Realizing perceptual composition: comparative observations of the application of Rowena Reed Kostellow's method among students in Russian and international design education
Abstract
Realizing perceptual composition: comparative observations of the application of Rowena Reed Kostellow's method among students in Russian and international design education
Incoming article date: 01.10.2025This article presents the first documented implementation of Rowena Reed Costello's compositional design methodology in Russian architecture and design education. Reed's pedagogical legacy, known for its emphasis on spatial hierarchy, visual logic, and perceptual training, has had a profound influence on the teaching of architecture and design in Western contexts, particularly in the United States, but has not yet been adopted in post-Soviet architecture curricula. In an applied pedagogical experiment within an architecture course at RUDN University, student participants were introduced to three core exercises from Reed's program. Additional focus groups included participating architects and designers and graduate students from the American University in Dubai, enabling comparisons of perception and performance across age and experience levels. Rubric-based assessment and qualitative feedback through surveys and interviews were used. The study results demonstrated measurable improvements in spatial thinking, perceptual clarity, and compositional coherence.
Keywords: composition, Rowena Reed Costello, spatial perception, spatial thinking, methods of architectural education, teaching architecture and design, visual logic, spatial hierarchy, compositional coherence, cross-cultural significance