Transcript Parti Planning - The Catholic University of America

Parti Planning
Defining the Design Problem
Before You Start Designing
Concept
 Goal
 Form
 Content
 Process

7/21/2015
Parti Planning
1
Concept
It is NEVER enough for a building to be
designed a certain way because the
designer felt like it.
Design is NOT only a process of selfexpression, although that plays a part. If
that bothers you, become an art major.
Architects have a fiduciary duty to their
clients and the community impacted by
the projects they design to RESPOND to
real needs and conditions.
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Concept
Let’s look at one example:
How many square feet should a project
be, and how tall?
Think about it.
• Should the answer be solely up to the
architect to determine?
• Is it merely a question of selfexpression?
• Or is there a duty to design in
accordance with other considerations?
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Concept
Building area and height is of concern to…
• The Investors since larger buildings cost more
• The Local Government since bigger buildings
hold more people, who need more services and
infrastructure (schools, police, roads, sewers)
• The Neighbors since it might alter the feel of
their community or block views or the sun
• Mother Nature since building size affects wind
patterns and storm water runoff
• The Occupants since size affects ease of use
• The Fire Department since it’s harder to rescue
people from big buildings
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Concept
Any of these groups have the power to
prevent construction of a project, or ruin it
once built.
If they did that, the designing architect’s
reputation and ability to get other design
commissions would very likely be
compromised (as well it should be).
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Concept
Owners hire architects, in part, to suggest
ways to reconcile the concerns of all these
interests. Since area and height have a
major impact on design, concerns related
to them need to be resolved before
design starts.
This is very important, since design takes
time (and costs clients real money), and
there’s no point in designing a project
that will be rejected.
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The Point
Design is a problem-solving process.
It must be responsive. Such a process
takes time.
If you spend a lot of time solving the
wrong problem, simply because you
didn’t take the time to learn about and
define the right problem, your design will
most likely be rejected and your effort
will have been wasted.
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Goal
The most important foundation for
design excellence is a
• comprehensive
• balanced
• defendable
understanding of the design problem.
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Goal
But is a design problem so simple? Can
a single definition be established?
The answer is often yes, but only after
a lot of searching through multiple
potential definitions.
Clients depend on their architects to go
through all of the possibilities and
propose a few alternative definitions for
consideration.
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Goal
Each definition balances, in a different
way, all of the different issues related to
the project.
Once one definition is selected or
developed by the owner with input (either
direct or indirect) from the other vested
interests and advice from the architect,
design work can start.
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Form
What form would such an approach take?
An architect might, for example,
recommend several different proposals.
• Proposal A: Maximize project size by
taking advantage of certain exceptions
allowed by code, offsetting increased costs
with higher projected revenues.
• Proposal B: Make material quality a high
priority; reduce size to maintain budget.
• Proposal C: Design for a balance of size,
quality, and a short construction schedule.
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Form
Each proposal would represent a unique
combination of budget, massing,
relationship with the environment, program,
response to surrounding buildings, way of
satisfying codes, and other things.
Each proposal would list its benefits and
drawbacks relative to the alternatives, and
would include the supporting research.
All vested interests could then consider the
proposals and decide which to support.
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Form
But there might be hundreds of possible
combinations. How many proposals should
an architect develop and present?
As many as he or she thinks are solid,
justifiable, and worth pursuing.
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Form
Note that none of the proposals would
include a design for the building, but
would instead simply clarify and focus
the basic design question:
What kind of project would be best?
Once one proposal is settled upon, all
involved can be fairly sure that the
eventual design, whatever else it is, will
be responsive.
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Content
What are these issues, to which pre-design
analyses must respond? They are:
Feasibility
Mission
Budget
Location
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Site
 Natural
 Urban
 Built
Function Style
 Program  Expression
 Safety
 Life Cycle
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Content
The design problem must be defined
relative to each of the content areas.
Each area can be defined in any number of
ways, but only one definition can serve
as the basis for a given design. Each
relevant option must be explored and
discussed before one is chosen.
This exploring of alternative definitions and
recommending of one is a core service of
architects.
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Content
Architects must know about each of the ten
content issues.
But for now, let’s talk about process.
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Process
How does one define the design problem?
By a clear method involving…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Strategic Planning to focus the effort
Collecting Data identified as relevant
Organizing the Data to make it useful
Observing the Data to find patterns in it
Drawing Implications from the patterns
Assembling Options from the implications
Presenting Options for consideration
Negotiating a Decision with the client
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Process
Let’s look at these tasks, one at a time.
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Strategic Planning
 It’s hard to accomplish one’s goals (and
equally easy to get distracted) when
goals haven’t been established.
 So the most important first step in predesign analysis is strategic planning.
Instead of plunging in, first decide what’s
important.
 Is there a danger that one will fail to see
a good option because it fell outside the
plan? Yes. So the strategic plan must be
carefully considered.
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Strategic Planning
 How?
• Ask Design Questions. What questions
will come to mind when you start
designing? What’s the main idea behind
the building? How should it relate to
buildings around it? How big should it
be? What rooms should it contain? How
should they be arranged? What weather
conditions will it have to address?
• Rank them. Which questions are most
important? Which least?
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Strategic Planning
 How?
• By ranking them, you’ll address the
critical questions first. If you run out of
time you’ll still be OK, because the most
important issues will have been reviewed.
• You can decide how many questions to
address by how much time you have.
Revise the answer at any time.
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Strategic Planning
 How?
• Don’t develop one issue and leave others
unaddressed. Develop the whole range
of issues to the same level of detail.
• That also guarantees that whenever you
stop the process, either temporarily or to
move on to the next phase, your work will
be internally cohesive and balanced.
• It also guarantees that you will have time
to sleep at night and have a life outside of
your work.
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Collecting Data
With priorities established, it’s time to start
tracking down information sources that
would likely have answers for the questions
raised.
• Find out where or what has the info. Which
books, codes, guides, websites, people,
sites, maps, etc. have what you need?
• Get copies of the needed books or drawings,
arrange to talk with with the relevant people,
get permission to visit the site, etc.
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Applying the Data
It’s fine to have information, but meaningless until you apply it to your project. This
generally pertains more to regulations than
other kinds of data, since other data are
probably already project-specific. For
example:
• A zoning code that limits lot coverage to 70%
means little until you realize that this limits
your floor plan to 17,620 SF.
• 1 parking space per 75 SF must be converted to a requirement for 132 parking stalls.
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Organizing the Data
 It’s almost impossible to use data until it
is organized, making it easier to
understand.
• Put statistics into a table, chart, or graph
• Arrange program information into a
matrix, and from there into a coherent
bubble diagram
• Highlight the locations of transportation
networks and other infrastructure on a
map
• Organize financial data into a statement
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Observing the Data
What do you notice when you look at the
organized data?
• Is anything missing? (This would have been
hard to detect before organizing the data)
• Are there any patterns?
• Do certain bits of information occur more
frequently than others?
• What elements stand out as distinctive?
• Which elements fade into obscurity?
• Do any elements have strong relationships
with other elements?
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Drawing Implications
 What is the meaning of the patterns you
observed or noticed? Do they have any
implications for design? Do they suggest
any possibilities or close off any from
consideration?
 Here, it generally makes sense to start
drawing little design vignettes—sketches
that convey a sense of the directions that
will be worth considering later, when
designing.
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Assembling Options
 At this point, many different issues have
been explored. Some work well together,
others would conflict.
 Since any given design must address all
of the relevant issues, sets of
complementary approaches to those
issues must be assembled into
comprehensive options.
 Several alternative but equally comprehensive options should be developed.
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Presenting Options
 Prepare presentations for each of the
alternative options.
 Make sure each presentation is similarly
formatted, so those to whom it is
presented can compare “apples to
apples.”
 Start each presentation with a
summation, with conclusions. Put
supporting research in an appendix, to
be shown only if requested.
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Negotiating a Decision
With all of the options presented, it’s time to
make a decision.
• Work with the client.
• Answer questions.
• Be prepared to do any follow-up research
requested.
• Let the client make the decisions,
remembering that the role of the architect is
as fiduciary advisor, not decision-maker.
Don’t start designing until one option is
confirmed.
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Summary
Design is a tough process. Starting it
without knowing what you need to achieve
is a recipe for rejection and disaster.
A little (well, maybe a lot of) discipline early
in the game goes a long way toward
ensuring a rewarding design experience
and an outcome that will be appreciated by
all involved.
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Summary
Pre-design analysis takes time, but is
certainly within the capability of any
designer.
Effective pre-design leads to increased
competence, reduced frustration, and a
greater likelihood of design excellence.
For more information, visit
http://architecture.cua.edu/courses/arch315
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© 2005/6 Barry D. Yatt. All Rights Reserved.
Revised 7/21/2015
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