The Symbiosis of Visual and Verbal Abstractions in Architectural Education: A Systematic Literature Review and Case Study

Abstract

The dynamic and constantly changing nature of the current architectural environment increases the importance of abstraction and conceptual thinking skills in facilitating architecture students’ processes of understanding, interpreting, and reproducing architectural knowledge. This study aims to systematically compile existing data in the literature on abstraction and conceptual thinking in architectural education and to offer a learning exercise for developing these processes through visual and verbal abstractions. The first phase of the research entailed a systematic review of relevant studies from the Scopus database. In the second phase, to fill the gap identified in the literature, a case study was conducted within an elective undergraduate architecture course, focusing on decoding architectural knowledge through digital research tools and transforming the acquired knowledge into visual and verbal abstractions through interpretation. Visual-based data (concept diagrams and posters) and text-based data (semi-structured interviews) obtained from the students were subjected to qualitative content analysis, focusing on the learning process and outcomes. The findings revealed that this exercise, based on architectural precedents, helped develop students’ critical thinking skills, explore different design approaches through free and taskoriented abstractions, and recognize abstraction as a skill that can be developed through practice. This research provides insight into how the symbiotic use of visual and verbal abstractions can unravel complex architectural knowledge and how the symbiotic use of manual and digital tools facilitates the transition from understanding knowledge to interpreting and reproducing it.