Integral Design: The Reflective Morphological Overview

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Zeiler ◽  
Perica Savanovic ◽  
Emile Quanjel
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Dutch Association ◽  
Building Physics

Integral Building Design is done by multi disciplinary design teams and aims at integrating all aspects from the different disciplines involved in a design for a building such as; archtitecture, construction, building physics and building services. It involves information exchange between participants within the design process in amounts not yet known before. To support this highly complex process an Integral Building Design methods is developed based on the combination of a prescriptive approach, Methodical Design, and a descriptive approach, Reflective practice. Starting from the Methodical Design approach by van den Kroonenberg, a more reflective approach is developed. The use of Integral Design within the design process results in a transparency on the taken design steps and the design decisions. Within the design process, the extended prescriptive methodology is used as a framework for reflection on design process itself. To ensure a good information exchange between different disciplines during the conceptual phase of design a functional structuring technique can be used; Morphological Overviews (MO). Morphology provides a structure to give an overview of the consider functions and their solution alternatives. By using this method it is presumed that it helps to structure the communication between the design team members and a such forms a basis for reflection on the design results by the design team members. This method is used in the education program at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and was tested in workshops for students and for professionals from the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA) and the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers (ONRI). Over 250 professionals participated in these workshops.

Informing sustainable building design

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Landgren ◽  
Signe Skovmand Jakobsen ◽  
Birthe Wohlenberg ◽  
Lotte Bjerregaard Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Sustainable Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interdisciplinary Design

Purpose In recent decades there has been a focus on reducing the overall emissions from the built environment, which increases the complexity of the building design process. More specialized knowledge, a greater common understanding and more cooperation between the stakeholders are required. Interdisciplinary design teams need simple and intuitive means of communication. Architects and engineers are starting to increase their focus on improving interdisciplinary communication, but it is often unclear how to do so. The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of visually communicating engineering knowledge to architects in an interdisciplinary design team and to define how quantifying architectural design decisions have an impact during the early phases of sustainable building design. Design/methodology/approach This work is based on a study of extensive project materials consisting of presentations, reports, simulation results and case studies. The material is made available by one of the largest European Engineering Consultancies and by a large architectural office in the field of sustainable architecture in Denmark. The project material is used for mapping communication concepts from practice. Findings It is demonstrated that visual communication by engineers increases the level of technical knowledge in the design decisions made by architects. This is essential in order to reach the goal of designing buildings with low environmental impact. Conversely, quantification of architectural quality improved the engineer’s acceptance of the architects’ proposals. Originality/value This paper produces new knowledge through the case study processes performed. The main points are presented as clearly as possible; however, it should be stressed that it is only the top of the iceberg. In all, 17 extensive case studies design processes were performed with various design teams by the 3 authors of the paper Mathilde, Birthe and Signe. The companies that provided the framework for the cases are leading in Europe within sustainability in the built environment, and in the case of Sweco also in regards to size (number of employees). Data are thus first hand and developed by the researchers and authors of this paper, with explicit consent from the industry partners involved as well as assoc. Professor Lotte B. Jensen Technical University of Denmark (DTU). This material is in the DTU servers and is in the PhD dissertation by Mathilde Landgren (successful defence was in January 2019). The observations and reflection is presented in selected significant case examples. The methods are descriped in detail, and if further information on method is required a more in depth description is found in Mathilde Landgrens PhD Dissertation. There is a lack in existing literature of the effect of visualisation in interdisciplinary design teams and though the literature (e.g. guidelines) of integrated design is extensive, there is not much published on this essential part of an integrated design process.

Understanding the Context of Multidisciplinary Design: Establishing Ecological Validity in the Study of Design Problem Solving

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (16) ◽  
pp. 1082-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. McNeese ◽  
Brian S. Zaff ◽  
Clifford E. Brown ◽  
Maryalice Citera ◽  
Jonathan Selvaraj
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Design Activities

The need to understand the design process in all its complexity is motivated by an interest in the development of tools and technologies that would be capable of aiding collaborative design teams. This development effort depends upon an understanding of design activities as they occur within a real world context. Observations of design activities that are made without direct communication with the design team members may fail to capture many of the subtler aspects of the process - aspects that are best understood when described by the design team members themselves. In order to supplement observational studies, this paper presents a case study in which a dialog with members of a variety of collaborative design teams was established in order to elicit information about the nature of collaborative design. A knowledge acquisition technique, concept mapping, was used to achieve an understanding of the role of human factors specialists within the collaborative design process specific to the Air Force's system acquisition program. Results highlight various findings about the nature of design problem solving such as the way different organizational settings influence human factors input in the design process/product. The paper discusses the usefulness of concept mapping to capture in-depth design knowledge and how this type of knowledge complements other approaches to understanding design.

scholarly journals Design Margins as a Key to Understanding Design Iteration

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Eckert ◽  
Ola Isaksson ◽  
Chris F. Earl
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Engineering Change ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Design Iteration ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
Parameter Values

Design processes are subject to many uncertainties. Changes resulting from the need to respond to external uncertainties are one of the main drivers of engineering change and therefore for iteration in design processes. Another important cause of iteration in design processes arises from the dependencies in design information which is being generated as part of the design process itself. At the beginning of the design process engineers need to make an informed guess about the values of parameters that they need and can achieve. These values are passed on to others, who base their decisions on them. Design decisions are distributed and iterative among design teams, customers and suppliers. Communicated parameter values are uncertain in two different but related ways. First, there is the confidence, precision and commitment that the designers have in the values they specify. Second there are uncertainties in the values that can be achieved with the technology the new design employs. These issues become particularly challenging when they span design teams, customers and suppliers as they iterate to converge on a mutually effective solution. This paper looks at this type of convergent iteration through an example from the aerospace industry, which illustrates how uncertainty in operating temperature at the beginning of the design process requires a thorough understanding of the temperature ranges that solution alternatives, at different degrees of maturity, can operate under. This paper argues that the key to managing convergent iterations lies in communicating the available ranges of parameter values and in understanding how design margins have arisen in existing technologies. These margins on product parameters provide potential performance which exceeds immediate functional requirements. The paper develops and formalizes the concept of design margins and argues that margins are included into products for a variety of reasons that are not always transparent to different team members. Analysis of margins enables design companies to reason in terms of ranges of values describing the scope for design change in meeting customer and supplier requirements without being forced into unplanned iteration loops.

A strategy for multiprofessional design of buildings

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Manning
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Process Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Mechanical Systems ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Strategy ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Systematic Design ◽  
Design Decisions

The conventional way by which buildings are designed is for the specialist members of design teams (structural, mechanical, electrical, and other engineers, acousticians, and others) to develop in detail the comprehensive concepts of generalists. Thus, architects first develop overall scheme designs, after which consultant engineers and others develop specific subdesigns for the structures, mechanical systems, lighting, and so on that will make that particular overall scheme work. There are some important objections to this kind of process, not the least the handicap that is thus placed upon the input of the engineering and other consultants. A "three-axis design strategy" by which, from the earliest stages of a design problem, solutions are built up from the best common compatible options of all the contributing consultants is described. Key words: building design, systematic design methods, design strategy, multiprofessional, integration, design process, design decisions.

Investigating the Use of Large-Scale Immersive Computing Environments in Collaborative Design

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meisha Rosenberg ◽  
Judy M. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Team Members ◽  
3D Cad ◽  
Cad Models ◽  
Computing Environments ◽  
Design Ideas ◽  
Human Motions

Successful collaborative design requires in-depth communication between experts from different disciplines. Many design decisions are made based on a shared mental model and understanding of key features and functions before the first prototype is built. Large-Scale Immersive Computing Environments (LSICEs) provide the opportunity for teams of experts to view and interact with 3D CAD models using natural human motions to explore potential design configurations. This paper presents the results of a class exercise where student design teams used an LSICE to examine their design ideas and make decisions during the design process. The goal of this research is to gain an understanding of (1) whether the decisions made by the students are improved by full-scale visualizations of their designs in LSICEs, (2) how the use of LSICEs affect the communication of students with collaborators and clients, and (3) how the interaction methods provided in LSICEs affect the design process. The results of this research indicate that the use of LSICEs improves communication among design team members.

The Influence of Team Goal Alignment and Awareness on Human-Centered Design Team Decision-Making Strategy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Rao ◽  
Ananya Krishnan ◽  
Jieun Kwon ◽  
Euiyoung Kim ◽  
Alice Agogino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Personal Goals ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Goal Alignment ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Decision Making ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Team Decision ◽  
Team Alignment

Abstract Design team decision-making underpins all activities in the design process. Simultaneously, goal alignment within design teams has been shown to be essential to the success of team activities, including engineering design. However, the relationship between goal alignment and design team decision-making remains unclear. In this exploratory work, we analyze six student design teams’ decision-making strategies underlying 90 selections of design methods over the course of a human-centered design project. We simultaneously examine how well each design team’s goals are aligned in terms of their perception of shared goals and their awareness of team members’ personal goals at the midpoint and end of the design process, along with three other factors underpinning team alignment at the midpoint. We report three preliminary findings about how team goal alignment and goal awareness influence team decision-making strategy that, while lacking consistent significance, invite further research. First, we observe that a decrease in awareness of team members’ personal goals may lead student teams to use a different distribution of decision-making strategies in design than teams whose awareness stays constant or increases. Second, we find that student teams exhibiting lower overall goal alignment scores appear to more frequently use agent-driven decision-making strategies, while student teams with higher overall goal alignment scores appear to more frequently use process-driven decision-making strategies. Third, we find that while student team alignment appears to influence agent- and process-driven strategy selection, its effect on outcome-driven selection is less conclusive. While grounded in student data, these findings provide a starting place for further inquiry into of designerly behavior at the nexus of teaming and design decision-making.

scholarly journals Design teams management of conflict in reaching consensus

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-285
Author(s):  
Louise Kiernan ◽  
Ann Ledwith ◽  
Raymond Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Industry And Education ◽  
High Level ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the conversation activities of design teams to negotiate task conflict and reach consensus. Design/methodology/approach Four case studies were conducted to analyse the conversation activities that teams use in the course of design projects. Findings The conversation activities that teams used to negotiate conflict and bring about consensus were identified. These conversation activities are associated with collaboration, communication and social skills enabling teams to engage in the high level of information exchange and negotiation that is required to manage task conflict. How they were used to negotiate conflict and help reach consensus is also discussed. Research limitations/implications The findings from this research are based on a small number of participants; hence, it cannot be generalised without further study with larger groups. However, the questions this paper has raised can be generalised to other design tasks and groups. Practical implications The findings have implications for the management of design teams and teams working on complex unstructured problems both in industry and education. They highlight how conflict can be constructively managed to bring about consensus that integrates the knowledge and perspective of all team members. Originality/value The benefits of task conflict have been disputed in the literature. This research has identified the conversation activities that facilitate the constructive management of task conflict to bring about consensus that integrates the perspectives and knowledge of a team.

scholarly journals A study of the role of user-centered design methods in design team projects

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Lai ◽  
Tomonori Honda ◽  
Maria C. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Process And Outcome ◽  
Iterative Evaluation ◽  
User Centered

AbstractUser-centered approaches to design can guide teams toward an understanding of users and aid teams in better posing design problems. This paper investigates the role of user-centered design approaches in design process and outcome within the context of design team projects. The value of interaction with users is examined at several stages throughout the design process. The influence of user-centered design on the performance of design teams is also explored. Results suggest that the quantity of interactions with users and time spent interacting with users alone is not linked with better design outcome, but that iterative evaluation of concepts by users may be of particular value to design prototypes. Suggestions are made based on the reflections from the authors after conducting this study.

scholarly journals Building Design Team Communication: Implications for Project Success in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-23
Author(s):  
Ayodele Emmanuel Ikudayisi ◽  
Akugbe Collins Oviasogie
Keyword(s):  
Project Success ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Tools ◽  
Team Communication ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Communication Modes

Within building design team, communication has increasingly become multifaceted. Yet, despite the fast increasing communication modes and the introduction of design tools, most projects are still delivered below expectations. This study investigated the implication of design team’s communication on project success using a mixed research method (Quantitative and Qualitative approaches). Eighteen completed projects were randomly selected from five public organizations in Ibadan, Nigeria. Participants were drawn from the design professionals and client representative involved in each of the project (N=102). The quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis while qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were subjected to content analysis. Adequate participation of team members in meetings, provision of adequate information and appropriate use of design tools emerged as the key communication qualities which affect the project success. Based on these findings, recommendations were made towards improving design team effectiveness.

scholarly journals Comparing Team Interactions in Traditional and BIM-Lean Design Management

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 447
Author(s):  
Rodrigo F. Herrera ◽  
Claudio Mourgues ◽  
Luis F. Alarcón ◽  
Eugenio Pellicer
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Design Management ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Interaction ◽  
Study Selection ◽  
Team Interactions

There is qualitative evidence showing that design teams that use BIM-lean management have a higher level of interaction than design teams that do not use this management approach. However, there is no quantitative empirical evidence of this higher level of interaction. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present quantitative empirical evidence of the differences among the various types of interactions of a design team. Two case studies were analyzed, and their design management was assessed from a lean BIM perspective while their team interactions were assessed using social network analysis (SNA). To achieve the aim of this paper, four steps were performed: (1) case study selection; (2) description of the design management of the projects from the lean design management and BIM perspectives; (3) assessment of design team interaction; and (4) comparison using SNA. The results show that the project that applied BIM-lean management exhibited higher levels of interactions among its design team members than the traditional team; transparent, orderly, and standardized information flows; a collaborative, trusting, and learning environment; and commitment management. None of these interaction elements were visible in the project that did not apply BIM-lean management. It is suggested that an analysis be performed on a representative sample of projects in the future so that conclusive statistical inferences could be made.

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