This document discusses abstraction and diagrams used in architectural design to represent client needs and program requirements. It describes how needs, context, and form variables define architectural design problems. Diagrams like bubble diagrams, area summaries, and relationship matrices can abstractly represent a program's quantitative and qualitative needs to aid the design process. Capturing circulation experiences and how family members use spaces through maps and logs further informs a design solution. These graphic tools help structure information and stimulate new insights for balancing needs, context, and an optimal building form.

1. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
PROCESSES &
METHODOLOGIES
Theory of Architecture 2
Ar. Fernando C. Pamintuan

2. ABSTRACTION APPLIED
TO ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN
Architectural Design Processes & Methodologies

3.  The application of
the tools of
graphic
abstraction to
architectural
design is aided by
an understanding
of the structure of
architectural
Design Problems.
 Horst Rittel has
identified three
variables of the
typical Design
Problem:
CONTEXT
NEED
FORM

4.  Performance (Need)
Variables, which
express desired
characteristics of
the object under
design, and in terms
of which the object
will be evaluated
(construction cost,
aesthetic appeal,
overall quality, and
the like).
NEED

5.  Design (Form)
Variables, which
describe the
possibilities of
the designer, his
ranges of choice,
his design
variables (height
of ceiling, shape
of door knob,
type of heating,
and the like).
FORM

6.  Context Variables,
which are those
factors affecting the
object to be
designed but not
controlled by the
designer (land price,
likelihood of
earthquakes, type of
eating habits, and so
forth).
CONTEXT

7.  A problem can be
said to exist when
there is some sort of
misfit among these
three variables in an
environment.
 The Design Problem
is solved when, as
indicated in the
diagram, there is a
satisfactory
relationship among
Need, Context, and
Form.
NEED
CONTEXT
FORM

8.  Consider a small
printing company as an
example.
 The original Need was to
accommodate a printing
operation in the Context
of the downtown of a
small city and the Form
provided was a small,
one-storey building.
 Over time new problems
occur due to different
types of misfits:

9.  Need/Context –
Property values
and the tax rate
increase rapidly,
even though the
building still
meets the
printer’s needs.
NEED
CONTEXT
FORM
Shift
in
Contex
t

10.  Need/Form –
The operation
outgrows the
building or the
building
deteriorates and
is not adequate
for the need.
NEED
CONTEXT
FORM
Disparity
between
Need and
Form

11.  Form/Context –
A change in the
zoning
restrictions
makes a one-
storey building
no longer a
sound financial
investment.
NEED
CONTEXT
FORM
Disparity
between
Context
and Form

12.  The Design Problem can be caused by
a change in any one or a combination
of the variables.
 The solution to the problem may lie
in the change of any one of the
variables or a combination.
 The Design Solution is not
synonymous with the designed
building; rather, the design drawings
are the embodiment of a new balance
between Need, Context, and Form.
 The success of the Design Solution is
measured by the way it responds to
all three variables.
NEED
CONTEXT
FORM

13.  The categories of Need,
Context, and Form can also
provide a convenient
structure for organizing
design project information.
 Design Concerns, Issues,
Priorities, or Criteria can be
gathered under these
variable headings.
 This promotes a balanced
view of the Design Problem
and a more complete
evaluation of Design
Alternatives.
Need:
Space
Requirements
Relationships
Priorities
Processes
Objectives
Maintenance
Access
Equipment
Environment
Context:
Site
Zoning
Services
Macro Climate
Micro Climate
Adjacent
Buildings
Geological
Factors
Vehicular
Access
Form:
Zoning
Circulation
Structure
Enclosure
Construction
Type
Construction
Process
Energy
Climate Control

14. Abstraction Applied To Architectural Design

15.  The Building
Program or
Brief usually
contains most
of the
information
about client’s
Needs.

16.  Programs for the
average-size
project, such as
an educational
or institutional
building, can be
quite complex.

17.  Although the program
for our example, A
Four-Bedroom
Recreational
Residence, is not very
complex, it should
serve to illustrate the
basic types of
diagrams that could
be used to describe
functional Needs.

18.  The first step is to
get a good grasp of
the quantifiable
aspects of the
program.
 Using squares to
show the area
requirements for
different functions,
the relationships of
size are quickly
apparent.
E B
B
K BR
BR BR
BR
LR
LR
Breakd
own
of
Areas

19.  A summary of
basic program
areas helps
consider some
of the basic
zoning
alternatives and
relationships to
usable site area.
Summa
ry
of
Areas
Own
er
Dec
ks
Guest
House

20.  Another quantitative diagram
that can be quite useful
shows intensity of activity or
use.
 The intensity of functions is
shown by the relative sizes of
the circles, and the volume of
circulation between functions
by the width of the
connecting bars.
 Detailed estimates of the
Intensity of Activity are not
usually made, but direct
observation and informal
analysis based on the
designer’s past experience
should be sufficient to make
the diagram useful.
Activit
y
Intensi
ty

21. Need

22.  The Bubble Diagram has become
a familiar tool to architectural
designers.
 It can abstract the building
program to conveniently
summarize the activities to be
housed and their required
relationships.
 As we have discussed in the last
lecture, bubble diagrams are
also easy to manipulate as the
designers moves from building
program to building design.
 As long as the basic rules of the
Graphic Language are followed,
these diagrams permit wide
flexibility of thinking.

23.  Another type of relationship
diagram is the Matrix.
 All the functions are listed along
two perpendicular axes and then
the relationship of each function
to the other functions is
categorized.
 The advantage of such a matrix
is in the ways it can be read by
the designer.
 This example demonstrates that
the kitchen is a critical point of
relationship for the whole family
and their guests, that the
sleeping areas should be isolated
from each other and from most
of the rest of the house, and that
the access to the guest areas
should be controlled.
Entry
Kitchen
Living
Room
Bedrooms
Deck
Bath
Guest
Room
Guest Bath
Guest
Bedroom
Entry
Kitchen
Living
Room
Bedrooms
Deck
Bath
Guest
Room
Guest
Bath
Guest
Bedroom
Importa
nt Space
Isola

24.  Although it is true that most
of these observations might
be made intuitively for a
house, the matrix promotes a
restructuring of thinking that
can stimulate new insights
regarding needs such as
separation or communication,
particularly in more complex
buildings.
 Finally, the matrix provides a
simple graphic reinforcement
of the designer’s memory as
he considers the building
context and form.
Entry
Kitchen
Living
Room
Bedrooms
Deck
Bath
Guest
Room
Guest Bath
Guest
Bedroom
Entry
Kitchen
Living
Room
Bedrooms
Deck
Bath
Guest
Room
Guest
Bath
Guest
Bedroom
Importa
nt Space
Isola

25. Need

26.  Although we might assume that most
people use houses in pretty much the
same way (judging from new housing
development design), there are
differences.
 These differences can have a lot to do
with the comfort of a family in a
particular house.

27.  One way of illustrating the
use of a house is to make a
log of spaces occupied by
different family members
during a typical day.
Log of Spaces

28.  The result may be surprising
and encourage the client to
look at housing in new way.
 There may also be implications
for design priorities,
orientation of spaces, and
energy management.

29.  Circulation is one of the under-
considered functions inherent in a
building program.
 Many of the experiences of a house,
its impact on people, take place as
they move through and between
spaces.

30.  These are referred to as kinesthetic
experiences; they are dynamic
experiences unlike sitting or standing in
one space.
 Some architects have suggested that
scenarios of desired kinesthetic
experiences, in a graphic form, can be
very useful to design.

31.  In its simple form, a
kinesthetic map may
use symbols for
different
experiences, but it is
also possible to do
key perspective
sketches to the map
and help create a
sense of what is
desired.
 Again, such
diagrams help the
client and the
designer discuss
and think about the
design problem.
Kinesthetic Map