Teaching Quality Spatial Design in the Studio (Part 1) - What Went Wrong?

Send us Fan Mail Why is there such a lack of quality in spatial design among architecture students? I’ve watched this for a decade, and the research is clear that it isn’t a shortage of talent — it’s a systemic shift in how architecture is taught and conceptualised. Five drivers: (1) the Instagrammability of architecture, where a building is judged by one two-dimensional render rather than the experience of moving through it; (2) over-reliance on digital tools, where students jump straight into Rhino or Revit before mastering anything by hand; (3) curriculum overload, where sustainability, computational design and social justice crowd out the hours once given to spatial composition; (4) theoretical dominance, where a politically charged thesis outscores volumetric quality; and (5) disconnection from physical reality. Some of this hits me in the gut. Trendy geometries and photorealistic lighting are exactly what I was arguing against the last time I taught second year — I once banned circular forms from a project outright, and the students didn’t like it. We used to work through Francis D.K. Ching’s Form, Space and Order sketch by sketch, and you could genuinely master spatial design that way. Phenomenology, tectonic clarity, proportion: these are core competencies, not electives. They should occupy sixty per cent of a student’s week, not ten. Digital modelling belongs in production drawings, not in the thinking. © 2026 Talk Architecture, Author: Naziaty Mohd Yaacob. Image: Overlay on F.D.K.Ching 's book page by Naziaty Mohd Yaacob Save the World Podcast In-depth lectures and interviews on issues affecting the continued survival of human... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show Do subscribe for premium content and special features which will help to support and sustain Talk Architecture podcast on a more in-depth explanation on design thesis and processes. These special commentaries and ‘how to’ explanations are valuable insights and knowledge not found elsewhere!