Presenting a Model for the Evaluation of Architectural Design Courses Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Technique

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Architecture, Faculty of Art, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran (Corresponding Author).

2 M.A. of Architecture, Faculty of Art, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran.

10.22034/aaud.2022.273728.2428

Abstract

The evaluation of students' architectural designs is one of the main elements considered to investigate how learning is in architecture education. Nowadays, the design evaluation has caused students to be dissatisfied with education, and most students believe that this is not carried out rightly or there are no proper evaluation criteria, and professors evaluate students in the courses based on their tastes. Therefore, it seems necessary to examine the appropriate evaluation method that is agreed upon by architecture professors and in which the different dimensions of architectural design are considered. The present study aims to provide an applied method for the evaluation of architectural design courses. It seeks to answer two main questions: 1- What factors should be considered in the evaluation of architectural design courses? 2- What is the weight of each of the effective factors in the evaluation of architectural design courses? This is descriptive-analytical survey research. The required data are collected through library studies, interviews, and questionnaires. The design course evaluation criteria and indicators are weighted by surveying experts (Delphi technique) and using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique in EC software. The results indicated that both continuous evaluation and end-of-semester evaluation must be carried out to fully evaluate architectural design courses. A pairwise comparison between them also shows that continuous evaluation (with a weight of 0.645) is much more important than the end-of-semester evaluation (with a weight of 0.335). Among the sub-dimensions of continuous evaluation, academic achievement (with a weight of 0.345), and the observance of ethics and discipline (with a weight of 0.293) obtain the highest weight, respectively, and among the sub-dimensions of end-of-semester evaluation, attention to the "meaning" dimension, i.e. the idea and the degree of success in transforming it into a form and the responsiveness of the design to the user's mental-psychological needs, (with a weight of 0.445) is identified to be more important than other sub-dimensions (form and function of the design).

Keywords

References

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Armanshahr Architecture & Urban Development
Volume 15, Issue 40 - Serial Number 40
December 2022
Pages 207-220

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 February 2021
  • Revise Date: 16 January 2022
  • Accept Date: 20 January 2022

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