Abstract
This paper presents the results of a protocol study which compares designers’ behavior in a parametric design environment (PDE) and a geometric modeling environment (GME). An experiment was conducted in which seven designers were required to complete two architectural conceptual design tasks with similar complexity respectively in a PDE and GME. Protocol analysis is employed to compare the cognitive behavior of designers in these two environments. By analyzing the designers’ actions, including shifting between “problem” and “solution” spaces, it was possible to compare their cognitive activities in PDEs and GMEs. Results of this research suggest that designers put similar effort into the design problem space and the solution space in PDE and GME and that interaction between these two spaces also appears similar in the two design environments. However, different Problem-Solution index values and discontinuity ratios are found across design stages of the two design environments.
Highlights
Parametric design has become increasingly prevalent in architectural design in recent years
As this study focuses on conceptual design in the parametric design environments (PDE) in general, there are different levels of approaches which are similar to the actual practices of parametric design and can be beneficial for generalizing the findings
Researches into the design process suggests that designers constantly return to the design problem space to reformulate the problem [31]
Summary
Parametric design has become increasingly prevalent in architectural design in recent years. The overarching question that drives this research, asks: are parametric design environments more beneficial for designers’ creative processes than traditional geometric modeling environments (GME)?. One of the recurring themes identified in past research using this method is the relationship between the “problem space” and “solution space” in the design process Design, it is suggested, is a process that develops the formulation of a problem and ideas for a solution in parallel [6]. This study starts by comparing designers’ behavior in terms of their approach to design problems and solutions in both PDE and GME. In the architectural design industry, parametric design tools are utilized mainly on complex building form generation, multiple design solution optimization, as well as structural and sustainability control
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