ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

PROCESSES &
METHODOLOGIES
Theory of Architecture 2

Ar. Fernando C. Pamintuan

ABSTRACTION APPLIED
TO ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN
Architectural Design Processes & Methodologies
 The application of
the tools of
graphic
abstraction to
architectural
NEED
design is aided by
an understanding
of the structure of
architectural
Design Problems.

 Horst Rittel has

identified three CONTEXT FORM
variables of the
typical Design
Problem:
 Performance (Need)
Variables, which
express desired
characteristics of
the object under
design, and in terms
of which the object NEED
will be evaluated
(construction cost,
aesthetic appeal,
overall quality, and
the like).
 Design (Form)
Variables, which
describe the
possibilities of
the designer, his
ranges of choice,
his design FORM
variables (height
of ceiling, shape
of door knob,
type of heating,
and the like).
 Context Variables,
which are those
factors affecting the
object to be
designed but not
controlled by the
designer (land price, CONTEXT
likelihood of
earthquakes, and so
forth).
 A problem can be
said to exist when
there is some sort of
misfit among these NEED
three variables in an
environment.

 The Design Problem CONTEXT

is solved when, as
indicated in the
diagram, there is a
FORM
satisfactory
relationship among
Need, Context, and
Form.
 Consider a small
printing company as an
example.

 The original Need was to

accommodate a printing
operation in the Context
of the downtown of a
small city and the Form
provided was a small,
one-storey building.

 Over time new problems

occur due to different
types of misfits:
 Need/Context –
Property values
NEED
and the tax rate Shift in
increase rapidly, Context
even though the
building still FORM
meets the
printer’s needs. CONTEXT
 Need/Form –
The operation
NEED
outgrows the
building or the
CONTEXT
building
deteriorates and Disparity
is not adequate between Need
for the need. FORM
and Form
 Form/Context –
A change in the
zoning
NEED
restrictions
makes a one-
CONTEXT
storey building
FORM
no longer a
sound financial Disparity
investment. between Context
and Form
 The Design Problem can be caused by
a change in any one or a combination
of the variables.

 The solution to the problem may lie

in the change of any one of the NEED
variables or a combination.

 The Design Solution is not

synonymous with the designed
building; rather, the design drawings CONTEXT
are the embodiment of a new balance
between Need, Context, and Form.
FORM

 The success of the Design Solution is

measured by the way it responds to
all three variables.
 The categories of Need, Need:
Context, and Form can also
Space Requirements
provide a convenient
structure for organizing Relationships Context:
design project information. Priorities Site
Processes Zoning
 Design Concerns, Issues, Objectives Services
Priorities, or Criteria can be
gathered under these Maintenance Form: Macro Climate
variable headings. Access Zoning Micro Climate
Equipment Circulation Adjacent Buildings
 This promotes a balanced Environment Geological Factors
Structure
view of the Design Problem
Enclosure Vehicular Access
and a more complete
evaluation of Design Construction Type
Alternatives.
Construction Process
Energy
Climate Control
Image
Abstraction Applied To Architectural Design
 The Building
Program or
Brief usually
contains most
of the
information
about client’s
Needs.
 Programs for the
average-size
project, such as
an educational
or institutional
building, can be
quite complex.
 Although the program
for our example, A
Four-Bedroom
Recreational
Residence, is not very
complex, it should
serve to illustrate the
basic types of
diagrams that could
be used to describe
functional Needs.
 The first step is to
get a good grasp of
the quantifiable
aspects of the
program. E K BR BR B BR BR B
LR
Breakdown LR

 Using squares to of Areas

show the area
requirements for
different functions,
the relationships of
size are quickly
apparent.
 Summary
 A summary of of Areas
basic program
areas helps
consider some
of the basic
zoning
alternatives and
relationships to
usable site area.
Owner Decks Guest House
 Another quantitative diagram
that can be quite useful
shows intensity of activity or Activity
use.
Intensity
 The intensity of functions is
shown by the relative sizes of
the circles, and the volume of
circulation between functions
by the width of the
connecting bars.

 Detailed estimates of the

Intensity of Activity are not
usually made, but direct
observation and informal
analysis based on the
designer’s past experience
should be sufficient to make
the diagram useful.
Need
 The Bubble Diagram has become
a familiar tool to architectural
designers.

 It can abstract the building

program to conveniently
summarize the activities to be
housed and their required
relationships.

 As we have discussed in the last

lecture, bubble diagrams are
also easy to manipulate as the
designers moves from building
program to building design.

 As long as the basic rules of the

Graphic Language are followed,
these diagrams permit wide
flexibility of thinking.
 Guest Bedroom
Living Room
Another type of relationship

Guest Room


Guest Bath
diagram is the Matrix.

Bedrooms
Important Space

Kitchen
Entry
All the functions are listed along

Deck
Bath

two perpendicular axes and then
the relationship of each function
to the other functions is Entry
categorized.
Kitchen
 The advantage of such a matrix
is in the ways it can be read by
the designer.
Living Room
Bedrooms
 This example demonstrates that
the kitchen is a critical point of
relationship for the whole family
Deck
and their guests, that the
sleeping areas should be isolated Bath
from each other and from most
of the rest of the house, and that
the access to the guest areas
Guest Room
should be controlled.
Guest Bedroom
Guest Bath Isolation
 Guest Bedroom
Living Room

Guest Room

Guest Bath
Bedrooms
Important Space

Kitchen
Entry
Although it is true that most

Deck
Bath

of these observations might
be made intuitively for a
house, the matrix promotes a
Entry
restructuring of thinking that
can stimulate new insights Kitchen
regarding needs such as
separation or communication, Living Room
particularly in more complex
buildings. Bedrooms
 Finally, the matrix provides a Deck
simple graphic reinforcement
of the designer’s memory as Bath
he considers the building
context and form. Guest Room
Guest Bedroom
Guest Bath Isolation
Need
 Although we might assume that most
people use houses in pretty much the
same way (judging from new housing
development design), there are
differences.

 These differences can have a lot to do

with the comfort of a family in a
particular house.
  One way of illustrating the
Log of Spaces use of a house is to make a
log of spaces occupied by
different family members
during a typical day.
 Theresult may be surprising
and encourage the client to
look at housing in new way.

 Theremay also be implications

for design priorities,
orientation of spaces, and
energy management.
 Circulation
is one of the under-
considered functions inherent in a
building program.

 Many of the experiences of a house,

its impact on people, take place as
they move through and between
spaces.
 These are referred to as kinesthetic
experiences; they are dynamic
experiences unlike sitting or standing in
one space.

 Some architects have suggested that

scenarios of desired kinesthetic
experiences, in a graphic form, can be
very useful to design.
  In its simple form, a
kinesthetic map may
use symbols for
different
experiences, but it is
also possible to do
key perspective
sketches to the map
and help create a
sense of what is
desired.

 Again, such
Kinesthetic Map diagrams help the
client and the
designer discuss
and think about the
design problem.