would simply have more time to work on projects if I weren't driving so much. Then I realized, once I actively participated in the studio environment, that it was a frame of mind within which I became submersed. I realized that architecture was not a battle I could fight alone really and that if were to make it through, I would have to approach this in a different way than I had traditionally tackled tasks. The emphasis on team work became pretty frustrating to me at many times. I have a tendency to independent and even bossy sometimes. I was the only child for 8 years, then became the oldest of 7 children (which I subsequently help raise). So one might understand how my independence and bossy nature developed. While I have been unsuccessful in completely modifying my behaviors, I have learned that I can become better at what I aspire to practice if I humble myself a bit and absorb what I hear and see in the studio environment. I feel like I've learned to be more of leader than a boss. The differences of those two terms are great. A leader is influential, a boss is dictatorial. I've also learned that it's not always the best idea to speak your mind. In many cases, by listening to others instead of stating my point, I've learned to truely appreciate other perspectives. That's incredibly important in the field of architecture! As translators of ideas, representatives of visions, and leaders in design, appreciation is the fundamental element of success. And the true depth of that is not taught, but acquired through the perpetual experience of studio culture.
An example of something powerful I learned in studio is that I learned to be more reflective. I learned to examine all influences which effect a certain subject, how they relate to one another, and how they relate to my total world view. This is a result of all the ideals taught within architecture actually being tested within the studio environment. This has also taught me to balance the value of my personal satisfaction of a project with the value I place on the professors opinions. I reconsidered how I viewed the role of the professors within the architecture studio. A good professor is truly concerned with the comprehension and advancement of his students, and is not accomplished unless they depart as more skillful, wise and motivated pupils. Setting pretension aside allows genuine dedication and therefore, progress in the development of our ideals as a designer. My objective changed from that of grade value assessment to a more rewarding objective by producing projects which yield personal satisfaction and confidence in the work. As a result, my not being discouraged so easily by the negative criticism of those I respected allowed me to focus on the goals I hoped to achieve and take an informed direction towards those goals.

I think the role of the project in studio culture is to provide a venue for the fundamental lessons of architectural design.

I think the role of the student is to develop the ability and motivation to be self-evaluative and adaptive with respect to their greater design ideals.

I think the role of the professors is to provide informative feedback which improves and supports each students developmental process within the practice.