BASICS Design: Design Methods

Architects often employ design methods to help them find more creative forms. These methods make it possible to break free of the traditional canon of forms and established paradigms. At the same time, there must be enough leeway for a functional, systematic design conception to take shape. This volume focuses in depth on the design methods that have decisively shaped current architectural practice. How To Produce A Creative Design:  Diagrammatic methods (using drawings and schematic representations); Mimetic methods (imitative); Parametric methods (using a characteristic quantity); Automated and digital design methods of the contemporary avant-garde, e.g. scaling, data scapes, folding, and morphing.

Kari Jormakka, Dörte Kuhlmann and Oliver Schürer, Vienna University of Technology, Austria.

BASICS Architectural Series:  At the beginning of one's architecture studies, there are many unknowns: what is really important? how do I brainstorm a design idea? how can this idea be depicted and ultimately implemented?  BASICS is a series that imparts fundamental knowledge in compact individual volumes as well as in topical compendiums. It offers precise, step-by-step discussions, systematically covering the most important material pertaining to a given topic. Tailored to the needs of students, the series addresses all key subject areas, including design, architectural presentation, construction, professional practice, building services, landscape architecture, and urbanism.