Enhancing architectural education through hybrid digital tools: investigating the impact on design creativity and cognitive processes

Abstract Architectural education has been transformed by digital tools, yet significant gaps remain in their application, particularly in supporting the iterative and creative aspects of design thinking. This study aims to investigate the impact of hybrid digital tools on enhancing architectural education and addressing these gaps in integrated design studio at an accredited program. A multi-method qualitative approach was employed to collect research data, including semi-structured interviews with 23 architects and academic researchers and surveys of 50 architecture students. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that while digital tools positively influence the design thinking process and creativity, limitations in interaction methods hinder the ability to reach comprehensive design solutions. Integrating hybrid digital toolkits was found to enhance designer-tool interaction, enabling the seamless inclusion of design thinking stages in an integrated manner and positively impacting creativity across various design stages. This study uniquely contributes by proposing strategies to integrate hybrid toolkits into architectural curricula, bridging the gap between traditional and digital methods and better preparing students to tackle complex design challenges using advanced methodologies. These findings highlight the need for educational frameworks that incorporate hybrid digital tools, stimulate innovation and better prepare students to tackle complex design challenges using advanced technologies.