Supporting Architectural Design Competences Via Theoretical Courses

AbstractToday Architectural education is one of the most questioned area with respect to its content and form. The debate frame is mostly concentrating on teaching methods, processes of education, credit systems, competencies, and how those competencies are to be tested. The problem is the cohesiveness of architectural competencies of the graduates into global conditions. In this context, the design studios as the backbone of the architectural education have started to involve in their agenda all kinds of new methods and theories concerning contemporary architecture. Loaded with these concerns the teaching staffs of M 102 Design studio in Gazi University have initiated a course “The development of architectural space idea” which found its place in curriculum. The aim of this paper is discuss our elective course, offered for the 3rd year students of architecture, “The Development of Architectural Space Idea”. It is a reaction to the degradation effect of that popular culture. The impact of that culture as a “contemporary approach” is getting stronger not only on architecture in practice but also the education. Under those circumstances, it was a necessity to manifest our perspective on Architecture, space and identity of the Architect. Briefly, our goal is to initiate awareness in students about the ruling - innate ideas and content behind styles, movements, and forms. It is our utmost concern to motivate them to consider the real but unseen, and sometimes ignored, content and components of architecture in their personal - professional - aesthetic judgments. By this way, it would be possible to construct an intellectual-individual competency base on which the professional - technical qualifications could be built upon