Concept as the Activist of Creativity in Architectural Design: Exploring Factors Affecting Concept Formation Using the Structural Equation Model

Abstract

In the contemporary understanding of architectural design, the concept is essential in that it drives the creative aspect of a designer, provides design a wealth of meaning, and initiates and shapes the design process. Based on the importance of the concept in architectural design, this study aimed to examine the factors affecting the concept formation of architect candidates/architects in design education and practice. For this purpose, a pilot study in the first phase of the study tested a survey distributed to two groups of participants, namely architecture undergraduate students and practising architects in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. The data obtained from the survey were analyzed with the SPSS software and measurement tools were identified and then, weights of the factors were determined using the Structural Equation Model (SEM). According to the analysis results, the factors affecting concept formation in architectural design are the design problem, context, designer-induced values, and user-induced values according to their weighted importance. One of the main reasons the design problem and context are pioneers in determining concept is that these factors hold a strong place in the traditions and teachings of design education. In addition, depending on the way architecture students and practicing architects experience the profession, their attitudes towards creating concepts in their designs may vary.