Citation :

Anas Al-zyoud, Bushra Obeidat, "Developing and Evaluating a Structured Façade-Observation Process for Improving Visual Recall in Architectural Education," International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 278-287, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V13I6P119

Abstract

Observation and recall of façade attributes are essential in architectural education, but students' approaches to building façades tend to be intuitive rather than structured, and may hinder their capacity to recall and depict specific attributes when exposed to building façades for short periods. While façade-analysis models identify common descriptors of composition, openings, materials, articulation, and complexity, these descriptors are not typically developed into pedagogic tools. This research offers and tests a process of façade observation to aid visual encoding and recall for undergraduate architecture students. It was developed based on existing façade-analysis frameworks with input from expert practitioners via the Delphi method. The process's short-term instructional efficacy was tested using a single-group pretest–posttest design with a recognition and sketching task before and after a brief teaching lecture. The findings show a statistically significant increase in students' posttest scores. The exploratory nature of the study, lack of a control group, and small sample size mean these results should be interpreted with caution. However, the study offers initial evidence for the teachability of façade observation skills. It provides directions for more evidence-based methods of teaching visual analysis in architecture.

Keywords

Architecture Façade, Architectural Education, Façade-Analysis, Observation.

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