The IDEA Studio is a curricular approach at Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University) launched in the spring semester of 2016 with the support of a 2015 NCARB Award.
Our studio establishes a framework for an interdisciplinary and experimental design research studio that integrates practice concerns and educational objectives with a focus on investigating the potential for innovative material strategies that offer new formal and spatial possibilities. Primary means of investigations are facilitated through manual and computational design approaches, involving examination of existing theory, geometric explorations, and prototyping from partial to full scale mock-ups. Acknowledging the broad and rapid societal, environmental, and technological changes that are impacting the built environment, we offer a flexible studio framework that aims to develop innovative design approaches and tools to tackle these challenges. The studio puts special emphasis on understanding the impact of emerging knowledge in the associated fields of design, engineering, and sciences, design technologies, building technology integration, and innovations in material, with the goal to enhance building performance and human experience. Projects explored in the studio have ranged from the product to building and urban scales, including speculative installations, full scale design-build, and urban scale public art projects, engaging with our network of local, national, and international partners in academia and industry.