Vision training for designers

Throughout the twentieth century, several institutions sought to reform architectural education by enhancing students' perceptual and cognitive capacities. Notable examples include the American Theory of Pure Design in Boston, the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, BXYTEMAC in Moscow, Visual Training at IIT in Chicago, the Hochschule f & uuml;r Gestaltung in Ulm and the Cursus Kerkelijke Architectuur in 's Hertogenbosch. While inspired by empirical studies of perception and cognition, these efforts often prioritized aesthetic refinement over practical concerns such as sensory limitations and mobility. In recent years, the convergence of design and empirical science has created opportunities to integrate scientific methods into design education. Building on this momentum, we introduce an approach that draws on sensory psychophysics-a discipline focused on measuring sensation and judgment-to train students in perceptual awareness, the experience of proportion and the dynamics of movement through space. This method reconnects design education with the embodied nature of architectural experience.