جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "design-research" در نشریات گروه "هنر و معماری"

Problem statement: 

The design process, one of the common topics among design research, design studies, design thinking, etc. has long been explained by experts using various models. Such divergence necessitates the analysis of opinions to reach a consensus.  

This study aims to present a totality of designers’ actions in the design process to find what designers do to convert the existing situation into a desirable one. Since this aspect of the process has been mainly introduced based on the activities or design stages in the previous models, the extant study also has adopted these components to recognize the totality of designers’ actions. 

This is a review study drawing upon logical reasoning and the comparison of different models of the design process. 

The results imply that the totality of designers’ actions can be explained in a model composed of subjective stages (within two conscious and unconscious levels) and objective stages (including planning, design, construction, documentation/handover), which convert the existing situation to desirable one based on two ranges of analytic (evaluation, comparison, analysis, test, etc.) and synthetic (genesis, conjecture, image, synthesis, expression, production, etc.) activities. In this model, the totality of designers’ actions, not only depends on the specifications of the components mentioned above but also on their relationships. In other words, the totality of designers’ actions in the design process is beyond the reduction done in the previous models that consisted of two components of activities and stages.

Research Problem:

 Design research is the field of dealing with content and procedural areas. Architectural design is the result of assemblage between diverse actors. The advent of technology-driven procedures has broadened the range of actors in the design process. This has led the balance of the share of designers and technical objects in the final result of the design disturbed. With the advent of technology-based procedures, machines are playing substantial roles in design and hence, changed the way designers face architectural challenges. Accordingly, it seems that the current design process has shifted from a reciprocal relationship to a spiral movement in which the role of each actor can be analyzed as an actor in the multidimensional network of design. Consequently, the design procedure would be analyzed as a network of actants. The actor-network theory, as a result, provides an approach to analyze events in the design process and is profoundly applied as a methodological tool. Every detail in the design process is like an actor who changes the course of the design. Therefore, the main problem this research is going to undertake is to explain how the actor network theory works in clarifying the role of actors and their impact on the collective design process.

Research Question: 

The main objective of this research is to enlighten the essence of actor-network theory as a research methodology and tries to find the answer to the subsequent questions: How to analyze the architectural design process with actor-network theory and how does this theory influence designers’ interactions?

 The current research is applying design research methodology in a qualitative approach and tries to explain actor-network theory as a research method in architectural design. A practical experiment is demonstrated due to actor-network theory and socio-technical diagrams were qualitatively described.

 The networked nature of the design process has enabled research studies to investigate the design process by actor-network theory. The analysis of the experiment (architectural competition) revealed that connections of nodes in the network were not hierarchically observable and they had a hybrid characteristic. In this sense, non-human existence in the design process was inevitable. The results of the analysis also revealed that collective design can be network-oriented if, in addition to being valuable among human actors, it accepts non-humans in an influential position. Such a design has a very mixed atmosphere and any (unforeseen) event in it can change the design process like an action. Human and non-human actors must actively participate in the design process to stay in the network. Finally, not only the contribution of the actor-network theory in the identification of the design network was revealed, but also it facilitated the analysis of nodes’ connections. Thus, in answer to the research questions, it should be acknowledged that by using actor-network theory in the analysis of the design process, the black box of design could be opened and with a new composition, design actors could be expressed in a socio-technical way so that designers, users and technical objects have an equal and interconnected role. This provides a new reflection of the links in design process and makes a unique narrative of design to each project. In addition, the role of the actor-network theory is to track actors, highlight links, and provide unseen details in the design network. Moreover, it also changes the way designers deal with design issues; as designers with a socio-technical approach would advance the design process in the context of networks and use any event as an opportunity to intervene in the design process.

Design is a multi-layered thing that has changed to meet today's needs. Collective design evolves by criticizing the individual approach, based on the cooperation between design actors. The basis of this process focuses on the dialogue of actors, and in it, learning within the team is significant. In this regard, the current research seeks to answer the question "What effect does dialogue in collective design have on the thinking and learning of actors?" takes a step The current research, in the category of design research, is conducted qualitatively and has a practical nature. The data in this research were collected from library studies and observing the practical action of collective design, and after coding, they were analyzed with logical reasoning strategy. Interaction in the design process transforms the nature of design from an intuitive and individual matter to a collective event. The findings show that four models of open, closed, hierarchical and network layouts can be obtained in collective design, which can be used to integrate these layouts in order to achieve different results. All these models are conversational. Observations of the practical experience of collective design show that the quality of conversations is more critical and the role of critical thinking is significant in it. Also, considering the three levels of active, experiential and collaborative learning that emphasize collective interaction; The cycle of dialogues affects the learning of activists and causes intellectual transformation. This learning conforms to the social learning model and works as an idea generation machine by providing parallel solutions.

The concept of ‘tacit knowledge,’ first introduced by Michael Polanyi in the mid-twentieth century, has been used in several academic fields and developed in some approaches. However, in architectural theory, it has maintained its commitment to Polanyi’s original definition as a type of mysterious knowledge on which designers work. This article aims to apply one of the developed tacit knowledge approaches to architecture and examine its potentials and limitations. This approach is of Harry Collins in the field of sociology of science, as it is represented in some of his latest written works. Knowledge is transmittable based on Collins’ model. The one that can be transmitted through physical means is called explicit knowledge, while tacit knowledge is the knowledge that cannot be explicated or is not explicated and can only be transmitted through hanging around with others who already have it. There are three types of tacit knowledge. The first type is called “the Relational Tacit Knowledge,” which includes the knowledge remaining unspoken due to some social contingencies. The second type is “the Somatic Tacit Knowledge,” inscribed in the human body and brain’s natural substance. The third type is “the Collective Tacit Knowledge,” which is stored in the society and can be transmitted through sustained living in it.Applying this model to architecture, the transmittable part of architectural knowledge divides into two parts: explicit and tacit knowledge. The architectural tacit knowledge involves the somatic and the collective types. The architectural somatic knowledge is stored in the architect’s body and brain and can be transmitted to him/ her through individual contact with the other agents who have it. However, it can also be acquired through practical experience, try and error, and so on, without having any human sender. Architectural collective knowledge is the knowledge that is mostly stored in the collective memory of three groups: the colleagues group, the architectural community, and the society. It includes these groups members’ expectations and their values about pleasant and desirable architectural practices. Nonetheless, it seems that architectural practice is based on some kinds of tacit knowledge which are neither somatic nor collective. This issue makes this question still open: Is architectural tacit knowledge only composed of somatic and collective types? If it is not, which theoretical basis can be used for discerning the other types/ aspects of architectural tacit knowledge.

Research by design is an appropriate and also necessary approach for future architectural design. This article deals with the relationship between research and architectural design process. The purpose of this research is to use applied one, to create the interaction between theory, practice and optimize the learning process. This research is a practical way of how to use design in research, and it attempts is to answer the question how research is conducted to maximize the use of information or data collected also how does this method affect the quality of student's performance during the design process. The paper attempts to collect data on research on architecture and the relationship between research and the design process in various sources also interpretation that different designers and researchers have done, and to analyze and summarize previous studies, a model for applying research in the training architectural design was achieved then examined this method in the course of architectural design education. This model can provide a new insight into the relationship between research and design process of architecture. In order to apply the type of research in the model, Milburn & Brown classification were used and intrinsic research, case studies and combined studies were investigated in different groups.The test was carried out using a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test with control group. The statistical target in this study can be used to encompass all architecture students who are undergoing architecture design course. In this method, the dependent variable was measured one time before the independent variable was manipulated, and again after. In this research, independent variable, proposed design process and dependent variable, design quality and student performance. The data of the study were gathered by qualified judge panel using functional evaluation and scoring method. The test of this model was carried out at the architecture studio.In this study, 48 master degree students has been analyzes in two semester. The work of students in different groups as well as their projects with them was evaluated and compared five times in different stages of the design process, in order to compare student design performance and design quality. The student's assessment scores were analyzed by ANOVA test. The findings of this study indicates that superiority of using combined research in this specific model. Based on the findings of this study, there was a significant different between the groups that were based on the designed model and the test group showed better performance and quality of students projects based on this model. In selecting the type research, the mean sources of the case group were higher than the library, and the significant difference between the combined group with the library group and case study indicates the superiority of using the combined research. Another issue was the type of that, according to Kolb’s learning classification, learning in the control group is through the learning by experiencing; in the library study group, learning by thinking and in the case group, it was conducted through learning by observation.

‘Case study’ is a common term in architecture referring to both the use of past projects as backdrops and a research strategy in a more general sense. Case study methodology is of particular importance in architectural pedagogy and research, because on one hand its widespread use cause confusion and weaknesses, and on the other hand having a good command of architecturally oriented features of case studies can shed light on the discipline’s neglected aspects. The two topics studied so far in this connection are its negligence as a systematic pedagogical tool and the vagueness of the boundaries between copying and proper adoption of the studied cases.
The aim of this study is to identify and assess case study techniques in two respects: methodological clarity and the ways in which case studies influence design, in order to fulfil prerequisites of its strategic organisation for the production of architectural knowledge. Nine current techniques are identified in this research. They are then positioned among four main areas, namely, ‘clear-‎pedagogical’, ‘clear-research-oriented’, ‘unclear-pedagogical’, and ‘unclear-research-oriented’. The results show that those techniques that are subjective and geometry-/ graphic-based are much more widely used than comparative, calculation-/ examination-based techniques. The positioning of the former show that they are limited in scope, lacking sufficient theoretical support, and mostly realised in pedagogy as paradigms rather than critical, transformational research. Apparently, the simple looks of certain techniques plus the late manifestation of their shortcomings gives the impression of their prevalence, whilst ruling them out as unhelpful can in turn result in their elimination instead of prompting attempts for their improvement.‎

A proper understanding of precedents in architectural design as a common practice, suffers from the taboo of “imitation”, on the one hand, and, is also accused of “heresy”, on the other hand. In this regard, three issues have been studied until now: “Extracting the backgrounds of applied knowledge”, “Defining the proper understanding of precedents” and “Clarifying the difference between an educational or a research-based case study”.
What still requires further research for defining the “proper understanding of landscape architecture precedents” is the inevitability of interpretation due to the role of humans as a “subject” in landscape architecture. So the question here is what effect does the inevitability of interpretation have on the meaning and method of proper understanding of landscape architectural background knowledge? This study aims to reduce the theoretical difficulties that could impair the ability of knowledge production in this field of study. To do this, the concept of “knowledge production” is first thoroughly examined, then, “the conditions of precedents as a
source of knowledge” together with the “researcher`s conditions as an intervening subject” are determined as the main components of “understanding” in a theoretical framework. Finally, the standing point of landscape architecture is explained in comparison with this framework. The results show that to produce knowledge in landscape architecture, in addition to four common forms of understanding/perception in the field of architecture including “Irregular”, “Superficial”, “Deep” and “Structural”, which have already been determined in previous architectural research, another level should also be considered that is generally known as “Continuous” understanding. By focusing on this level of understanding and using the two techniques of “Triangulation” and “Crystallization”, it can open up new horizons in landscape architecture to address issues with multiple interpretations of subjectivity and to validate the findings.

During the past 50 years design research theories have cast light on the concept of ‘design’. Since this is a complicated, abstract concept, it needs appropriate conceptual and methodological frameworks in order to clarify the multifaceted, complex aspects of this human act. Among more important contemporary epistemological theories is the ‘conceptual metaphor’ theory, which has also been welcome in design research circles. Scrutinising design research’s two main paradigms, namely, ‘rational problem solving’ and ‘reflection in action’, one can find the development extended theories thanks to ‘conceptual metaphor’. Whilst the two above paradigms have been undergoing revisions in the past 20 years, various complementary, explanatory metaphors have emerged on the concept of design. The present research focuses on the contents of two creditable early design research publications to select key conceptual metaphors for explaining design concept. Alongside the two above-mentioned paradigms, the most important metaphors include ‘bricolage’, ‘co-evolution’, ‘disclosure’, ‘dialogue’ and ‘play’. In the end a series of graphics illustrate each metaphor, and with them their implicit and explicit aspects of the concept of design in each metaphor. The paper concludes that hermeneutic metaphors i.e. ‘disclosure’, ‘dialogue’, and ‘play’ best suit the clarification of the concept of design, which is due to their proximity with design mechanisms. As such, they are among the most suitable design metaphors for design research.

Architectural programming, as a realm in the design process, is considered to be one of the most valuable assets of the design research. Through the use of architectural programming, a designer becomes familiar with different issues of the project and establishes his/her goals to produce an appropriate design solution. An ideal design solution requires a thorough understanding about the needs of the users, the environment, and the context of the project. An architectural programmer utilizes these data in a systematic order to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate design ideas. Although articles and discussions about architectural programming did not start formally until the latter part of the 1960’s, during the discussions about demolishing the Pruitt Igoe residential project, one could suggest that programming has always been part of the design process throughout the history of architecture. This article reviews different characteristics of programming and its benefits for the design process. Four major benefits of programming include: 1- earlier time to design, 2- more efficient use of sources, 3- diminishing mistakes, 4- the correct use of man and environmental forces. The article also introduces a case study conducted by 22 graduate students of architecture at the University of Tehran, using Donna Duerk’s programming model on a project: Revitalizing A City Block on Enghelab Street - between the Enghelab Square and the Vali-Asr Intersection - in Tehran. For their studies, students started with a research to identify the shortcomings of that street to respond to the physical as well as perceptual needs of the users. Different issues were examined and three categories were developed: 1- Circulation: looking at pedestrian as well as vehicular issues; 2- The built environment (investigating about the problems with building facades, land-use planning, and the lack of green spaces); 3- The natural environment (considering the macro as well as micro climatic issues). In order to use Duerk’s model, students were required to introduce a “mission”, set some “goals” to overcome the identified problems, and investigate about the “performance requirement” (PR) necessary to reach those goals, and produce some “concepts” to provide an architectural solution for each PR. In Duerk’s model, a “mission” defines the special purpose that a project must fulfill; a project “goal” relates only to the outcome desired for the project; a “performance requirement” is a statement about the measurable level of function that a designed object must provide for a goal to be met; and a “concept” is an idea about the appropriate relationship between parts of a project. Considering the growing number of issues facing an architectural problem today, programming could be used as a systematic tool to mange those issues and produce appropriate solutions. The author recommends that since the use of programming could enhance the quality of architectural design, schools of architecture, particularly in Iran, should include such programming courses in their undergraduate as well as graduate curriculums.