Ideology, culture and the design studio

Abstract The political and psychological neutrality of traditional studio design processes is questioned, and contrasted with the emerging processes and value structures of community design projects. The concept of the hidden curriculum, derived from education research, is used to show how the traditional design studio contains inherent contradictions which prevent real growth and learning. It is shown how the hidden curriculum of the design studio is the overt curriculum of community design, and the attempted suppression of community design studies is a natural reaction of the power status quo.