Tacit learning in an extended interior design studio

Abstract

Tacit knowledge, an important component of design is widely researched on. However its acquisition in design education still remains unclear. Its difficulty in transference and articulation indicates that it is constructed and thereafter internalized by the student. The social environment of the design studio scaffolds and further shapes the acquisition of tacit knowledge. But as the boundaries of the physical studio are extending to the virtual, how this extension facilitates the acquisition of tacit knowledge is the aim of this study. Constructivist theories are applied to study the above in the Environment and Interior Design programme at the School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Methods of data collection were focus group interviews and studio observations. Participants in the study include students and tutors in various years of the programme.