From Story to Space: Narrative as a Generator of Architectural Design

Abstract

Concept generation is one of the most challenging stages of architectural design, as translating abstract ideas into coherent spatial concepts is often difficult for students and designers. This research investigates storytelling as a conceptual generator in architectural design by examining how narrative structures influence concept development and spatial organization. A comparative experimental study was conducted with eighty first-year architecture students. The students were distributed into two groups with balanced academic performance based on GPA. The control group followed a conventional concept development approach, while the experimental group applied a narrative-driven design method in which stories were translated into spatial compositions through stages of interpretation, abstraction, and spatial transformation. Student projects were evaluated through a multi-jury review system and analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests. The results show that narrative-driven design significantly improved conceptual clarity, spatial composition, and creativity, highlighting storytelling as a structured framework for generating architectural concepts. The study contributes empirical evidence to architectural design education by demonstrating the effectiveness of narrative-driven approaches in supporting concept generation and spatial design development.