CONCEPTUALIZATION TECHNIQUES OF DESIGN

Slideshow developed by:

Text from Salvan, George S. Architectural Theories of Design. JMC Press, Inc, 1986.
Architectural Concepts
↕
DESIGN PROBLEM ↔ DESIGN SOLUTION
BIG IDEA FUNCTIONAL ZONING
BASIC FRAMEWORK ARCHITECTURAL SPACE
CIRCULATION &
PRIMARY ORGANIZER BUILDING FORM
RESPONSE TO CONTEXT
ECONOMY BUILDING ENVELOPE
Contexts for Concept Getting
1. VALUES. General philosophy and life values of
the designer.
– Motivation and interest
– Enhancement of self-image
– Dependence on or independence of outside
reinforcement of self-worth
– Concern for fellow man
– Immediate and deferred goals
– Conservation of what is scarce and valued
– Quest for simplification
– The material and the spiritual
Contexts for Concept Getting
2. DESIGN PHILOSOPHY. A set of postures or
values about design which he relies upon for
making form in building design.
ARTISTIC SCIENTIFIC
CONSCIOUS SUBCONSCIOUS
RATIONAL IRRATIONAL
SEQUENTIAL NONSEQUENTIAL
EVALUATE AS YOU GO EVALUATE WHEN YOU’RE DONE
KNOWNS UNKNOWNS
INDIVIDUAL SOCIETY
PERSONAL UNIVERSAL
VERBAL VISUAL
NEEDS WANTS
DESIGN VALUES
ORDERED RANDOM
STRUCTURED UNSTRUCTURED
BEGINNING POINT IMPORTANT POINT UNIMPORTANT
OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE
ONE ANSWER MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS
CREATIVE COMMON PLACE
YOUR NEEDS CLIENT NEEDS
SPECIFIC GENERAL
MAN NATURE
CRITICAL ISSUES MINOR ISSUES
COMPLEXITY SIMPLICITY
PARTS WHOLE
PATTERNED PROCESS RANDOM PROCESS
PRECONCEPTIONS RESPONSE TO FACTS
INDETERMINATE MECHANISTIC
DESIGN FOR NOW DESIGN FOR FUTURE
DESIGN VALUES
Busy Empty space
Dynamic Serene
Filled with distractions Organized and peaceful
Matte Shiny
Sophisticated Rustic
Natural Man-made
Worthless Precious
“Less is more”- Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe
Seagram Building BARCELONA PAVILION
“Less is a bore.” Robert Venturi
The Guild House Vanna Venturi House
“Architecture should speak of its time and space,
but yearn for timelessness” Frank Gehry
Dancing House Guggenheim Museum
“Form ever follows function.” – Louis
Sullivan
Guaranty Building, Buffalo, New York Merchants' National Bank
My work is not about “form follows function”,
but “form follows beauty” or, even better, “form
follows feminine”. – Oscar Niemeyer
The Niterói Contemporary Art
Cathedral of Brasília Museum, Brazil
“When I’m working on a problem, I never think
about beauty. But when I’ve finished, if the
solution is not beautiful I know it’s wrong.” –
Buckminster Fuller
The Montreal Biosphère Fuller's home in Carbondale
“There are 360 degrees, why stick to one?”
Zaha Hadid
Heydar Aliyev Center Beijing Daxing Airport
3. VIEW/PERCEPTION. The way the designer
perceives, understands and describes the
project/ design problem.
– Does the project call for an architectural solution?
– Project limits in terms of the designer’s responsibility?
– Design checklist includes:
✓ FUNCTION ✓ ENCLOSURE
✓ SPACE ✓ SYSTEMS
✓ GEOMETRY ✓ ECONOMIC
✓ CONTEXT ✓ HUMAN FACTORS
– Design: essence + uniqueness of the problem
– Physical limits/ opportunities
Saint Andrew' Parish Church, Makati CIty
• Built by National Artist for
Architecture Leandro Locsin in 1968,
the design of this parish church in Bel-
Air Makati is symbolic of the manner
the martyr died crucified on an X-
shaped cross. The butterfly shaped
floor plan emanates from this
cruciform. Many other symbolic
features mark the tent-like structure,
including the giant chandelier over
the altar which serves as a halo over
the copper cross by National Artist for
Visual Art, Vicente Manansala.
Valley Golf Club by Gabriel Formoso
• shaped to resemble a
• golf ball on a tee
The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building
(Kisho Kurokawa)
Creativity
3 Essentials to Development of Creative Skills
1. Ideation: the mental process
2. Idea Quantity: have a lot of ideas from which to
select
3. Imagineering: letting your imagination soar and
then engineering it back to reality
Stages in Designing
1. DESIGN ANALYSIS
2. TENTATIVE SOLUTIONS
3. CRITICISM
4. OPERATIONAL PROCESS
5. GEOMETRIC
METHODOLOGY
✓ Systematic method of problem solving
✓ Builds upon the concept by helping to
make the best use of the design tools
acquired in creativity
✓ Involves a systematic breakdown of a body
of knowledge into its workable parts
DESIGN METHODS/ TOOLS
• Imagineering
IMAGINATION + REALITY = BALANCE
• Brainstorming
– To Brainstorm without recording your thoughts can be a
waste of time.
• Problem-solving Method
– Forces one to identify the real problem
– Compels one to record one’s findings in an organized fashion
– Allows for thorough thinking/ analysis on the problem
before producing a physical setting
A DESIGN PARADIGM
[pattern, template, model]

DESIGN TOOLS
1. PRESTATEMENT
2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
3. INFORMATION
4. ANALYSIS
5. SYNTHESIS
6. EVALUATION
1. PRESTATEMENT
7 Major Architectural Services
1. Pre-Design Services
2. Design Services
3. Specialized Allied Services
4. Construction Services
5. Post Construction Services
6. Comprehensive Architectural Services
7. Design-Build Services
Pre-Design Services
• Economic Feasibility Studies
• Project Financing
• Architectural Programming
✓ Investigating, identifying and documenting the needs of the
client for use in the design of the project
• Promotional Services
• Site Utilization and Land-Use Studies
• Space/Management Studies
3. INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH
• Related Literature
• Interview/ Consult with Experienced
Persons
• Observation
2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
• First proceed to step 3 and gather
"information“ and then you can state the true
problem.
4. ANALYSIS
THINK STAGE
• Compartmentalizing
the problem + solutions
• Partials solutions
• Combine solutions
5. SYNTHESIS
Conceptualization
• In a graphic manner
• All drawings, sketches, verbal
descriptions, models, other visuals that
relate to the project belong here
Architect’s Design Services
Regular Services
1. Schematic Design Phase
2. Design Development Phase
3. Contract Documents Phase and
4. Construction Phase
6. EVALUATION
a. Population density
b. Building bulk
c. Widths of streets
d. Traffic conditions and parking/loading requirements
e. Provisions of land use plans and zoning ordinances
f. Geological conditions
g. Hydrological conditions
h. Meteorological Conditions
i. Environmental conditions
j. Availability and capacity of public utility/service systems