Abstract

University architectural education aims to graduate architects with abilities and potentials that fulfil the demands of the labor market. The university study plans contribute significantly to the formation of the students’ architectural thinking and provide them with the necessary knowledge of the heritage of their country. In addition, the rapid advance in communication technology gives them the chance to be exposed to and affected by modern global projects. This study aims to measure the extent to which students are affected by the urban cultural heritage and to investigate underlying principles of the educational process and factors that influence the orientations of thought among architects and interior designers in both Gaza and Amman cities. The study uses three tools: a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of architects and interior designers who graduated in the years from 2010 to 2015, analysis of graduation projects prepared in recent years and were based on urban cultural heritage, and analysis of the academic plans of the department of architecture and the department of interior design. The research concluded that the academic plans include few courses only that present conceptions of traditional architecture. Furthermore, few students utilized traditional concepts and elements in their graduation projects. Most of the questionnaire respondents support the need to preserve the traditional architecture. The study shows that the most important dynamics that affect the intellectual trends of the respondents are: the need to meet the demands of the users and the exposure to regional and international projects—the last confirms the significant impact globalization has on respondent architects’ choices.