Defying tradition or maintaining the status quo? Moving towards a new hybrid architecture studio education to support blended learning post-COVID-19

PurposeThis study aims to provide insight into the patterns and trends in the literature on the direction of future studio education in architecture schools, and can be useful to architecture schools, researchers and boards of studies in making decisions on how to move forward post-COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a thematic review (TR) from SCOPUS and WoS that discuss the direction of future architecture studio education in the post-COVID-19 era and their recommendations for how to move forward.FindingsThe final theme is feedback studies, innovation in studio teaching, and a new model for post-COVID-19 studio education.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the temporal constraints of the data investigated between 2020 and 2022 based on the post-COVID period, only 13 publications were assessed based on the search strings utilized in this study, considering the decision and efforts made after COVID-19 among the participating architectural schools.Practical implicationsThis study will prove helpful to architecture schools, studio education researchers and the architecture board of studies.Social implicationsThis study intends to promote blended learning and enables the student to access the materials from anywhere at any time while enjoying the benefits of face-to-face (F2F) support and instruction.Originality/valueThis is the first review paper for architecture studio education post-COVID-19, as well as the first to use a TR approach to analyze the available literature on the subject. The focus on the post-COVID-19 period and the use of TR allow for a comprehensive understanding of the trends and patterns in the literature on the direction of future studio education in architecture schools. Additionally, this research aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, as it seeks to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic to support the learning and development of architecture students.