The paths to design.

How do we design and what generates our architecture?

Questions to get your mind working.

• First off...

WHAT are you designing? Don't forget.

• Context

What does the site look like? The design in your head nearly never fits exactly to your sites specifications.
How will your design relate to buildings and places around it? Is it Centrifugal, Centripetal
Context means a lot in design. Environmental factors, Neighbours, Noises, Crime , All the multiplicity of things that can and will affect daily like come into play.

• Character

Most of the time there is a faint idea buzzing in your head.Vague and newborn .
You ask how will it look? What is it's scale? Will it be intimate, Neutral or Grand in sizing? Does it have a precedent?
Some start with plans.Some start with sections. Sorting out how spaces relate to each other is another important phase in the building where you, the architect begin to rationalize the building in an attempt to create a unique whole.

WHAT are you designing? Don't forget.

• Organization

Really begin getting into how the spaces relate to each other? Circulation is always a big issue, Horizontal and Vertical Circulation Which spaces are more important than others? How does Inside relate to outside? Is the building accepting or rejecting its outer environment? Remember to work to scale.

• Technologies

Materials? Those mundane yet oh-so necessary services that a building mus t accommodate.

HOW.DOES.IT.STAND.UP.

Tensile or Static? Is the structure expressed or suppressed?

The Roof. The fenestration.The Facades and envelope. All need to be given careful consideration.

WHAT are you designing? Don't forget.

• Sustainability

Will it be green?(I dearly hope so) How can you reduce energy usage? What passive strategies can you apply to absorb energy costs? What is the carbon footprint of the materials you are using? Research alternatives and new ways of being responsible designers.

Now this is no where close to the full list of questions an architect could ask his or herself when designing.If I were to write them all the list would continue ad infinitum.All I hope is to get your mind whirring.

Loosely adapted from the Architecture Design Notebook by A. Peter Fawcett
All pictures are S. Alistair Douglas' own work.Do not use without permission