Gamifying vernacular architecture education: Enhancing cultural and visual literacy through the spatial reconstruction of Dong Wind-Rain bridges

Na Li, Sitthisak Champadaeng and Kla Sriphet

African Educational Research Journal
Published: March 24 2026
Volume 14, Issue 1
Pages 261-274
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19207325

Abstract

The present study, within the shift paradigm in environmental art design education, focuses on the student problems of "superficial cultural cognition" and "symbolic design translation" that are most frequently mentioned and treated by the discipline. A new pedagogical model through which students may improve their cultural literacy and develop creative solutions in design is the major concern of the investigation. Based on the theories of Game-based Learning (GBL) and Constructivism, the study has developed a pedagogical model which comprises "Cognitive Scaffolding," "Forced Association," and "Visual Decoding." The study object is the Dong Wind-Rain Bridge, a local vernacular architectural typology, through which a dual-deck lexical system containing "22 Modern Translation Keywords" and "18 Traditional Feature Keywords" was created. The students are guided through the full cycle of cultural deconstruction to spatial reconstruction via dual-task drivers under this model. The evidence from the cases and classroom studies reveals that the game's randomized mechanism was instrumental in breaking the students' fixation on the formal imitation of the work. The immediate feedback from the "visual decoding" (draw-and-guess) activities considerably clarified and strengthened the expression of design logic. This gamification model convincingly facilitates the integration of the old construction knowledge deep down with the modern design language; thus, it can be considered a replicable model for the cultivation of cultural understanding and visual literacy in design.

Keywords: Game-based learning, cultural literacy, visual literacy, Dong Wind-Rain bridge, design education, cultural translation.

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