| Title |
On the analysis of the architectural design cognitive process: a cognitive experiment |
| Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to explore the congnitive mechanisms involved in architectural design problem solving. An experiment of a residential design is conducted for protocol analysis. And a cognitive model of design process is proposed, which describes the general cognitive procedure of the designer. Evidence collected from the protocol analysis yields following results. First, design knowledge of the problem domain which makes it easier for him to define the problem in a certain building type context plays the most important role in the early stage of design activities. Second, design alternatives are generated by means of activating the design constraints and associated rules in memory. Third, design process can be defined as an evolutionary and episodic process composed of the hierarchical structure of various goals and subgoals. |