Architectural Design

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/4028

Chapter 2 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 9:02 AM Page 60

The design process

Chapter summary

In many ways architecture is a very human and

responsive medium. Architects seek to contribute to the

solution of a perceived problem or need. Great skill and

care are required to accurately perceive or predict these

needs. When built projects get this wrong they often do

so in a spectacular way, with high social, environmental,

political and financial costs. Although architecture is

responsive, it is not passive. Architects do not wait to be

asked to solve these problems; they seek them out and

strive for innovation.

Creative cycle: attitudes and actions

There are different attitudes and activities that an architect

must adopt in order to follow an innovative and creative

process of design. The cycle from one stage to the next is

not continuous. The architect may even skip some stages

or move back and forth between them.

Complexity:this inspires or provokes the response that will

improve the designer’s understanding of an architectural

problem.

Challenge:the architect must either question the status quo

or redefine the problem in order to understand it and make

an innovative proposal.

Creativity: the architect must be open to new ideas.

At times, this can be a playful and serendipitous experience.

At others, the letting-go of previous knowledge or

presumptions can be uncomfortable and difficult: it is

essentially a deliberate loss of control.

Text

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/4028

Chapter 2 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 9:02 AM Page 60