Studio culture goes online at Taubman College

As the spread of the novel coronavirus prompts a cascade of event cancellations and school closures, the rest of the Spring 2020 semester hangs in the balance for many design students and educators. 

Just this week, Columbia University, Princeton University, Harvard University, The Ohio State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and University of California, Berkeley and others have announced school closures to varying degrees as these institutions formulate plans for moving instruction out of the classroom and onto the internet for (at least) the remainder of the semester. At many universities, mid-reviews are just around the corner or have just taken place, leaving the remaining half-semester in limbo for students and professors, alike.

As educational institutions transition toward a yet-to-be-determined period of all-remote coursework, the deeply social culture of design studio is being challenged from multiple angles, as well.

Anyone who has been through architecture scho...