Evaluating the Physical Environment of Design Studios: A Case study in Malaysian Private Architecture Schools

Understanding the notion of learner's experiences in the design of physical environment of an architecture design studio is a necessity as it contains certain values of influence. It is due to the unique learning experiences which are accrued particularly in design studio that is continued during professional practice as well. Most architectural campuses in Malaysian Private Higher Education Institutions (MPHEI) are devoid of certain important elements and this issue needs to be looked into seriously. Apparently, most architectural design studios today have different physical settings, and have developed their own learning culture based on the typical space that they have. Reviewing the physical environment and how it contributes to the social environment in MPHEI's architectural context requires certain understanding on the learner's psychological needs, expectations and in the same time to meet the educational objective which is never an easy task. Hence, this paper reviewed the studies of the possible physical environment approaches in connecting the learner's connections in architecture studio learning environment. A questionnaire survey with Likert-scale components, and semi-structured interview on learners of five distinguished Private Architectural schools in Malaysia unveiled several significant findings that can lead entrepreneurs to upgrade the physical environment of these MPHEIs in order to cope with the demands of the stakeholders.