Reasoning processes involved in ICT-mediated design communication

Pieter PauwelsDepartment of Architecture and Urban Planning

Ghent University, Belgium

Jolanda MorkelDepartment of Architectural Technology and Interior Design

Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Rens BodInstitute for Logic, Language and Computation

University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

the design process

information / experience

The designer as a reflective practitioner – D. Schön, 1983

internal conversation external interaction

conversation and critique

an array of media

…

softwareconstruction process

meetings

experience

CASE STUDY

the design conversation in the case study

• Design student – design teacher• Skype chat for design ‘critique’• CPUT, South Africa• Duration: about 1 hour • Content: 128 skype chat messages

“[D]esign a small, low tech, low cost, sustainable, multi-functional and easily assembled shelter structure that will act as the prototype for a public landmark facility. This landmark may be repeated in a variety of community locations. These ‘communication hubs’ will provide sheltered places and landmarks that will offer the relevant communities access to information as well as opportunities for learning, communication and social interaction. [..] A masonry service core of 1m2 and 5m high must be lockable after hours. Its main function is the provision of a wi-fi spot. [..] The remainder of the structure must contain gum poles and marine ply as the main materials -these are provided for free.” [10].

design brief: the community hub

reference projects

case study result: section

case study result: 3D model

the design conversation in the case study

• Design student Andy – design teacher Elisa• Skype chat for design ‘critique’• CPUT, South Africa• Duration: about 1 hour • Content: 128 skype chat messages

=> Design moves and design episodes can be identified

internal conversation external interaction

conversation and critique

design moves and design episodes

Definition of a design move by Goldschmidt:“a step, an act, an operation which transforms the design situation relative to the state in which it was prior to that move.”

Definition of a design episode by Seitamaa-Hakkarainen:“segments of activity aimed at reaching a certain goal; [they] are usually decisions concerning design elements. Each episode contains a unique goal (design element) that will be structured and solved during an episode. When the goal is accomplished or changed, that design episode ends.”

LINKOGRAPH STUDY

the linkograph

Pauwels P, Morkel J, Bod R (2014) Additional Data NordDesign2014 Article.

http://users.ugent.be/~pipauwel/experimentaldataskypemorkelpauwels2013.html

general linkograph statistics104 design moves306 linksLink Index: 2,94

10 design episodes:1.the new idea design moves 11-20 2.web browsing design moves 21-283.plan and section design moves 29-404.Skype invite design moves 41-445.dynamic vs. classical design moves 45-646.central position of tower design moves 65-797.plan-section relationship design moves 80-918.floor-roof design moves 92-989.context design moves 99-10410.conclusion plan-section design moves 105-114

design episodes within design episodes

layering design episodes

diverse design episodes over time

time

…

ICT

sketching

…

..., then it is possible to distinguish various such high-level design episodes and explain the design process as a sequential process of high-level experiments, in which new configurations and ideas come up

and are tested. As such, also the previous weeks and months of the ideation process, which resulted in the ‘dancing ship’ concept, may be

considered and combined with the studied Skype conversation for a more holistic analysis of the complete design process.

conclusion

USE the available array of media

…

softwareconstruction process

meetings

experience

…

softwareconstruction process

meetings

experience

Thank youPieter Pauwels – pipauwel.pauwels@ugent.be