THE ROLE OF INFORMAL STRUCTURES IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN EDUCATION

Informal education contributes to the development of the student's design skills and the performance of architecture education by addressing subjects that do not fall directly into the curriculum. This study is mainly about the development of students' design thinking skills in informal education. In order to make an assessment, a case study was conducted on the Bademlik Design Festival (BTF), which can be described as an important example in the field of informal education. By adhering to the method, surveys were applied to the instructors and students participating in the BTF. The concepts obtained according to the survey results are based on a detailed conceptual framework. Then, by interpreting this conceptual framework, students' learning outcomes are revealed. As a result, it is observed that the students in the workshops conducted at the BTF gain design thinking skills such as “interaction, free and original thinking, innovation, communication and dialogue”.