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Volume 13 | Issue 4 | Year 2026 | Article Id. IJCE-V13I4P107 | DOI : https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V13I4P107

Design Studio Pedagogy during Disruption: A Study of Competition-based Studios in Postgraduate Interior Architecture Education

Deepiga Kameswaran, Kumudhavalli Sasidhar, Monsingh David Devadas

Received Revised Accepted Published
07 Jan 2026 09 Feb 2026 08 Mar 2026 28 Apr 2026

Citation :

Deepiga Kameswaran, Kumudhavalli Sasidhar, Monsingh David Devadas, "Design Studio Pedagogy during Disruption: A Study of Competition-based Studios in Postgraduate Interior Architecture Education," International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 87-113, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V13I4P107

Abstract

Architectural design studio constitutes the epistemological core of architectural education, which is a culmination of theory, practice, and experiential learning. In the same way, postgraduate interior architecture education has a design studio as its key pedagogical framework. Disruption of conventional studio environments happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating unavoidable transitions to remote and hybrid modalities of studio learning. The disruption and, in turn, the shift in modality of learning lead to crucial questions regarding the structural resilience and adaptability of competition-based studio pedagogy in different contexts. Current studies on hybrid learning and design studio pedagogy have principally relied on qualitative reflections. Limited studies using statistical validation were found in parameter-driven comparisons of studio models across pre-, during-, and post-disruption phases. Evaluation of competition-based postgraduate studio projects to determine structural continuity across disrupted contexts remains underexplored. This research paper aims to comparatively evaluate such design studio projects conducted across pre-disruption, disruption, and post-disruption phases by a structured comparative case study design using literature-derived pedagogical parameters. A Yes/No matrix for the structured set of parameters was charted across the three cases and converted into binary form to evaluate the comparison quantitatively. The research further aims to statistically validate the resilience and continuity of studio pedagogy using a structured binary framework and chi-square analysis. A chi-square test of independence was conducted to examine differences among the cases. The statistical results indicated no significant difference across the identified parameters. These findings suggest structural pedagogical continuity despite contextual and instructional shifts, consistent with established design studio practices, i.e., competition projects. Within the structured analytical boundaries of this study, it concludes that competition-based studio frameworks demonstrate measurable resilience across disrupted academic conditions and sustain professional continuity by reinforcing competency skills and practice-aligned learning at the postgraduate level. This study is a comparative pedagogical model analysis, not an outcome evaluation study.

Keywords

Design Studio Pedagogy, Competition-Based Studio Projects, Resilience in Studio Pedagogy, Hybrid Design Studio, Postgraduate Architectural Education in India, Disruption in Design Pedagogy.

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