Nihanja prostorske predstave študentov arhitekture
Oscillating conceptions of space of architecture students

Summary/Abstract: The conception of space is a significant faculty of good architects. At the Faculty of Architecture of the Ljubljana University, we develop spatial conception within the framework of various courses. Since 1999, on the Descriptive Geometry course, we have monitored the level of spatial conception at the outset of the course. For testing, we used the mental rotation test (MRT). Testing conditions have not changed, which ensures the possibility of real comparisons between generations. So far, the results have confirmed the already known and proven differences between the sexes. Some 1,554 students of both sexes participated in the research. The results of the introductory tests from 1999 to 2008 show very minor fluctuations in the level of spatial conception. But the results achieved in the autumn of 2009 exhibited a substantially worse conception of space, which was statistically characteristic of the male population only. We are not aware of the causes of this decline, but some possibilities are suggested in the article. Because of the difficulties of understanding the subject matter, we wanted to know whether the spatial conception was related to success on the course. The investigation disproved the hypothesis. However, the question remains as to whether this lowering of the spatial conception level is a singular example or part of a long-term process. Further investigations will answer this question.

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