Virtual design studio (VDS) has been a part of the discourse of architectural pedagogy for the past two decades. VDS has been showcased as a potential educational tool in schools of architecture often in controlled, pre‐designed experiments. However, the global COVID‐19 pandemic has forced most schools to move their design studios into virtual space. This article aims to explore the potential advantages and shortcomings of VDS during the COVID‐19 quarantine from the perspective of students in a department of architecture. The study investigates three aspects of VDS namely, participating students’ evaluation of the virtual studio experience, the effectiveness of VDS in achieving the studio’s expected learning outcomes and the evaluation process for final design projects. Some 360 students from eight consecutive design studios participated in the study. The results indicate improvement in students’ ability to conduct independent research and in learning new computer‐aided design (CAD) software. Furthermore, the study finds VDS to be much more applicable for third‐ and fourth‐year students. The results also show a significant decline in background informal peer learning among students. Further studies are needed to address the implementation of a more immersive social experience in VDS.

Physical design studio has been the mainstream method of architectural pedagogy for more than a century. Although the past two decades have brought forth emerging possibilities via advancements in digital communication, Virtual Design Studio (VDS) remained an experimental novelty until 2020. The interruption of face-to-face educational activities saw architecture schools facing a rapid paradigm shift because their studio-centred pedagogy retains intrinsic spatial qualities that are often attributed as critical dimensions of the learning process. This article explores the transition to the virtual design studio in a department of architecture after distance education became mainstream due to the global pandemic. The paper provides a comparison between students’ and lecturers’ points of view regarding different aspects of the virtual design studio. This addresses a potential generational gap concerning digital communication in a case study. A survey was administered to a group of architecture students who travelled back home and continued their education online and to the teachers of design studios who instructed VDS after the pandemic outbreak. The findings show the significant influence of effective communication, access to proper resources, maintenance of peer connections, and group works on the positive outcomes of the architectural design studio.

Architecture pedagogy has long been characterised by continual dialogue between enduring studio-centred traditions and successive, periodic changes introduced by new technologies and methods (Antee...