Visual storytelling and place-based learning: a generative approach to architectural cultural awareness

In architectural learning, it is difficult to stimulate cultural awareness through the traditional education approaches, which results in historic places being neglected as knowledge sources. This research explores the premise that sketch-based visual storytelling may act as a generative approach to connect cognition, emotion, and behavior in historical contexts. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to explore a learning experience comprising two phases: the first is a formal educational setting, and the second is a historical and cultural context, aiming to investigate the role of sketch-based storytelling in enhancing cultural awareness. MAXQDA was employed to code the students’ storyboards on three levels of cultural awareness, manifesting a gradual transition of spatial perception to emotional attachment and behavioral involvement. The fourth transformative condition occurred when the three dimensions aligned, enabling an integrated perception through which place meaning was redefined. Findings indicate improvements in students’ depictions of architectural details and spatial organization, their emotional reactions to ambiance, and their behavioral orientations toward usage and mobility. Their cultural awareness has been enhanced. The study contributes new findings by positioning visual storytelling as a learning tool, providing a reproducible procedure to incorporate place-based learning into architectural learning as a means to promote cultural awareness.