Creative computer aided architectural design:an internal approach to the design process
Abstract This survey can be seen as quite multidisciplinary research. The basis for this study has been inapplicability of different CAD user interfaces in architectural design. The objective of this research is to improve architectural design from the creative problem-solving viewpoint, where the...
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| Format: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Oulu
2000
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| Online Access: | http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9514257545 http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:9514257545 |
| Summary: | Abstract
This survey can be seen as quite multidisciplinary research.
The basis for this study has been inapplicability of different CAD
user interfaces in architectural design. The objective of this research
is to improve architectural design from the creative problem-solving
viewpoint, where the main goal is to intensify architectural design
by using information technology. The research is linked to theory
of methods, where an internal approach to design process means studying
the actions and thinking of architects in the design process. The
research approach has been inspired by hermeneutics.
The human thinking process is divided into subconscious and
conscious thinking. The subconscious plays a crucial role in creative
work. The opposite of creative work is systematic work, which attempts
to find solutions by means of logical inference. Both creative and
systematic problem solving have had periods of predominance in the
history of Finnish architecture. The perceptions in the present
study indicate that neither method alone can produce optimal results. Logic
is one of the tools of creativity, since the analysis and implementation
of creative solutions require logical thinking. The creative process
cannot be controlled directly, but by creating favourable work conditions
for creativity, it can be enhanced.
Present user interfaces can make draughting and the creation
of alternatives quicker and more effective in the final stages of
designing. Only two thirds of the architects use computers in working design,
even the CAD system is being acquired in greater number of offices.
User interfaces are at present inflexible in sketching. Draughting
and sketching are the basic methods of creative work for architects.
When working with the mouse, keyboard and screen the natural communication
channel is impaired, since there is only a weak connection between
the hand and the line being drawn on the screen. There is no direct
correspondence between hand movements and the lines that appear
on the screen, and the important items cannot be emphasized by,
for example, pressing the pencil more heavily than normally. In
traditional sketching the pen is a natural extension of the hand,
as sketching can sometimes be controlled entirely by the unconscious.
Conscious efforts in using the computer shift the attention away
from the actual design process. However, some architects have reached
a sufficiently high level of skill in the use of computer applications
in order to be able to use them effectively in designing without
any harmful effect on the creative process.
There are several possibilities in developing CAD systems
aimed at architectural design, but the practical creative design
process has developed during a long period of time, in which case changing
it in a short period of time would be very difficult. Although CAD
has had, and will have, some evolutionary influences on the design
process of architects as an entity, the future CAD user interface
should adopt its features from the architect's practical
and creative design process, and not vice versa.
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