The adaptation process of architecture to the information age has been taking place with a rapid change in the context of tools, methods and cognitive processes. The effects of this process, called digital design, necessitate the reconsideration of architectural design pedagogy in the context of these emerging design approaches. This study proposes a workshop-based framework to support the development of a digital architectural design pedagogy that is rooted on informal learning approaches and aims to adapt to current conditions and needs. The study starts with a literature review examining the interaction of the processes between the designer and the design in action and concept cycle changes with digital architectural transformations. The data obtained from this section emphasizes the necessity of pedagogical models of digital design to be in different cycles in the designer-design relationship. Therefore, the second part of the study continues with an examination of informal learning, which is considered to contribute to this research by presenting alternative approaches to the tutor-student relationship and differing from the commonly accepted pedagogical models with its flexible and adaptable structure. In addition, this section reveals the relationship between the aspects of informal learning and the scope related to the methodology. The developed framework consists of three main axes as; (i) distance – reunion; (ii) replication of transitions between physical and digital environments; (iii) different strategies, from solid modelling to parametric and generative modelling. The framework was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic with three (consecutive) workshops following/adopting online and informal methods. The third section explains these test processes in detail with their particular relations to the framework. In conclusion, the framework is discussed in terms of its applicability and repeatability.

The “SELF.SAFE.SPACE” project, developed by 15 students and guided by 2 instructors within the “Advanced Representation Techniques” elective course, aimed to augment creativity skills in design and visualization by practicing mindfulness methods. During the semester, an experimental learning procedure was followed, allowing learners to explore personal representation methods and reach the edges of creativity using both traditional and digital visualization tools. The studio methodology was based on developing cognitive, skill-based, and affective outcomes while improving design capabilities and enhancing the usage of modeling and visualization software.

The project targeted the creation of a utopic and particular place that students create as a result of safe-space meditation exercises. Mindfulness practices were performed during class, and some students exercised voluntarily between weekly classes. The awareness and attention levels and creativity measures increased each week, as observed by the researchers and confirmed by self-evaluation inventories at the end of the semester. As a result of practicing mindfulness techniques daily, students created and visualized their imagery space and reflected on their personal journey into the augmentation of creativity.

Although current representation techniques allow for the creation of impressive visuals, they often create similar narratives and come to life as repetitions of valid representation methods. This situation may cause digital tools not to give desired results without reaching the ability to use them at a very good level, potentially blunting creativity and preventing students from reaching the limits of their imagination. However, it is possible for students to discover original representation techniques by putting their creativity at the forefront with the right motivational techniques, nurturing their imaginations, and taking bold steps toward unique and advanced representation methods.

In the age of computation, representation methods in design create original narratives and allow the use of existing programs in extraordinary ways, thanks to digital technologies. Within the scope of this research, the study designed in line with an experimental method shows that students can increase their creativity by doing mindfulness exercises and, therefore, can use digital representation methods more efficiently.

The search for novel representation methods is a critical component of the creative design process. Discoveries in science, such as four-dimensional (4D) spacetime, have influenced artists and architects. However, existing representation techniques constrained in two-dimensional (2D) sheets for 4D spacetime representation are considered a limitation of the architecture discipline. Currently, digital game environments are potential mediums for 4D architectural representation. This study aims to decode and represent time as an entity of 4D spaces. Digital game environments provide the necessary flexibility for experimenting in 4D space. Therefore, Unity game engine and C# programming are used together with computer-aided design (CAD) tools to generate 4D representations. 4D representations are based on two different impressions of the time dimension: (1) time dilation and (2) distortion of spacetime. While time dilation is represented via motion blur (mB) script, distortion of spacetime is represented via motion trail (mT) script. As preliminary results, metrics of the time dimension in 4D spatio-temporal representations are introduced. Experimental 4D representations produced via Unity game engine and C# programming are presented to discuss the potential of game environments to be the medium of architectural representation.

Curvature is a centuries-old concept in architecture. Alongside experiences and improving tools and techniques, the tendency to use curvilinear forms has been evolving in parallel with the necessities of the time. This study explores the diversity and potentials of the ways and tools used to produce curvature, with the question of whether the direct link between tools and procedure | method may open up a creative ground in the possibilities of curvature in architectural representation. It is claimed that the method of representation is shaped by the means, technology, and mentality of the conjuncture in which it is produced. The interaction between the representation tool and method in design education is important because of its impact on the designer’s thought process and problem-solving approach. The method of the study, which developed as an iterative process including producing, testing, and evaluating steps, was determined as research by design. The study aims to gain the habit of seeing the elements that appear in motion and time by investigating the possibilities of instruments that produce curvilinear. The reason for focusing on the curved line is that curvilinearity is seen as a way of discovering and representing new relationships that evoke connectivity, continuity, movement, and fluidity by getting out of the boundaries of directness, precision, stability, and the determined. The study, which approaches curvature as an alternative to the normative, rational, and fixed, emphasizes that questioning and designing the tools that lead to architectural representation are also included in the design process. In this context, with the support of the theoretical background established in the focus of curvilinear lines and drawing tools, the materials of the “curve workshop”, which was conducted within the scope of the elective course called Alternative Representation in Design (Tasarımda Alternatif Temsil, in Turkish) held at the Faculty of Architecture of Trakya University in the fall semester of 2021-2022, formed the basis for this study. In this workshop, tools with a mechanical movement were designed to represent curved lines and their prototypes were produced. Curve drawing tools, experienced by video recording, were evaluated together with the reports of each student describing their own work. During the design process, students’ ideas, material choices, or production methods changed and evolved. In this process, students’ understanding of curvature, their criticism, and how they interpreted the curvilinear were factors that nourished representation research as well as their prototypes. In future studies, it may be suggested to consider and investigate the curvilinear in combination with analog and digital environments.

Keywords: Tool, Curved line, Architectural representation, Method.