A Systematic Review of Design Creativity in the Architectural Design Studio

Human-Centered Systems Thinking in Technology-Enhanced Sustainable and Inclusive Architectural Design

Human-centered systems thinking (HCST) can be seen as a promising enabler of effective Industry 5.0. This study primarily examined whether architecture students consider themselves systems thinkers and how this affects their design thinking, digital competency, and engagement in sustainable and inclusive design practices. Next, this study also examined the students’ HCST profiles, their stability, and the roles of digital competency, design thinking, motivation, and risk propensity in human-centered design. Using a person-oriented approach and cluster analysis, a sample of Polish architecture students from three universities (n = 208) was classified based on their self-perceived HCST ability. Three profiles were identified, namely high, average, and low HCST. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that the HCST profiles differed significantly in terms of design thinking and digital competencies, while multinomial logistic regression (MLR) analysis revealed that perceived intrinsic motivation predicted that students would be more likely to have a high HCST profile. MLR also revealed an undefined role of risk propensity in the context of HCST in inclusive and sustainable architecture design education. The findings indicate that it is essential to recognize and support students with low HCST throughout their education. It is also suggested to change the focus of architecture study programs to promote students’ systems thinking, and to encourage course designers to create novel and tailored technology-enhanced integrated human-centered design and systems thinking.

The impacts of digital design platforms on design cognition during remote collaboration: A systematic review of protocol studies

For over a decade, technology has been available to support design teams to operate in diverse physical locations and time zones. Despite this, until relatively recently designers have largely continued to work in physically co-located teams. This has all, however, changed in the last year, with designers in many countries being forced to work remotely. The problem addressed in this article is the lack of synthesised knowledge about the impacts of digital modalities on designers' cognitive operations when they are working in distributed teams. With an emphasis on synthesis of existing knowledge, this article conducts a systematic review of research in accordance with the PRISMA framework. The systematic review identifies ten studies that have a common concern (design cognition), a common method (protocol analysis) and a common setting (collaborative yet remote interactions). This article analyses the past research, developing a collective model of cognitive operations in remote design collaboration and synthesising the findings about the impacts of technology (the platforms supporting remote collaboration) on cognition. Through this process multiple gaps in the body of knowledge are also identified, several weaknesses are uncovered and advice for future researchers is developed.

A Systematic Review on FabLab Environments and Creativity: Implications for Design

Fabrication laboratories (FabLabs) and makerspaces are used to transform ideas into tangible products. Used in a design–learning context, they can enhance cognitive and creative skills. Creativity is the pivotal ability to produce innovative outcomes in makerspaces, and several studies have attempted to understand the role of makerspaces and creativity in specific fields. However, a comprehensive study offering a holistic view of the contributions of the makerspaces as built environments that foster creativity is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review on FabLabs, makerspaces, and creativity to address this research gap. While the review was performed using five major databases, only peer reviewed journal articles were considered. The findings revealed that makerspaces help to develop person, product, physical, and social environments, as well as process aspects of creativity. Moreover, makerspaces induce problem solving, collaborative, and communication skills; they also offer appealing environments and technologies for developing creative solutions to real-life problems. We identified and analysed five major themes dealing with technical skills, technological and environmental elements, STEM learning, and skill development, and elaborated upon their importance for enhancing creativity in FabLab and makerspace environments.