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Empirical investigation of factors that enhance development of technology in design process improvement in architecture education: analyses of students' views

Elnaz Imani (Department of Architecture, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran)
Maziar Asefi (Department of Architecture, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran) (Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada)

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN: 0969-9988

Article publication date: 23 February 2021

Issue publication date: 4 November 2021

329

Abstract

Purpose

Technology development quality in architectural design is affected by the quality of the process and factors used to develop it. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors for effective enhancement (EE) of technologies in design process improvement (DPI).

Design/methodology/approach

Major databases have been explored to identify a list of factors affecting technology development in DPI because of the main elements of architecture design education. Then, a survey-based empirical study has been done in two high-rank architecture schools (one in a developing country and one in a developed country), during the years 2015–2018. Data have been collected from analyzing the design process, design reviews, design team viewpoints, researchers' observations and organizations' features about the development of production, conceptualization and communication technologies in DPI initiatives. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been utilized to provide deep contextual data.

Findings

Comparative analysis of the groups showed that high levels of EE of technologies lead to high levels of DPI, and these are because of the positive performance of conceptualization, communication and production technologies.

Originality/value

Comparing two groups, the category of design process and the factors related to the design stages of ask, imagine and improve approved to be the right factors to use technologies in more effective ways. Efficiency in collecting information and doing research, efficiency in developing solutions, efficiency in communicating results, team processes and organization communications have been rated top most effective factors based upon overall categories.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Prof. Nezar Alsayyad, who was always willing to help to find the right documents in relation to this research, which has been started in regard with Elnaz Imani. PhD thesis, entitled “Proposing a model for effective application of technology in architectural design education according to Islamic Thought”, Thesis supervisor: M. Asefi PhD, in Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Art University, and has been progressed with the guidance and support of him during a research visit at the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE) and the Centre for Environmental Design Research (CEDR) at the University of California, Berkeley, whose thoughtful comments and high knowledge and experience gave the authors a golden opportunity and helped the authors to fulfill the research.Research funding: There was no fund for this research.

Citation

Imani, E. and Asefi, M. (2021), "Empirical investigation of factors that enhance development of technology in design process improvement in architecture education: analyses of students' views", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 28 No. 10, pp. 3164-3189. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-03-2020-0148

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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