Developing Design Strategies within Vernacular Context: A Social Responsibility-Based Approach to Architectural Education

Although architecture is inherently shaped by social, cultural, and environmental factors, contemporary practices often limit architects’ engagement with broader societal responsibilities. Integrating “social responsibility” concept into architectural education provides a framework to address this gap, emphasizing ethical responsibilities, sustainability, and community involvement. Architectural Design Studio 3 at Abdullah Gül University, conducted during the 2022 and 2023 academic years, explored this idea by focusing on culturally significant sites, Divriği/Sivas and Büyükada/Istanbul, to study human-environment interactions and local habitat sustainability. Students conducted multidimensional design research to develop strategies at urban, neighborhood, and building levels. This study evaluates how well their design concepts reflect social responsibility principles. For this, a mixed-methods approach was used: first, a systematic literature review and thematic analysis were employed to define social responsibility principles in architecture; then, students’ concept statements were analyzed through content and thematic analysis. The findings show that these principles effectively guided students in developing inclusive spatial strategies responsive to cultural and environmental contexts. This highlights the importance of incorporating social responsibility principles into architectural education to enhance students’ ethical awareness, contextual understanding, and inclusive design thinking.