Travel as Architecture Pedagogy: Constructing Student Memories

Abstract

The paper explores how travel, through the experience of study abroad programs, affects the spatial imagination and design methods of architecture students. Travel experiences can be a critical factor in shaping a student's design thinking, as memorable imagery of places, spaces, and people is stored and reassembled along with new experiences in subsequent conceptualizations. The paper seeks to answer several questions: How do profound personal observations and experiences influence student design thinking? How is new context observed, assimilated, processed, and finally implemented? By immersion in a different culture, students acquire a level of insight that significantly accelerates experimentation in their future work. The paper will explicate the role and influence of travel, displacement and creativity in study abroad programs by demonstrating actual student work, project assignments and the pedagogy applicable.