I1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/Introduction final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/23/10 7:55 PM Page 6
TextIntroductionThe architectural design process is as diverse as the
people who practise it. The variety and richness of
approaches to the subject can be seen in the radical
differences between architects’ work. In any architectural
competition, no two entries will be the same. What
inspired the architect? Why is there no one ‘correct’
answer to a given architectural problem? Talk to any
architect or study their work and you will begin to notice
that there is both method and inspiration behind their
approach. This book sets out to explain the process
of design by tying together the experiences of those
involved in the practice and learning of architecture.
Architectural projects are generally discussed by the public
and the profession after they have been built and handed
over to the client. At this point a degree of hindsight and
post-rationalisation makes the complicated story of a
project’s development intelligible. However, the process
of architectural design itself is still shrouded in mystery,
little discussed and rarely represented in publications or
interviews with architects. What value do we place on the
wastepaper basket of crumpled preliminary sketches
or rough concept models?
The way that an architect designs – the process that they
follow – is constructed by the individual; it is entirely built
around their own values, skills and preoccupations. It is
important that architects are conscious of, and reflect upon,
their own design process; not only because this is what they
bring to a design project as creative individuals, but also
to enable them to take ownership of the process in order
to avoid carelessly repeating outdated or obsolete actions.Architectural designprevious page:
Project: Villa Mairea
Location: Noormakku, Finland
Architect: Alvar Aalto
Date: 1939
Initial sketch design for a hilltop
house showing the relationship
between the plan, section, site
and details. Aalto designs by
considering both large- and small-
scale elements; landscape and
architecture; fragments and the
whole picture.
Alvar Aalto Museum,
drawings collection.1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
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