The studio is a space apart in the university, an environment unique to creative and design disciplines. As we emerge into the pre-dawn light of the post-COVID era, we should use the insight gained from the pandemic to speculate about the future. This article invites the reader to speculate about the possibility of a smaller design studio in architectural education: one that is smaller in its spatial, temporal, pedagogical and cultural dimensions. What if, instead of demonstrating the plurality of architectural practice through the breadth and diversity of elective studio 'units', we reduce the scope of design courses to create space for others?