Browsing by Subject "Conceptual design phase"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Open Access
Cognitive Comparison of design methods in the conceptual phase
(Sage Publications Ltd., 2023-07-12) Gürel, Adel; Şenyapılı Ozcan, Burcu
The initial phases of design, known as the conceptual design phases, are often associated with hand sketching, while parametric tools are reserved for the later, more developed stages of design. This paper examines the potentials of using parametric tools in the early design phases in comparison to widely utilized hand sketching. It is intended to find out the impacts of using parametric tools on the cognitive behaviors and the satisfaction of self-assessment levels of the designers. An experimental study was conducted with a group of graduate architecture students using Grasshopper, the findings of which are analyzed through a content-oriented coding scheme, together with protocol analyses. Significant differences are found between cognitive behaviors of the participants in using hand sketching and Grasshopper. The findings show that all of the participants consider Grasshopper as a useful conceptual design tool that may be utilized in early design phases, in contrast to its wide popularity in the late stages of design.
Open Access
Cognitive comparison of using hand sketching and parametric tools in the conceptual design phase
(2018-11) Gürel, Adel
With the advancements in the digital design tools, designers have been provided with new methods and tools, which lead them to new ways of thinking. The speed and impact of the use of digital tools in architectural design have increased at an astonishing rate in the last decade. However, the use of such tools in the initial stages of design, the concept generation phase for instance, still seems to be under the influence of hand sketching. The potentials, affects and the evaluations of the use of digital tools in the early phases of design remain to be investigated. This thesis aims at examining the potentials of using parametric design tools in the conceptual design phase in comparison to hand sketching. It is intended to find out and evaluate the impacts of using parametric design tools on the cognitive behaviors of the designers, as well as assessing the satisfaction of the designers in using parametric tools in the early stages of design. Within this framework, an experimental study was conducted with three inexperienced and three experienced graduate architecture students using Grasshopper as the parametric design tool. A content-oriented coding scheme was used together with protocol analyses to collect the data. As a result of the research, significant differences were found between cognitive behaviors of the participants in using hand sketching and Grasshopper. Additionally, the findings show that all of the participants consider Grasshopper as a useful and important conceptual design tool. In line with these findings, this thesis suggests parametric modeling tools to be used more effectively in the architectural conceptual design phase.
Open Access
An ontology-based universal design knowledge support system
(Elsevier, 2011-05) Afacan, Yasemin; Demirkan, H.
An effective and efficient knowledge support system is crucial for universal design process, as it has become a major design issue in the last decade with the growth of the elderly population and disabled people. There are a limited number of CAD investigations on the nature of knowledge processing that supports the cognitive activities of universal design process. Therefore, this paper proposes an ontology-based computer-assisted universal design (CAUD) plug-in tool that supports designers in developing satisfactory universal design solutions in the conceptual design phase. The required knowledge processing and representation of the developed tool is motivated by the ontological language. It is based on the multiple divergence-convergence cognitive strategies and cognitive needs of designers in the analysis/synthesis/evaluation operations. The CAUD plug-in tool is the first attempt to interface the universal design knowledge ontologically and respond to the requirements of conceptual design phase. According to the user acceptance study, the tool is assessed as useful, understandable, efficient, supportive and satisfactory.