An Awareness Experience by Empathic Design Method in Architectural Design Education

Abstract

Purpose In architectural education, the most important outcome aimed for architect candidates to acquire is the ability to show empathy. This study focuses on designing for users who have special physical needs while addressing the concept of establishing empathy together with universal designing principles in architectural education. Design/Methodology/Approach The empathic design method has been selected as the method of this study. As part of the study, it is aimed for students to offer a design solution in which they would fictionalize a universal design concept together with the empathic design which grounds on universal design principles. Findings As a result of the study, it was observed that when given a key method during the design process, students could approach the design with different points of view and interpret the datum with different approaches. Research Limitations/Implications This study, as part of the Çukurova University Department of Architecture Interior Design class, students were asked to implement interior design projects using the empathic design method with user groups of their choice in terms of characteristic and age range following the empathic design process. Social/Practical Implications It is to develop the awareness of architecture students in the creation process and such studies with different approaches and models to develop their perspectives. Originality/Value To increase the prevalence of accessibility and the participation of the disabled in society, the empathic design method can be foreseen to be a key method in other studies in architectural education.