From Concept To Realization:a Study Of Coherence In Architectural Design Thinking

The escalated dem ands,cross-disciplinary challenges and internationalized and experience-oriented competitions in the conte mporary society calls for quality architectural design that excels in creativity,completion and experience.However,the com plex and ever-changing architectural demands and industry development have led to increasing level of division of work,decomposition of design pr ocess and ever-cumbersome matters during the architectural design process,which has seriously distracted the integrity of architect's mind and controllability of the desi gn process.The social development demands greater creativity,adaptability and controllability f rom the cont emporary Chinese ar chitects in th eir practice.Therefore,it poses one of the m ost important topics in architecture and architectural design industry to research the architectural methodology from the perspective of architects,improve their cognitive structure and design thinking,and enhance the effective innovation,the control of the building quality and the creation of experience in architectural practice.This dissertation has the attempts to contribute to this subject.Based on the practical experiences and study of existing status,the dissertation reviews the whole p roject context from concept to real ization,pointing out that a coherent design thinking is the main cognition thread that the architects should focus on to create high quality architectural works within anew and com plicated environment nowadays.Through the summary of practice and theoretical analysis,and from the perspective of the Sciences of the Artificial,the Disser tation establishes a cogn itive model of architectural design which involves the interaction of the central value,architect accomplishment and project context,revealing the in-depth structure of and the interaction among the project goal,the building and the external environm ent in design practice.Based on preceding analysis,the Dissertation further incorporates the recent research finding s on the practical experiences and designer cognition and design thinking to construct and elaborate a fr amework for cohenrence in architectural design thinking that centers on the project context,aims at the goal of quality and fits the cognitive laws.Th is Dissertation discusses how an architect,in a real project context and as human beings limited by "bounded rationality",focuses on the central values of "effective innovation,quality of completion and in-situ experience",flexibly deals with the various project constraints and assets,and real ize coherent thinking in three overlapping core areas,namely the "exploration of c reative concept","generation of architectural language" and "control of construction quality",and gra dually creates the h igh-quality architectural works that distin ctly differentiate from each ot her as resu lt of th e differences in project,environment and discipline.The Study intends to explore a f ramework for cohenrence in architectural design thinking,which on one hand interacts with the complex environment and maintains the value of architectural expertise,on the other hand leads the transformation of architectural methodology from the conventional "problem-solving procedure and design flow" to a "flexible framework with a stable core".It is of not only practical significance in guiding the practice,but also theoretical significance in expanding a nd supplementing the existing research on design methodology.The Dissertation is divided into three parts:Part ? Introduction to the Topic(Chapter I Introduction)The Chapter I: Introduction starts with the challenges on subjectivity of architects in the contemporary era.It defines the scope of the study to be "the subjec tivity,creativity and control of the architects in the contem porary architectural design practice",and the research subject to be "architectural design thinking" as inspired by the rising cross-disciplinary design thinking.Based on the author' s knowledge and contemplation of the contem porary Chinese architectural design practices,it further establ ishes the research topic to be "building a project-context-centered framework for cohe nrence in architectural design thinking",and subsequently briefs the existing research and analyzes and elaborates the research objectives,significance,methodology and framework.Part ? Establishment of the Framework(Chapters II to I?)This part further stream lines,analyzes and elaborates the relevant theoretical basis and practices.It summarizes the arch itecture cognitive model that involves the interaction of the central value,architect accom plishment and project co ntext and correspond ing design thinking elements,proposes the concept of the project-context-centered fram ework of cohenrence in arch itectural design thinking,and briefly describes the com position and operation of the framework to establish the main research framework.Part ? Hierarchical Construction(Chapters ? to ?)Chapters ? through ? present a longitudinal analysis that respectively probe into the three core areas of architect ural design thinking,nam ely the conceptual exploration,generation of architectur al vocabulary and control of cons truction quality,and explain the elements of and functioning m echanism including the internal focus and external drivin g force of each core area.Chapter ? conducts the cross-sectional study that elaborates the operational mechanism of the fram ework for cohenrence in architectural design thinking.By recapping the design and construction process of Taizhou Folk Culture Exhibition Center,it explores the application of the fra mework in the specific project,which is followed by discussion on the relationship between the fra mework and various supporting areas,such as the or ganization and management of the design firms,new digital design tools and platforms and new building technology systems.Conclusion is a summ ary of the innovation el ements contained in the fra mework of cohenrence in architectural design thinking,as well as limitations and prospects of the Study.