By analyzing skill integration at a domain and task level the paper proposes that from the viewpoint of creativity, design can then be considered as an ensemble of different skills,
Trang 1A Creativity Environment for Educational Engineering Projects when Developing an Innovative Product: A Case Study 279
Variants 09/10: These variants were developed by
employing especially TRIZ-IP-01 “Segmentation” and
TRIZ-IP-24 “Intermediary” (see explanations above)
Fig 13 (left) shows a connecting mechanism where a
specific V-shaped part is pulled upwards through a
rectangular hole in the sliding element The V-part has
a screw on top and is intended to deform when the nut
is tightened The version depicted in Fig 13 (right) can
be regarded as result of applying TRIZ-IP-13 “The
other way round - Invert the action(s) used to solve the
problem”, which in this case was quite inspiring and
stimulating Force is applied in an opposite direction:
Instead of pulling up an element the set screw is
pressing down a V-shaped part
Fig 13 Solution principles (No.09 / No.10)
Based on the described variants parts were prototyped
and tested in order to prove the feasibility
Unfortunately none of the described concepts could
guarantee a secure connection between the rope and
the sliding element thus putting the overall mechanism
in question The ubiquitous occurring problem was the
increasing deformation of the sliding element resulting
from reaction forces when applying pressure onto the
rope The deformation itself led to a rough-running
and uncontrollable operation mode of the sliding
element when pushed or pulled through the housing
So a serious conflict was identified which according to
TRIZ-methodology can be resolved by specific IPs if
only the proper contradictionary parameters can be
defined The contradiction was expressed like this: An
increasing Force / Stress or Pressure (which improves
the connection) leads to the worsening features:
Strength, Reliabilty and Object-generated harmful
factors The TRIZ-contradiction matrix recommends
several IPs whereas IP-03, IP-13 and IP-35 are most
favourable (Fig 14)
Fig 14 Conflict matrix and resulting IPs
Variants 11/12/13: In considering particularly TRIZ-IP-13 “The other way round” and TRIZ-IP-03 “Local quality - Change an object's structure from uniform to non-uniform; make each part of an object function in conditions most suitable for its operation; make each part of an object fulfill a different and useful function”,
an optimization of the connecting concepts was aspired Variant No.11 (Fig 15, left) redirects the horizontal deformation to a minor vertical one by letting the screw pull the carrier element instead of pressurize it Variant No.12 (Fig 15, right) avoids the deformation of the sliding element in that a carrier element arranged around an axle absorbs induced forces almost completely
Fig 15 Solution principles (No.11 / No.12)
Another solution, which actually turned out to be most promising and satisfying is depicted in Fig 16 (left), where the reaction forces are eliminated nearly completely within the subsystem consisting of a modified headless set screw containing another coned stud screw in the centre setting the rope under pressure Nearly all reaction forces and deformations are induced into this element and have little effect on the sliding element
It shall be annotated that the Top Ten TRIZ-IP-15
“Dynamics - Allow (or design) the characteristics of
an object, external environment, or process to change
to be optimal or to find an optimal operating condition; absorb forces within a system or subsystem and
Trang 2280 K Hain, C Rappl and M Fraundorfer
eliminate them”, was also an inspiring source for this
design step
Fig 16 Solution principle No.13 / Prototype system
After having sub-functions realized and compatibility
checked among each other the whole system was
manufactured and prototyped (Fig 16, right) and is
running under test conditions So far the developed
prototype has turned out quite satisfactory
4 Conclusion
Several regular design project evaluations revealed,
that a conceptual guideline or design project map is
particularly appreciated when conducting practical
work in an educational context It is useful in
visualizing the whole process and how activities of
design and the use of creativity techniques are
influenced by numerous factors like the problem
definition, state of information, complexity of the task
and the nature of the preliminary work Case studies
also made clear, that if given an appropriate guiding
frame, students can act, communicate and cooperate
properly and produce a better final project and
consequently product quality while instructors
interference is minimized The outcome is quite
promising with respect to tackling the poor problem solving experience, improving the documentation habits and stimulating the development of thinking patterns at different levels of resolution which should
be regarded as a kind of heuristics rather than being used as strict algorithms
References
Europäische Patentanmeldung: EP 2107192 A2; Anmelder: Inoutic / Deceuninck GmbH, Bogen (DE); Int Cl E05C 9/06 (2006.01), Anmeldetag: 24.3.2009
Grabowski H, Hain K, et al., (1997) Supporting the Search for Design Solutions Based on Information Recognition and Automated Classification ProKSI-Workshop, Sophia Antipolis, France
Hain K, Rappl C, (2010) Engineering Design Projects in Education: A Reference Frame Based on Design Methodology Proceedings of INTED-2010, ISBN-978-84-613-5538-9
Hain K, Rappl C, Kaiser F, Fraundorfer M, (2008) A Case Study for Systematic Design of a Mechatronic Product for Buildings 15 th Int Conf on Mechatronics and Vision in Practice (M2VIP), Dec 2008, Auckl New Zealand ISBN: 978-0-473-13532-4
Klein B, (2002) TRIZ/TIPS - Methodik des erfinderischen Problemlösens Oldenbourg Verlag ISBN:
3-486-25952-0 Pahl G, Beitz W, (2007) Engineering Design: A Systematic Approach Edited by Ken Wallace and Lucienne Blessing Springer, ISBN: 978-1-84628-318-5 (Print: 3rd Edition), 978-1-84628-319-2 (Online)
Patent Applied For; Title: Window; Owner: Inoutic / Thyssen Polymer GmbH / Germany, International No.:
WO 2007/051441 A1; Int Cl.: E05C9 / 18 (2006.01); Date of Publication: 23-06-2006
Shavinina, Larisa V, (2003) The International Handbook on Innovation Pergamon, Amsterdam Hback, 1208 pp, ISBN 008044198X
Zwicky F, (1976) Entdecken, Erfinden, Forschen im Morphologischen Weltbild München-Zürich, Droemer-Knaur, 1976/1971
Trang 3
The Metaphor of an Ensemble: Design Creativity as Skill Integration
Newton S D’souza
University of Missouri, USA
Abstract The metaphor of an ensemble is used in this paper
to understand and explain creativity in design By analyzing
skill integration at a domain and task level the paper
proposes that from the viewpoint of creativity, design can
then be considered as an ensemble of different skills,
emergent from the specificity of the situation in which the
designer operates When design skills are considered as a
composite, rather than as isolates, and are situated rather
than absolute, they allow for flexibility in action and afford
room for creativity, as different combinations of skills may
lead to different creative design products
Keywords: creativity, design skills, design process, skill
integation, mltiple skill model, architectural design
1 Creativity as an Ensemble of Design
Skills
Current designers are immersed in a
technology-intensive environment of social-networking, mobile
communication, 3D-gaming and virtual reality worlds
While the effect of these tools has yet to be adequately
evaluated in design, one issue that is increasingly
becoming clear is that this new environment demands
individuals to make meaningful connections between
different tools To make these connections however,
one needs to pay attention to the underlying skills
demanded by these different tools
In this paper, the term ‘skills’ is used in reference
to both cognitive constructions (mental representation
and processes) and external depictions (physical
action) For example, in the case of architectural
designing, visualization is a skill consisting of mental
representation while sketching on a paper or computer
is an external depiction In other words, the word
‘skill’ is used in a loose-fitting manner so as to render
its meaning more inclusive to terms such as ‘aptitude,’
‘competency,’ ‘intelligence’ or ‘representation.’ In a
prior study it was recognized that architectural design
as a discipline demands the use of multiple skills such
as spatial visualization, logical thinking, kinesthetic
skills, problem-solving skills, linguistic ability,
reflective skills and interpersonal skills (D’souza,
2006; 2007) With this assumption, the challenge is to
find modes of translation between them in the hope that they lead to more creative products The hypothesis of this paper is to consider design creativity
as a meta-skill that involves the integration of multiple skills An understanding of skill integration then will clarify the function of creativity in design This paper attempts to understand skill integration at a domain level, as well as at a task level
Furthering the debate of multiple skills in design, the assumption here is that designing requires a group
of skills performing as an ensemble The metaphor of
an ensemble is useful in understanding creativity Typically, a jazz ensemble consists of various components such as wind instruments (saxophones, trumpets, etc.), chordal instruments (electric guitar, piano, organ), bass instruments (electric bass guitar or double bass), and drums Creative musicians find a way to integrate these various instruments in different models of improvisation Most importantly, unlike other musical genres, a jazz ensemble is without a conductor, the improvisations occur through a spontaneous “call and varied response,” a form of interaction between different musicians where one or a group of musicians take turns with the lead (Figure 1)
In other words any instrument can have priority over the other and the music is situational rather than pre-determined This alleviates any hierarchy within the instruments and allows for creative improvisation Similarly, in architectural design, one can imply that creativity occurs when design skills can be modulated and integrated in spontaneous ways
Fig 1 Rendition of jazz ensemble by artist Scott Cumming
Trang 4282 N.S D’souza
This metaphor of creativity demands that one cannot
assign absolute value to skills in design, but that in
different contexts, different skills may be more
valuable than the other When design skills are
considered as a composite, rather than as isolates, and
situated rather than absolute, they allow for flexibility
in action and afford space for creativity, as different
combinations of skills could lead to different design
products Design, from the viewpoint of creativity, can
then be considered as an ensemble of different skills,
emergent from the specificity of the situation in which
the designer operates
2 Integration as a Construct in Creativity
Research
The dominant paradigm in traditional creativity
research emerging from cognitive psychology
attributes creativity as a divergent phenomenon rather
than an integrative one For example, the acclaimed
Structure of Intellect model prescribed by Guilford
proposes divergent production tests (Guilford, 1950)
Torrance advanced Guilford’s divergent model
through the famous psychometric measure of
creativity, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking
(TTCT), in which flexibility, originality and elaborated
thoughts are emphasized rather than integrated
(Torrance, 1974)
However, the fragmentary nature of design tools
today, as well as the nature of design discipline,
demands convergence or integration rather than
divergence Some views have alluded to this
proposition For example, Sternberg (1988) has
observed that creativity will manifest itself in different
forms, depending on the blend of characteristics one
brings to creative performance attempts In seeking to
understand creativity, Sternberg observed that we need
to understand the interactivity among its parts as well
as their independent functioning
Rothenberg (1979) has characterized homospatial
thinking as the phenomenon where two or more
discrete entities occupy the same space In the same
direction, Keep (1957) defines creativity as the
intersection of two ideas for the first time, while
Spearman (1931) has observed that creativity is
present or occurs whenever the mind can see the
relationship between two items in such a way as to
generate a third item
In their proposal of conceptual blending,
Fauconnier and Turner (1998) observe that insights
obtained from blends constitute the products of
creative thinking Individuals blend the function of a
partial match between two sets of information and
construct meaning out of it in a blended mental space
The elements and vital relations from diverse scenarios are blended in a subconscious process, which is assumed to be ubiquitous to everyday thought
3 Skill Integration as a Basis for Design Creativity
In architectural design, references to skill integration are mostly confined to anecdotal refences to architects’ use of analogy and metaphors As such, very few systematic studies can be cited In a study conducted
on creative architects, Mackinnon (1978) suggests that experts are more creative than the novices because a creative person, in his or her intellectual endeavors, is able to reconcile expert knowledge and childlike wonder Similarly, in a study among architectural students and architects, Downing (1989) finds that unlike architectural students, architects are able to assimilate information more easily and hence are more creative
Newland et al (1987) found that the contemplative type of designer learns best by rising above apparent information into a unifying altruistic theory using metaphors to make sense of seemingly unrelated sets
of information For Bijl (1989), integration should be flexible because prior typing may become undone as new instances in the design process make unexpected demands For example, a design idea cannot be fully determined at the beginning of the design process because the client may need something later or the context may pose difficult issues that force a change in strategy midway For Jones (1970), the integration is a process of convergence, where the designer’s aim becomes that of reducing secondary uncertainties progressively until one possible alternative is left
In more recent attempts to model creativity, several design researchers have pointed out that blending, synthesizing and combining are key to creative thinking (Nagai and Taura, 2006; Gero and Maher, 1991; Goldschmidt, 2001; Finke et al, 1992) Yukari and Nagai have explored concept-synthesizing in terms of concept abstraction (similarity), concept-blending (similarity and dissimilarity) and concept integration (thematic relations) Among these, concept integration is shown to have highest effect on creativity While in concept abstraction the similarity
of two objects are critical for creativity to occur, in concept blending, it is not just about linking similarities of objects, but creating a new object that may be dissimilar to the original objects In concept integration however, the creativity occurs at a thematic level, rather than at the literal level of objects
Trang 5The Metaphor of an Ensemble: Design Creativity as Skill Integration 283
4 The Multiple Skill Framework and Skill
Integration in Design
As mentioned in section 1, architectural design is
assumed to consist of multiple skills such as spatial
visualization, logical thinking, kinesthetic skills,
problem-solving skills, linguistic ability, reflective
skills and interpersonal skills D’souza (2006, 2007)
This multiple skill framework is borrowed from the
educator and cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner
(1983), who critiques the current educational system
that focuses on logical and verbal skills only and
failing to serve the academic and career needs of many
students whose strengths lie outside these two skills
Note that Gardner uses the term ‘intelligence’ instead
of the word ‘skill’ although they are semantically
similar
Gardner suggests that not only do individuals
possess numerous mental representations and
intellectual languages, but individuals also differ from
one another in the forms of these representations, their
relative strengths, the ways in which these
representations can be changed Gardner proposes at
least eight discrete mental representations or skills
concerning the ways in which individuals take in
information, retain and manipulate that information,
and demonstrate their understandings to themselves
and others The eight skills include verbal/linguistic,
logical/mathematical, musical, spatial,
bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and
naturalistic skills (Table 1)
Table 1 Multiple Skill Model of Gardner
Linguistic/verbal Use of words in creative ways
Musical/rhythmic Appreciate/perform sounds
Logical/mathematical Think in abstract relations
Spatial/visual Manipulate/transform spatial information
Bodily-kinesthetic Use of body to solve problems
Intrapersonal Responsive to personal feelings
Interpersonal Responsive to feelings of others
Naturalistic Appreciate/manipulate nature
While Gardner suggests that each skill category is
autonomous, i.e consisting of its own attributes of
memory and cognition, this paper assumes that in
design, autonomy of skills is restrictive This point
has been made by a critique of Gardner’s theory, Klein
(1997), who demonstrated integration of skills among
differing tasks Taking an example of the task of
parking a car, Klein suggests the use of logical skill is
required to maneuver the car exactly in the parking lot
However, the task of car parking also requires a
content area such as space to be worked In the
multiple intelligence model however, logical skills and
spatial skills occupy different categories because of
their autonomy, raising the question of how these two
skills could exchange information if they are so separated This argument seems apt especially in architecture design which uses different intended acts such as logic, visualization, drawing, on one hand and intended objects such as form, space, graphics on the other Hence while Gardner’s multiple skill model is assumed here, it has been modified to accommodate multiple skills rather than considering the skills purely autonomous
5 Analyzing Skill Integration in the Architectural Design Studio
The idea of studying skill integration came about as a by-product of a larger study of applying the multiple skill framework among architectural design students These students were self-selected from an intermediate year design studio at a Midwestern school of architecture in the US This paper will investigate the degree of integration in the use of different skills among designers The study was conducted in two parts The first part focused on skill integration at a domain level of design consisting of multiple skills among 37 architecture students The second part focused on skill integration at a task level among a subset of nine students The first part of the study is described in section 5.1 and the second part in the section 5.2
5.1 Analyzing Skill Integration at a Domain Level
in Design
To understand skill integration at a domain level first, skills in design were measured through a survey scale called Architecture Design Intelligence Assessment Scales (ADIAS), which is a personality-based self report administered through a paper-and-pencil questionnaire The ADIAS uses a Likert-type measurement where participants are asked to indicate whether they agree or disagree with each item within a range of six options, and the scores for each scale are converted into percentage points Scores within percentages of 100-60 are considered ‘high,’ 60-40 are considered ‘moderate’ and 40-0 are considered ‘low’ The ADIAS was constructed from the MIDAS scales, which were originally developed by Shearer (1996) to measure the multiple skill framework of Howard Gardner The MIDAS (Multiple Intelligence Design Assessment Scales) is intended to give a reasonable estimate of the person’s intellectual disposition in each of the eight main intelligence areas (linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal)
It has been subjected to several tests of validity and
Trang 6284 N.S D’souza
reliability during the scale construction process The
ADIAS was constructed because it was felt that the
MIDAS fell short in addressing domain specific skills
that are particular to the uniqueness of architecture
design For example, in MIDAS items related to
spatial skill include “Can you parallel park a car on the
first try?” While this is a fair item to assess spatial
skills for some domains, it may not entirely reflect the
meaning of spatial skills in architecture where space
can relate to sensory issues of light, texture, proportion
and so on
The transformation from MIDAS to ADIAS
occurred through a four-phase scale construction
process among 104 architecture design students The
ADIAS consists of 93 items for eight skill categories -
71 items from the original MIDAS scales and 22 new
scales evolved during the scale-construction process
These new scales were formed by adding
architecture-related content through design literature and
qualitative interviews among design students Validity
was ensured by rejecting items with scores less than
50%, and reliability was ensured by deleting items
with Cronbach alpha values greater than the alpha
values for individual scales It should be noted that in
the ADIAS scale construction process, a new scale
emerged called eye-mind-hand coordination scale In
the final version, the ADIAS mean scores for
architecture students ranged from 74 for spatial to 59
for linguistics All the skill scores were above or close
to 60 Cronbach reliability for architecture students
ranged from 0.9 for spatial skills to 0.77 for
eye-mind-hand coordination scales (D’souza, 2006)
In order to understand the degree of skill
integration, the Pearson’s coefficient correlation
between ADIAS scores were considered This was to
elicit the degree of skill integration As shown in
Figure 2, only correlations above + 0.5 are shown For
example, spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal and
logical skills had the highest integration while
kinesthetic and musical skills were fairly autonomous
Darker shaded circles indicate greater degree of skill
integration compared to the lighter shaded circles
Furthermore, the distance between the skills suggest
the strength of skill integration Skills such as
intrapersonal, spatial and eye-hand-mind coordination
skills bunched closer, compared to others Spatial skill
shows a strong correlation with eye-mind-hand
coordination skill (R = 0.78) and intrapersonal skill (R
= 0.74)
Another notable finding is the strong correlation
between intrapersonal, interpersonal and verbal skills
(intra to inter R= 0.69; intra to verbal R = 0.60; inter to
verbal R=0.70), suggesting that sensory and
communication skills are strongly integrated with each
other in design On the whole, the strong connections
between these different skills suggests that these
faculties are very much dependent on each other, contrary to Gardner’s hypothesis that the skills are relatively autonomous
LOGICAL 0.48
INTRAPERSONAL 0.74 0.53
KINESTHETIC 0.16 0.35 0.04
EYE-MIND-HAND COORDINATION 0.78 0.5 0.78 0.12
INTERPERSONAL 0.58 0.48 0.69 0.42 0.52 0.55
SPATIAL LOGICAL
INTER PERSONAL KINESTHETIC
EYE-MIND-HAND NATURAL
INTRA PERSONAL MUSICAL
Fig 2 Degree of skill integration among multiple skills of
architectural design students
As a further note, the size of the circles in the figure also shows the content validity of these skills to architectural design based on the scores attained in the ADIAS scales As a subject of future analysis, this may help to understand the degree of skill integration
in relation to the content validity of the scales
5.2 Analyzing Skill Integration at a Task Level in Design
Understanding design skill at a domain level can only provide one part of the picture of creativity To get a more complete picture, skill integration also needs to
be investigated at the task level since, specific design problems demand specific combinations of skills In the study, the design protocols of design tasks for nine students were examined in detail
Currently, protocol studies are used only in experimental setups where a small number of participants are observed in a room and are expected to design a product in a short period of time (2- 4 hours)
We found that this kind of protocol analysis may not
be suitable to our study because the short duration not only diminishes the complexity and quality of
Kinesthetic
Musical
Eye- - Mind Coordination Natural
Logical Verbal
0.48
0.78
0.58 0.53 0.50 0.60 0.50 0.69 0.70
0.52
0.58
0.55
0.58
0.74 0.78
0.52
Hand
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Spatial
Trang 7The Metaphor of an Ensemble: Design Creativity as Skill Integration 285
architectural design, but also fails to simulate the skills
used in a naturalized setting of practice or an academic
studio The challenge was then to design protocols at a
macroscopic level in the bargain of losing information
at a microscopic level
The nine students were distributed among six
different sections of the architectural studio with
different instructors and similar design problems
(Design task 1: row housing, design task 2: culture
works museum and design task 3: branch library)
Each protocol lasted for approximately one month, and
data collection occurred at least twice a week in
sessions lasting between 5-20 minutes Verbal
information was collected in the form of design
intentions To supplement the verbal information,
design images were recorded using a digital camera
wherever it seemed appropriate These images were in
different media and materials (e.g tracing sheet,
maplitho sheet, study models, etc.) The students were
also asked to keep a log book so that informal sketches
and information could be recorded throughout the
design process
Coding for all skills was done through a codebook
which was devised by the researcher from referring to
substantive data collected from the ADIAS as well as
architectural design literature Coding was done by
three outside coders, who identified specific design
intentions and matched them with appropriate skills
Table 2 shows an example of coding scheme for
interpersonal skill While the second column provides
a brief descriptor for the main scale, the last two
columns show the interpretation of the main scales into
specific architectural design task scales
The coding process is described in reference to
Figure 3 The rows in the codebook show categories
such as illustration, design intent and multiple skills
According to the coder, the intention ‘(5.1) ‘Separate
entry zones for private and public,’ refers to the use of
logical skill (because of an intention that is based on
function and logical analysis) Hence, a tick mark is
placed on the row corresponding to logical skills (‘L’)
The intention ‘(5.2) ‘Separation of entries also created
an open space at the center that could be used as a
courtyard for the community,’ refers to the use of
spatial skill (because the designer is creating a spatial
relation between open and closed elements), as well as
interpersonal skill (because the intention shows a
sensitivity to community) Hence two tick marks are
placed, one for spatial skill (S) and another for
interpersonal skill (I) These two tick marks are placed
on the same column as the first intention but on the
extreme right, because these two intentions are
illustrated by the same drawing
Table 2 Example of coding criteria for interpersonal skill
SKILL (Code) General Description of Skill
SENSITIVTY BEHAVIOR
Intetions/drawings should convey the designer's ability to understand human behavior/ diverse values of design context Ability to role-play and identify behavioral patterns
SENSITIVITY
TO USER NEEDS
Designer should have social sensibility/empathy for variety of user groups/client scenarios, including underprivileged population Intentions/drawings should show socio-cultural sensibility, and sensitivity to universal design issues
ABILITY TO BE SOCIALLY PERSUASUVE
IN DESIGN
Designer should be socially persuasive
in communication of intentions Designer should be parsimonious/elegant in conveying ideas.
Skill in relation to architecture design
To think about and understand another person To have empathy and recognize distinctions among people and to appreciate their perspectives with sensitivity to their motives, moods and intentions It involves interacting effectively with one or more people Sensitivity to and understanding of other people's moods, feelings and point
of view Ability for influencing other people Interest and skill for jobs involving working with people Awareness of one's own ideas and abilities Ability to achieve personal goals
Illustrations
Design Intents
1.1 Separate entry zones for private and public
1a Creating some rhythmic effect in the façade by staggering units on
1b
1.2 Seperation
of entries also creates open spaces in the center which could be used as
a courtyard
Skills M L S P I V N
Coding
Fig 3 Example of coding process
5.2.1 The Case of Laura and Jared
Two individual cases are elaborated here to further illustrate skill integration in design Design student Laura likes to use different architectural strategies in her row-house scheme primarily through formal massing Three strategies of formal massing are demonstrated here As shown in Figure 4 (left) in the first case, Laura explores massing through a juxtaposition of different volumes By using a set of wireframe diagrams, she explores architectural elements of proportion, hierarchy, geometry, etc in the individual units of houses, as well as the row-house complex as a whole
As she proceeds with the design process, she uses volumetric massing for an entirely different purpose, i.e., to explore and clarify functional zoning such as work space vs residence conflicts, community vs
Trang 8286 N.S D’souza
privacy so on As shown in Figure 4 (middle), Laura
uses different colors (yellow and blue) to distinguish
these conflicts In the third case shown in Figure 4
(right), Laura uses volumetric massing for another
purpose purely an aesthetic basis to represent visual
weight (heavy vs light) Laura’s design portrays
primarily three design representations: spatial in the
first case (spatial disposition of the volumes), logical
in the second case (functional disposition of the
volumes) and intrapersonal in the third case (sensory
disposition of the volumes)
1
3
3 Computer massing shwing overlaping of ligt v/s dark spaces
2 Functional zoning of different spaces showing alternatives in 3D massing
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 Trying to model spaces in 3D and schematics sections
Fig 4 Skill integration through massing
Hence, in one design activity of volumetric massing,
Laura uses different skills such as spatial skills, logical
skills and intrapersonal skills One should also note
that these three ideas are not alternatives, but the
continuation of the same idea Laura’s case indicates
that thinking of design not only requires different
skills, but also to making integration between one skill
and the other
1
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 Initial study of the courtyard space
looking at orientation and geometry
2 Radiating geometry of plan as layers
Design Intent
Fig 5 Skill integration through multiple overlays
Similarly, design student Jared was able to think in
multiple overlays (Figure 5) by using tracing sheets
one below, allowing him to layer ideas and maneuver
fluently through different elements of designing such
as site, landscape, figure ground, built space, floor
plan, etc Jared used overlays to design parts of a
scheme, without losing sight of the overall design By
doing so he was able to engage in analysis and
integration simultaneously As shown in Figure 5, of a
row housing scheme, Jared uses overlays of positive v/s negative spaces, landscape v/s built spaces and circulation v/s habitable spaces Based on the GPA and instructor rating, this group of students was considered most successful and creative Besides Laura and Jared, other creative students displayed some other traits as elaborated below In all these examples, one can see an integration of skill at different levels
5.2.1.1 Ability to use multiple skills
1 3 4
2 Gallery locatec in corner not to disturb privacy of residents
3 Community space situated in directed visual access to main street
4 Massive exterior wall of row-house buffers the reidents from the stret and the light wells in the interiors help residenes to open inwardly into the courtyards
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 Gallery situated in direct access to main street
Fig 6 Ability to use multiple skills
One of the aspects that distinguished this group of students from the rest is that they were able to utilize multiple skills - spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal, logical, kinesthetic, verbal and naturalistic In the example of a row house project (Figure 6), one can see the multiple skills for the intentions as coded in the table below in terms of spatial, intrapersonal,
interpersonal, logical and kinesthetic skills
5.2.1.2 Rigorous experimentation with alternatives
1
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 Excercise in 3D massing for creating and analying different alternatives
Fig 7 Identification and Application of diverse precedents
Trang 9The Metaphor of an Ensemble: Design Creativity as Skill Integration 287
Another aspect that distinguished this group of
students from others was their ability to produce
multiple alternatives As seen in the Figure 7 one can
see an experimentation with different formal strategies
for a row housing layout
5.2.1.3 Verbal articulation of ideas and reflection
This group of designers was also more verbally
articulate than others in their design ideas
demonstrating good oral skills and or written skills
Example in Figure 8 shows the designer interacting
with the design problem of a row house design project
by writing notes on how individual units negotiate the
slope of the site, showing high level of verbal skills
1 2
2 Reflecting on adjacency of spaces
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 Verbalizing and reflecting upon the
negotiation of slopes
Fig 8 Verbal articulation of ideas and reflection
5.2.1.4 Identification/application of diverse precedents
This group of designers also applied and identified
diverse precedents in their design In Figure 9 of a
museum project, one can see use of different
precedents for sectional organization
1
3
Design Intents
1 Using a precedent for sectional organization of spaces (Cite, HK
2 Exploring a second precendent, NewMuseum of Contemporary Art, NY
3 Exploring a third precedent -New Academic Building Cooper Union
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Fig 9 Identification and application of diverse precedents
5.2.1.5 Changing strategies based on project needs
This group was cognizant of the changing nature of
design problems across different projects and adapted
their design strategies accordingly The change in
strategies for the three projects can be demonstrated in
Figure 10 Reading from right to left, in the first
project of a row house, the designer uses a generative module and its formal logic for design (logical skill) in the second project of a museum she is influenced by her personal experience of a museum (intrapersonal/interpersonal skill) and in the third library project she uses an tree analogy as a form generator (naturalistic/intrapersonal skill) skill This change in strategy demonstrates that the designer is cognizant of the changing nature of design problems across the three projects and adapts accordingly
1 3
3 Using nature and vegetation as an analogy to create form
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 Visualizing row house massing through formal composition
2 Inspiration from personal experience in City Museum, St Louis
Fig 10 Changing strategies according to project needs
5.2.1.6 Extensive use of analogies/metaphors
Most designers used high degree of analogies/metaphors In Figure 11 the designer uses a
‘sand-crab’ and a ‘flower’ metaphor for the spatial organization of a row-house design project
1
2 Site layour anaologous to "flower" -keeping in mind how the flower opens to terrain and the slope of the site
Design Intent
Skills
Illustrations
Design Intents
1 "Sand-crab" imagery of row house units attempts to 'grab' open space
Fig 11 Use of analogies/metaphors
6 Conclusions
In summary, the findings suggest that designers use multiple skills in their designs, and creative designers are able to perform skill integration much more effectively than others The metaphor of the ensemble helps us to understand that it is not necessarily a specific skill or the number of skills the designer uses and integrates that makes a solution more creative
Trang 10288 N.S D’souza
Rather, how the skills are integrated in answer to a
specific design problem is what forms a basis for
creativity The metaphor of the ensemble helps us
view creativity can as a continuous ‘creative
performance’ (Sternberg, 1988) rather than a onetime
creative act
The findings show that creative designers are
cognizant of the changing nature of design contexts
and are more deliberate in choosing specific skills and
that creativity can occur at different levels in
architectural design As proposed by Klein (1997), the
findings also show that integration can occur between
within singular skills or multiple skills In some ways
it is the moment of insights when one can find, what
Nagai and Taura (2006) characterize as ‘thematic
relations’ between skills that can form the basis for
creativity
The findings imply that one cannot assign absolute
value to skills in design, but that in different contexts,
different skills may be more valuable than the others
When design skills are considered as a composite,
rather than as isolates, and situated rather than
absolute, they allow for flexibility in action and afford
room for creativity, as different combinations of skills
may lead to different design products Design, from
the viewpoint of creativity, can then be considered as
an ensemble of different skills, emergent from the
specificity of the situation in which the designer
operates This study has several limitations from the
use of one single studio and an academic setting to the
interpretive nature of the design process However, it
provides useful insights into the nature of skill
integration as a basis for creativity at a domain and
task level which may require further exploration
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