Stress and the Studio: Architecture Students and Teamwork

Kelly Tang (School of Architecture University of Illinois)
Kathryn H. Anthony (School of Architecture - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Background: More often than not, architecture students have experienced poor, stressful teamwork experiences in design studio. Yet in the profession, teamwork is imperative in order to have a successful project. This study explores architecture students’ experiences with studio group projects.

Aim: How and why do teams of architecture students in studio succeed or fail, and how can teamwork be improved?

Method: An online survey was distributed via Facebook to architecture students, asking about their positive and negative experiences in team projects. The survey included quantitative and qualitative questions asking respondents to elaborate on specific incidents that had occurred, both positive and negative. A total of 30 survey responses were received.

Results: Survey results show that architecture students overall had a positive experience with teamwork, however many recounted sharply negative experiences as well. A majority felt that choosing their own partner was best for asuccessful team. In both positive and negative experiences, a majority of students believed that they had done more than their share of required work. Conclusion: Findings suggest that most negative teamwork experiences concern personality differences and poor communication. Suggestions to improve teamwork emphasize the need for fair grading.