From not yet knowing to achieving directionality

Abstract

This paper investigates the active role of materials in shaping ideation processes during interdisciplinary studio-based collaborations. Using ethnographic data collected from a graduate-level course conducted across multiple studio settings, we analysed how materiality facilitates interactions between students and studio instructors meeting for the first time when creative ideas are not yet fully formed and knowledge of unfamiliar materials is not yet embodied. The findings elucidate how certain materials are central to (1) demonstrating, (2) understanding, (3) sharing, (4) explaining, (5) generating and (6) challenging aspects related to ideation processes within such interactions. We conclude this work by emphasising the need for further research that focuses on material mediation in the context of student–instructor relationships.