Abstract:

The design action is a period which starts with some specific problems and ends with again some specific solutions. A trial to understand at which point this action starts and ends is relatively easier than to state what kind of a transition between one point to another occurs during this period. It is rather difficult to understand especially the beginning of the process in which the designers start to transfer their first ideas to expressive media such as paper, computer, etc. If we can grasp how this period develops and if we can sufficiently define the things take place during this process, it will not be wrong to say that the design researches will gain a new dimension.

It is known that most of the design problems are not completely structured; indeed they are ill-structured. Besides this, in the experimental studies it is shown that the designers focus on the solution instead of focusing on the problem.

The consistent design ideas produced in the early design phase play an important role in the development of the design and in the end product. In the early design phase, the difficulties to create the first architectural representations (plan, section, elevation, perspective, etc.) complicate to define the first design ideas. It can not be ignored that the architectural representations of this phase contains the useful features in order to define the first ideas. For instance, plan representation contains meaningful and useful architectural codes. These representations are well-structured, can be distinguished and they can be digitally defined.

The purpose of the study from this point of view;

• To introduce which architectural representations in the early design phase use for knowledge transmission,
• To examine what kind of features plan representation have in terms of descriptive knowledge provides decisions for the creation of architectural representations and procedural knowledge which regulates the development of process,
• To emphasize the necessity of a revision in the existent design-studio system in a rapidly changing and developing architectural environment according to the importance of the early design phase.

With respect to those purposes, the study focuses on the plan which is one of the first architectural representations produced in the early design phase. The plan representations produced in Yildiz Technical University, Department of Architecture, 2007-2008 spring fall, Architectural Design Studio-3, were examined by the researchers. All chosen representations were made by hand. Those representations were analyzed in terms of a method developed by Achten (2004) especially according to their geometric features, appearance and design decisions. Referring to the observed qualities, the development process of plan representations was defined.

Data analysis of the study is continuing and the results will be thoroughly presented in the conference.

Keywords:

design, architectural representations, plan representations, early design phase, knowledge.