In recent years, the application of modern transportation modes to the current routes changes the urban layout. As a part of these transformation modes, the HSR applications promise various transformations on the urban space. In this context, rearrangements of axes, the facilities on these axes and the urban space in the surrounding of these facilities put forward an important design problem. Pendik, a large district on the Southern Istanbul periphery; the recent application of HSR Station has started to transform its centre into an intercity transportation node since its opening in 2013. In accordance with the new role, reorganization of HSR hub and its surroundings provides an experimental teaching in the design studio. Due to the exploratory nature of Architectural Design Studio, the content analysis approach is conducted. The integration of the learning experience in the urban design scale was crucial. The reports collected systematically from the students during the semester were coded with respect to content analysis. Both the final design decisions’ and the field-specific evaluations’ levels of relevance with the literature were interpreted. Among the design criteria compiled from the literature; security, connections between places, pedestrian’s ability to use the space easily, diversity of activities and users, and integration of urban texture with the HSR station have emerged for the project site. Research results have shown that content analysis can be a consistent and systematic method in guiding designs in the interface of architectural and urban design project topics.