Architectural Design

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1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/4028

Chapter 3 final (3.1)_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 7:32 AM Page 81

Reality check exercise

For a studio-based architectural design project where

there is no commission to design and build a building, and

therefore no genuine accountability to a client, brief or site,

the designer must use their understanding of these factors

in a way that gives consistency to the project. If any of these

factors are neglected or inconsistent with the others, flaws

will emerge in the developing design.

Students were asked to carry out this exercise halfway

through the project when they had the beginnings of a

coherent proposal. It helps students learn how to develop

a brief without compromising the creativity of their response

to it. The exercise provides a check and balance mechanism

to commit the designer to, and make them more aware of,

the overall picture of the world that they have chosen to

work within.

Construct a reality (however unreal) so that the total

project is convincing within itself.

Many projects will have several competing and

significant requirements. The architect must make critical

judgements about their relative significance in order to deal

with them creatively. Consider the needs and aspirations

of the client, the public and the architect, in relation to the

following issues:

cost function accessibility quality

security life cycle users usefulness

buildability sustainability maintenance seasonality

1 Rank each of the issues in order of importance to the

project.

2 Write a paragraph describing the consistent reality (however

unreal) in which the project is set. Address each of the issues

relative to their importance.

3 This written statement creates a more detailed and complex

context for the project. Use it as a reference for future

decision making as the project develops.

Clients, users and brief › Site, context and place

Text

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/4028

Chapter 3 final (3.1)_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 7:32 AM Page 81