In the end it comes down to the environment you are working in. If it is stressful or not conducive to design, the design process will be more difficult to implement and its results will vary widely. This is specific to architecture, but it can be used to develop other lab, or studio based work environments. Since most of my experience is with Virginia Tech our major studio community atmosphere tenets are reflected.

Main ideas from experiencing studio in the bauhaus method at VT:

Both the students and the faculty share in the development of the studio culture

This culture is conducive to disciplined work that melds different aspects of experience

Time and space are required to give designers adequate conditions to explore the discipline

Discussion, writing, representation, and making are integral to the design process

Students are self-reliant with peers for support, and designs are self-driven with criticism

A line of inquiry is established from work, not final, discrete projects

Faculty members are mentors that all students can engage with

A routine of supplemental lectures to infuse ideas into the studio

Develop a question or line of inquiry for life engagement in the profession

Students and young professionals are the continuation of the discipline

All students have potential to drive the discipline.

In summary: students work as part of a discipline and seek to understand techniques and methods for the future; a permanent place: studio serves as a place that a student can safely explore and make. This is a personal desk that is available at all times as the design process is neither linear nor constant; and a community of students and the professors work together to learn and move forward together in the context of design.