The Idea §
- Architecture begins with an idea. Good design is driven by an idea rooted in an envisioned experience.
- A parti is the central idea or concept of a building. The design struggle is to create a parti appropriate for the project.
- Partis derive from non-architectural understandings. They are influenced by the portrayed narrative, and sociocultural context.
- Be specific with the design idea. Designs that appeal to everyone appeal to no one. Designing in idea-specific ways gives license for people to bring their own interpretations.
- The more justifications for a design decision, the better. Elements should be multipurpose.
- Use the parti as a guide to designing the many aspects of a building. Use it to reinforce the idea of the building
- Buildings emerge naturally as a consequence of logic and aesthetics.
- When having difficulty resolving a design decision, consider it as a 2D or 3D composition. This encourages you to give balanced attention to form and space.
- Informed simplicity entails architectural richness. Unnecessary complexity makes things cluttered.
- Give your ideas a name. A name is a shorthand for the idea that can be used to explain it.
Sharing the Idea §
- If you can’t explain your ideas in simple terms, you don’t know your idea well enough.
- Present ideas from general to specific. A sample flow:
- State the problem
- Discuss the contribution.
- Discuss the design process and major discoveries
- State the parti
- Present the plans
- Give a self-critique.
- A good graphic presentation should have labels and titles be legible from ten feet away (the Ten-Foot-Test)
- Designs can be regulated by governments:
- Zoning codes concern how a building relates to its surroundings.
- Building codes concern with how a building functions.
- Accessibility codes provide for the use of buildings by persons with physical challenges.
Links §