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Their apparently obedient and relentless re-working of the permutations possible within the brief leads to answers that are surprising and original. The proportions, form and pattern produced by this design process are controlled by the architect, whose response is both practical (logical) and aesthetic (intuitive). The form of the exterior changed in response to analysis […]

A good architect could use this as an opportunity to design communal circulation spaces of real quality where people will take pleasure in meeting on the way to their otherwise isolated cellular offices. You’re drawing something that gets you to the real thing.’ Graham Haworth, Haworth Tompkins Many would say that they need restrictions in […]

The architect needs to find ways to simulate or represent their ideas and proposals; such as drawing or modelling, for example. Making and reflecting will enable you to acknowledge the possibilities and limitations of your own design process — and therefore become a better designer — and also to test out the effectiveness of your […]

Architecture: Describe the scale of your proposal English: How big is it? It should not be confused with ‘criticism’: the comments made by reviewers at crits or reviews. As with much architectural education, there is a strong element of learning by doing and less evidence of instructive forms of teaching. The strength of critical judgement […]

There may only be one opportunity to provide a solution (because the next time the problem will be different; in architecture there will be a different site, brief, budget or client) and so it is impossible to definitively compare the quality of that solution with another. There is no such thing as one right answer […]

This requires an enhanced ability not only to perceive the problem, but also to focus on particular problems as being the most relevant to solve. Why do architects insist on ‘bespoke’ solutions and methods rather than working together to research and agree on one single optimum, or even correct, answer to questions such as, ‘What […]

Probably, but you will only find out by trying them. Knowledge gained from past experience is certainly one part of the solution. Architects must use their critical judgement and exploit their capacity for reinvention to ensure that design- studio culture remains fluid, positive, accessible and relevant. This sketch of a group tutorial shows the hands […]

The transient qualities of the site, so difficult to represent in architectural drawings, are immediately obvious: variations in light conditions, growth of vegetation, and the expectation of future change are tangible. Hadid has referred to them as ‘streams’. At this early stage, these lines may express the whole city, the building itself or both. Although […]

Throughout the project, the architect coordinates the contributions of various consultants, such as engineers. There is still a need for architectural decisions, and therefore design work, while construction is in progress. Projects in a professional environment follow a broadly similar rhythm to student projects with early analytical and experimental phases, the development of the brief […]

During the design development phase ideas are refined, decisions made and complexity increased. Once the design problem has been understood and restated, the designer will begin to make decisions on the focus and direction of the project. This definition often arises from a decision by the designer to focus on a few particular issues each […]