Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
DBPR Professions - Board of Employee Leasing Companies
DBPR Professions - Board of Employee Leasing Companies
NEW METHOD FOR SUBMITTING FINGERPRINT INFORMATION
Beginning March 11, 2009, all fingerprints must be submitted electronically to the department for Community Association Manager, Athlete Agent, Talent Agency and Employee Leasing Company applications. Electronic fingerprinting allows you to have your fingerprints scanned and electronically submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Electronic fingerprinting reduces the likelihood of illegible fingerprints or missing information on the fingerprint card. It also reduces the time it takes to process application cards, which will provide applicants faster service. You can submit your electronic fingerprints by scheduling an appointment with Pearson VUE at any of their various locations around the state. Applicants who live out of state must mail a hard card to the Pearson VUE location in Colorado. For additional information regarding this requirement please visit www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/servop/testing/documents/finger_faq.pdf.
Effective immediately the board will require all employee leasing companies to comply with Rule 61G16-10.0014, F.A.C. This rule requires DBPR form EL- 4522 “Quarterly Compliance Form” be completed and filed on the same schedule as the quarterly reporting form. This form will be due on or before 75 days after each calendar quarter. The first submission is due with the September 2008 quarterly reports, which are due on or before December 15, 2008.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Victorian House Styles
A Victorian is a house constructed during the Victorian era, approximately 1840 to 1900. During the Victorian era, industrialization brought new building materials and techniques. Architecture saw rapid changes. A variety of Victorian styles emerged, each with its own distinctive features.
The most popular Victorian styles spread quickly through widely published pattern books. Builders often borrowed characteristics from several different styles, creating unique, and sometimes quirky, mixes. Buildings constructed during the Victorian times usually have characteristics of one or more of the styles shown here. Click on the photos or links for information about each style.
http://architecture.about.com/od/housestyles/ig/Victorian-House-Styles/
American Colonial House Styles
When North America was colonized, European settlers brought building traditions from their home countries. Houses built along the northeastern coast, where the British settled, are quite different from houses the French colonists built in the Mississippi Valley and houses the Spanish colonists built in Florida and California.
German, Dutch, Swiss, and other Europeans also brought their own special traditions. Between 1600 and 1800, European styles adapted to meet the challenges posed by the climate and landscape of the new country. Using locally available materials and learning new building techniques from Native Americans, the colonists developed not one, but many, uniquely American styles.
Centuries later, builders borrowed ideas from early American architecture to create Colonial Revival and Neocolonial styles. Architecture from America's colonial period continues to influence the houses we build today.
How Much Will Your New House Cost?
You want to build a new house, but can you afford it? Knowing how much your dream house will cost can help you modify your plans to meet your budget.
To plan your budget, start with a free online building cost estimator. Then look for the details and hidden costs that will add to your final bill. Here are tips from a building plans pro.
"Guesstimate" the Cost of Your New Home
Home building tips by Ken Katuin
1. Contact Local Builders
Meet with builders who construct houses that are similar in size, quality, and features to the home you want. Builders will tell you how much per square foot they usually charge for home construction. They can also give you a ballpark idea of what your dream home might cost. However, it is important to know exactly what is included in the price. If you ask, some builders will provide you a list showing the materials they will use.
2. Count the Square Footage
Look at newly constructed homes that are similar in size, style, quality, and features to the home you want. Take the price of the home, deduct the price of the land, and divide that amount by the square footage of the home.
For example, if the home is selling for $230,000 and the land costs $30,000, then the construction cost is around $200,000. If the home is 2,000 square feet, then the cost per square foot is $100.
Use several new homes in your area to get an approximate square footage price. After you have calculated an average square footage cost, you can multiply that cost by the finished square footage of your house plan to get a ballpark estimate.
3. Expect Some Features to Cost More
The most expensive areas in a home are usually the bathrooms and the kitchen. The number of windows and the size and quality of windows can also affect the cost. Vaulted ceilings and high roof pitches can increase the cost of a home. When using other homes to calculate an estimate, be sure the home has a similar style and features of the home you plan to build.
The cost per square foot is often higher for a small home than that of a larger home. When building a larger home, the cost of expensive items (such as a furnace or kitchen) is spread over more square footage. Consequently, a larger home may have a lower square footage cost than a smaller home. Also, it usually costs less to build a two-story home when compared to a one-story home that has the same square footage. This is because a two-story home will have a smaller roof and foundation. Plumbing and ventilation are more compact in two-story homes.
Small details in the design of your home can make a big difference in the price. To save on costs, begin estimating construction expenses before you select your final blueprints. Here are important factors to consider:
Size of Home
When building a home, it's best to work with even numbers. Have your home size rounded up or down to increments of two feet. This reduces wasted materials. Also, it's most economical to build a home which is no deeper than 32 feet. If the depth exceeds 32 feet, then your roof trusses may need to be specially designed and will be more expensive.
Shape of Home
Homes that have a rectangular or box shape cost less to build. Having more angles and corners in the shape of your home can increase the amount of labor and materials needed to build a home. Dome shaped homes also make efficient use of materials and tend to cost less than other shapes.
Site Preparation
Preparing a site for construction can have a big impact on the cost of a home. Building on a flat lot will usually cost less. If you have to haul in lots of dirt, do a lot of grading, clear trees, or blast through large rocks, then site preparations can become more expensive.
Cost Overruns
Usually the finished cost of a home is more then the original bid price. Cost overruns occur from overspending the allowances, making changes, and encountering unforeseen problems. Proper planning can greatly reduce cost overruns. In general, it is a good idea to allow an additional 10% to cover unexpected costs.
Inflation and Market Conditions
Usually the cost of building a home increases around 3% to 6% per year. If it will be several years before you begin construction, remember to include inflation into the cost estimate for your home. When using other homes to compare prices, try to use homes that have been built within the last six months.
~ By Ken Katuin
You're building a house. Which do you do first?
Both approaches have merit. If your heart is set on a Spanish style adobe home, a heavily treed lot may not make sense for you. Having an idea of the architectural style you prefer will determine the size and characteristics of your building site.
You may run into problems, however, if you select a specific floor plan too soon. You can always design a home to suit a landscape, but you may not be able to alter a landscape to accommodate the specifications of predetermined house plans. The configuration of rooms, the placement of windows, the location of the driveway and many other design elements will be affected by the land you build on.
The land itself has long been the inspiration for truly great homes. Consider Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Constructed of concrete slabs, the house is anchored to a rugged stone hill in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Compare Fallingwater with Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House. Made almost entirely of transparent glass, this unearthly structure seems to float above a grassy plain in Plano, Illinois.
Would the Farnsworth House seem as graceful and serene perched on a rocky hill? Would Fallingwater make such a powerful statement if it
Once you have located a promising building site for your new home, spend some time on the building site. Walk the full length of the building site at different times of the day. If you are a follower of feng shui, you may want to think about the land in terms of its ch'i, or energy. If you prefer a more down-to-earth evaluation, think about ways the building site will influence the shape and style of your home. Ask yourself:
What are the general characteristics of the land? Is it green and woodsy? Rocky and gray? Or, is it a vast open stretch with a golden hue? Will the prevailing colors of the landscape change with the seasons? Will the home you imagine blend with the landscape? Does the landscape suggest particular colors or materials you might include in the design of your home?
Can other structures be clearly seen from the building lot? What is the prevailing architectural style? Will your proposed home fit the overall context of the neighborhood?
Will the size of your proposed house be proportionate to the size of the lot? (You don't want to squeeze a mansion onto a postage stamp!
Is there a street or road? Should the house face toward or away from the road
Where should the driveway be located? Will there be enough room for cars and delivery trucks to turn around?
Where are the most pleasing views? Where does the sun rise and set? Which views would you like to see from the living areas? From the kitchen? From the bedrooms? Where should windows and doors be placed?
If you are in a northern climate, how important is it to face the south? Will a southern exposure help you save on heating costs?
Is the site flat? Are there hills or streams? Are there any other geological conditions that might affect the design or placement of your home?
How much landscaping will be required? Will preparing the land for building and planting trees and shrubbery add to your final costs?
The waterfall views at Fallingwater may look idyllic, but for most of us, building on a rocky hillside isn't practical. You want the site of your new home to be beautiful, but it must also be safe... and affordable. Before you make a final decision, you'll need to consider a mind-boggling list of technical details
As you narrow your search for an ideal building site, don't scrimp on getting expert advice on home building. Your builder can put you in touch with consultants with the legal and scientific expertise to offer building advice. Your consultants will investigate the characteristics of the land and explore zoning, building codes and other factors.
Land Conditions
Soil. Has the property been a victim of hazardous waste? Are there pollutants that may not be apparent to an untrained observer?
Land Stability. Is the property is subject to land slides or sinkages?
Water Drainage. Is the property located near a river? Are there hills or low spots which may make your home subject to water runoff? Err on the side of caution. Even Mies van der Rohe made a grievous mistake. He placed the Farnsworth House too close to a stream, and his masterpiece suffered serious flood damage as a result.
Noise. Is there a nearby airport, highway, or railroad? How disruptive is it?
Zoning, Building Codes and More
Zoning. In five years, your beautiful views may be replaced by a highway or a housing development. Zoning regulations will indicate what may be legally constructed in the surrounding area.
Building Codes. A variety of ordinances will affect the placement of your new home on the lot. Regulations will specify how close you can build to the property line, roads, streams, and lakes.
Easements. Easements for electrical and telephone poles will limit the space you have for building your home.
Public Utilities. Unless the property is in a development of suburban tract homes, there may not be easy access to electricity, gas, telephone, cable television or public water lines. Sewers. If there are no municipal sewers, you'll need to know where you may legally place your septic system.
Costs
You may be tempted to skimp on the cost of your land so that you can spend more money on building your house. Don't. The cost of altering an unsuitable lot is likely to be more expensive than purchasing land that is meets your needs and your dreams.
How much should you spend on a building lot? There are exceptions, but in most communities your land will represent 20% to 25% of your total building costs.
http://architecture.about.com/od/buildyourhous1/a/BuildingLot_3.htm
Geodesic Dome
Developed by Buckminster Fuller in 1954, the Geodesic Dome was promoted as the world's strongest, most economical, lightweight structure. The ingenious engineering of the geodesic dome allows it to cover a wide stretch of space without using internal supports. The geodesic dome design was patented in 1965.
Geodesic Domes are ideal for emergency housing and mobile shelters such as military camps. However, the innovative geodesic shape has been adopted for elegant, upscale housing.
A geodesic dome is a sphere-like structure composed of a complex network of triangles. The triangles create a self-bracing framework that gives structural strength while using a minimum of material. The term geodesic is from Latin, meaning earth dividing. A geodesic line is the shortest distance between any two points on a sphere.
The the idea of combining triangles with the arch was pioneered by German engineer Dr. Walther Bauersfeld when he designed the world's first projection planetarium, built in Jena, Germany in 1922. However, it was Buckminster Fuller ("Bucky") who conceived the concept of geodesic dome homes. Fuller's first patent for a geodesic dome was issued in 1954.
Geodesic domes are efficient, inexpensive, and durable. For $350, an African family can be housed in a corrugated metal dome. Plastic and fiberglass domes used for sensitive radar equipment in Arctic regions and for weather stations around the world. Geodesic domes are also used for emergency shelter and mobile military housing
The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace.
~Minoru Yamasaki, chief architect
Designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, the World Trade Center consisted of two 110-story buildings (known as the "Twin Towers") and five smaller buildings. The World Trade Center towers were light, economical structures designed to keep the wind bracing on the outside surfaces.
Architect Minoru Yamasaki studied over a hundred models before adopting the twin tower plan. Plans for a single tower were rejected because the size was cumbersome and impractical. Plans for several towers "looked too much like a housing project," Yamasaki said. The World Trade Center Towers were among the tallest buildings in the world, and contained nine million square feet of office space.
http://architecture.about.com/od/worldtradecenter/ss/worldtrade.htm
The Sydney Opera House broke all the rules when it won an international competition in 1957. Today, this Modern Expressionist building is one of the most famous and most photographed structures of the modern era.
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who, in 2003, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour The citation stated:
“ There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent. ”
http://architecture.about.com/od/theaters/ss/SydneyOpera.htm
The Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007 As of 2009, it is the most recently constructed World Heritage Site to be designated as such, sharing this distinction with such ancient landmarks as Stonehenge and the Giza Necropolis. It is one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world
The Sydney Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It sits at the northeastern tip of the Sydney central business district (the CBD), surrounded on three sides by the harbour (Sydney Cove and Farm Cove) and neighboured by the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Contrary to its name, the building houses several separate venues rather than a single opera theatre, the two main venues, the Opera Theatre and the Concert Hall, being housed in the two larger sets of shells. The Sydney Opera House is a major presenting venue for Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony, as well as hosting many touring productions in a variety of performance genres, and is a major tourist attraction. It is administered by the Sydney Opera House Trust, under the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts
Fallingwater may look like a loose pile of concrete slabs about to topple into the stream... but there is no danger of that! The slabs are actually anchored through the stonework of the hillside. Also, the largest and heaviest portion of the house is at the rear, not over the water. And, finally, each floor has its own support system.
When you enter the recessed front door of Fallingwater, your eye is first drawn to a far corner, where a balcony overlooks the waterfall. To the right of the entryway, there is a dining alcove, a large fireplace, and stairs leading to the upper story. To the left, groups of seating offer scenic views.
Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains.
http://architecture.about.com/od/franklloydwright/ig/Frank-Lloyd-Wright/Fallingwater.htm
Hailed by Time magazine shortly after its completion as Wright's "most beautiful job it is also listed among Smithsonian magazine's Life List of 28 places "to visit before ...it's too late Fallingwater was featured in Bob Vila's A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 In 1991, members of the American Institute of Architects named the house the "best all-time work of American architecture" and in 2007, it was ranked twenty-ninth on the list of America's Favorite Architecture according to the AIA
The Chrysler Building in New York City was completed in 1930. For a few months, this Art Deco skyscraper was the tallest structure in the world. It was also one of the first buildings composed of stainless steel over a large exposed surface.
The architect, William Van Alen, drew inspiration from machine technology for the ornamental details on the Chrysler Building. There are eagle hood ornaments, hubcaps, and abstract images of cars.
http://architecture.about.com/od/skyscrapers/ig/Skyscrapers/Chrysler-Building-.htm
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at 319 metres (1,047 ft it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second-tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised on the 365.8-metre (1,200 ft) Bank of America Tower, pushing the Chrysler Building into third position. In addition, The New York Times Building which opened in 2007, is exactly level with the Chrysler Building in height
The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many contemporary architects to be one of the finest buildings in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.
The final secular design of the Spanish surrealist Antoni Gaudí, Casa Milà Barcelona is an apartment building with a fanciful aura. Wavy walls made of rough-chipped stone suggest fossilized ocean waves. Doors and windows look like they are dug out of sand. A comical array of chimney stacks dances across the roof.
This unique building is widely but unofficially known as La Pedrera (the Quarry). In 1984, UNESCO classified Casa Milà as a World Heritage site. Today, Casa Milà is used for cultural expositions
Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera (Catalan for 'The Quarry'), is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built during the years 1906–1910, being considered officially completed in 1912. It is located at 92, Passeig de Gràcia (passeig is Catalan for promenade) in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
It was built for the married couple, Rosario Segimon and Pere Milà. Rosario Segimon was the wealthy widow of José Guardiola, an Indiano, a term applied locally to the Catalans returning from the American colonies with tremendous wealth. Her second husband, Pere Milà, was a developer who was criticized for his flamboyant lifestyle and ridiculed by the contemporary residents of Barcelona, when they joked about his love of money and opulence, wondering if he was not rather more interested in "the widow’s guardiola" (piggy bank), than in "Guardiola’s widow
The design by Gaudi was not followed in some aspects. The local government objected to some aspects of the project, fined the owners for many infractions of building codes, ordered the demolition of aspects exceeding the height standard for the city, and refused to approve the installation of a huge sculpture atop the building—described as "the Virgin"—but said by Gijs van Hensbergen in his biography of Gaudi, to represent the primeval earth goddess, Gaia.
Casa Milà was in poor condition in the early 1980s. It had been painted a dreary brown and many of its interior color schemes had been abandoned or allowed to deteriorate, but it has been restored and many of the original colors revived.
The building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí". The building is now owned by Caixa Catalunya.
In architecture's historic quest for transparency, the relationship between glass and buildings has evolved through the conquest of technical limitations, presenting the current generation of architects with enriched formal and material possibilities.
The invention of glass took place, it seems, almost by accident, around 4000 years ago in the eastern Mediterranean. Beneath an ancient pottery kiln, the fused silica of pots combined with the alkaline ash of the hearth below. By 1500 BC, moulded and pressed glass vessels were commonplace in Egypt and the skills to make them had spread to Europe. The northward expansion of the Roman Empire lead to the establishment of a thriving glass industry in the provinces of Saone and Rhine, employing craftsmen from Syria and Alexandria. The Latin term glesum (from a Germanic word meaning transparent or lustrous) was used to describe the versatile substance
Two thousand years passed between the initial serendipitous discovery and the appearance of blown glass, which led to the production of thin transparent sheets strong enough for windows. This marked the beginning of a symbiosis between glass and buildings. As Michael Wigginton notes: 'With this development, new conceptual languages in architecture became possible, which are still being developed and explored; from the simple provision of light and view without a loss of warmth, to the creation of conceptual and technical masterpieces which derived their essential quality from this wonderful material.
Historically, the relationship between glass and architecture is at its most sophisticated when transcending technical limitations, notably those imposed by load-bearing masonry construction which restricted the width of window openings. The first break with convention was the Gothic exoskeleton; the stone frames and flying buttresses of medieval cathedrals made possible unprecedentedly tall, arched windows composed of myriad fragments of jewel-like glass. Notions of illumination were spiritual as well as literal; the sumptuous, stained glass panels efficiently disseminated Biblical narratives to a largely illiterate populace. The architectural quest for transparency, weightlessness and luminosity began, in effect, with the radiant membranes of coloured light in cavernous Gothic cathedrals.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3575/is_n1215_v203/ai_20827712/
Architectural Heritage of Birmingham
Architectural Heritage of Birmingham, Alabama is a world class source for architectural antiques. Our carefully chosen collection offers exquisite European and domestic architectural antiques, including stone benches, iron gates, fountains, doors, urns, antique mantels, and authentic ironwork.
Architectural Heritage is the exclusive distributor in Alabama for Bevolo Lighting and The CopperSmith Lighting. Bevolo Copper Lighting, a world renowned New Orleans based company, specializes in antique style copper lanterns. Each piece is handcrafted and made to order. In addition to Bevolo, The CopperSmith’s collection of distinguished outdoor lanterns reflects the rich heritage and architecture of historic Mobile, Alabama.
Architectural Heritage believes that elegance is all in the details, this being the reason we are the exclusive dealer for Kirkpatrick Hardware. Forged in London since the 1860's, Kirkpatrick’s durable and visually striking cast iron hardware, including door knobs, bolts, latches, covers, and bell pulls.
Heritage Stoneworks, a recent addition to our collection, features planters, pedestals, stone benches and spheres. Heritage Stoneworks, though largely inspired by old world style, offers a variety of contemporary models. Architectural Heritage is the exclusive distributor in Alabama for Heritage Stoneworks, including the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection. Handcrafted in European dry cast stone, all materials are highly durable and weather-resistant.
Heritage Gardens features a full line of outdoor teak furniture imported from Jakarta. Our furniture line is crafted from the finest Indonesian teak wood and riveted with solid brass fittings, offering a wide variety of styles for outdoor living.
Architectural Heritage specializes in hand carved European garden furnishings, including fountains, marble statues, stone benches and spheres. All restoration pieces are limited edition and crafted with the same care and skill as the originals.
http://architecturalheritage.com/Gates-&-Iron_71_prds.htm
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Picking house paint colors
Picking house paint colors isn't just difficult. It's terrifying! Pick colors that are blah, and your house will seem flat and featureless. But if the colors you pick are too bold, they might overwhelm the architecture... and upset the neighbors.
The best colors will highlight the most beautiful features of your home. Skillful use of color can even disguise design flaws, boosting the curb appeal and market value of your home. How do you find that magic color combination? Follow these tips.
If you're planning to paint an older home, you'll probably want to use a historically accurate color scheme. You can hire a pro to analyze old paint chips and recreate the original color. Or, you can refer to historic color charts and select shades that might have been used at the time your home was built.
2. Jazz Up the Past
In some neighborhoods, homeowners fly in the face of history. Instead of choosing historically accurate colors, they paint their houses modern colors to dramatize architectural details. Using bright colors on old architectural details can produce startling and exciting results. But before you buy 10 gallons of bubblegum pink, it's a good idea to look at what your neighbors are doing. A fluorescent colored Victorian that looks splendid in San Francisco will seem wildly out of place in more conservative neighborhoods.
4. Borrow From Nature
The landscape around your house is blooming with color ideas. Trees may suggest an earthy palette of greens and browns. A beach setting might suggest vivid blues, turquoises, and coral colors. Even the garden in your front yard can inspire exciting color combinations.
5. Check the Roof
Your house is your canvas, but it is not blank. Some colors are already established. What color is your roof? Your paint color doesn't need to match the roof, but it should harmonize.
http://architecture.about.com/cs/repairremodel/a/pickcolors.htm
Zaha Hadid
"Born in Baghdad, Zaha Hadid studied at the highly regarded Architectural Association in London, was a partner in the avant garde Office of Metropolitan Architecture with Rem Koolhaas, and has held prestigious posts at one time or another at the world’s finest universities including Harvard, Yale, and many others. Much admired by the younger generation of architects, her appearance on campuses is always a cause for excitement and overflowing audiences.
"Zaha Hadid has become more and more recognized as she continues to win competition after competition, always struggling to get her very original winning entries built. Discouraged, but undaunted, Zaha Hadid has used the competition experiences as a 'laboratory' for continuing to hone her exceptional talent in creating an architectural idiom like no other.
"It is not surprising that one of the architects whose work Zaha Hadid admires is another Pritzker Prize winner, the preeminent South American author of Brasilia, and other major works — Oscar Niemeyer. They share a certain fearlessness in their work and both are unafraid of risk that comes inevitably with their respective vocabularies of bold visionary forms.
The full dimensions of Zaha Hadid’s prodigious artistic outpouring of work is apparent not only in architecture, but in exhibition designs, stage sets, furniture, paintings, and drawings."
http://architecture.about.com/od/architectsaz/a/hadid.htm
Design thinking and Design Process
Design thinking and Design Process
Introduction
We usually criticize and evaluate the end-products in design area including architecture. So in
architectural history and criticism area most articles are about not design process but end-products,
in that, buildings. But these articles are focused on not the end-products but design process itself,
and research results about design process and thinking are reviewed. At first I reviewed these 3
articles briefly, and compare these articles and present my opinions. I think that research of design
process is important to design computing area. Because we have to understand design thinking and
design process for researching in design computing area.
How Designers Think
Key words; Approach methods to design problem / Technologies in design process/ Design as skill
This article is focused on not end-products but design process unlike Beaux Art Education. So the
author, Bryan Lawson gave an attention to why the design processes are different in other areas, for
example engineering and designing dress. He said that it is not because design problem is different
but because approach method to design problem is different. In other words various design process
can be appeared, because designers approach to design problems in different ways.
In design process an understanding of technologies which is necessary in designer’s specific field
is definitely good to designers, but it is not sufficient condition. Because besides technical
knowledge designers need aesthetic experience unlike the aesthetic appreciation in art, in that, they
have to understand user’s experiences. Such being the case, design activities are the well-organized
mental process with making various information based on art, society and technology to a coherent
set, and show the designer’s thoughts. And design process is a skill to have to learn like sports or
musical instruments. The method of good design is to design with thinking least about his
techniques like a practiced golfers and well trained flautists. But it is necessary to practice some
skill in beginning stage.
Design in Mind
Key words: design process/ research design thinking/ design process as “sequence of cognitive
operations”; assimilation-analysis-synthesis-evaluation-communication / understanding of user’s
feeling / technology
Like the above article, this article put the more emphasize on design process than on end-product,
too. To understand design process, the author said that we have to use all methods we can do;
analyzing the task and propose logical structures and processes, observing designers at work,
conducting lab experiments on designers, and asking designers to tell us what they do.
The author regard design process as “sequence of cognitive operations”; assimilation-analysissynthesis-
evaluation-communication. This design sequence is repeated with feedback loop to
generate solution.
In design process an understanding of user’s feeling is necessary to designers, and technologies
can have some affect on design process.
Research in Design Thinking
- edited by Nigel Cross, Kees Dorst, Norbert Roozenburg
Design Computing Theory
Arch 587A
Oct. 16. 02. Yeonjoo Oh
2
Key words: Design process/ research design thinking/ 3 patterns of in design process; Problem
Formulation-Solution Generation-Cognitive Strategies/ major solution concept/ ill-defined problem/
solution-focused cognitive strategy
Design process, in that, how people do design, is the major part in design research. The purpose of
this article is reviewing research methods and research results about design thinking.
There are 6 ways to research design thinking; interview with designers, observations and case
studies, protocol studies, controlled tests, simulations trials, and reflections and theorizing.
interview with designers
Asking to expert designers about their reflections
on the design process
observations and case studies
Recording process and development in project by
participant and non-participants
protocol studies
Thinking-aloud, stringent requirements of
recording the protocols
controlled tests
Recording subject’s performance under controlled
lab conditions, psychology research
Empirical
Research
Method
simulations trials Simulate human thinking through AI techniques
Theoretical
Method
reflections and theorizing
Theoretical analysis, reflection upon the nature of
design thinking
Through this research methods researchers got the result that there are 3 patterns in design process;
Problem Formulations, Solution Generation, and Cognitive Strategies. At first in design process, the
nature of design problem can be got through analyzing a set of proposed solutions (alternative
solution conjectures), because the relation of between problem and solution is “conversational”
(Schon) like ill-defined problem. Next, designers narrow the solution space by adding some
constraints called as “missing ingredient” In this process uniquely design task goal continues to be
changed and constraints continues to be redefined. But designers hold “major solution concept” as
long as possible. In that, changing goal and constraints continuously is for the purpose of avoiding
the difficulty of starting with new concept. Finally designers think design problem is ill-defined,
and they use solution-focused cognitive strategy unlike problem-solving strategy in science.
n Comparison and My Reflections
* Design Process
We cannot deny design has artistic or aesthetic characters, but we have to keep in mind the fact
that design is not art, in design process we have to consider user’s feelings, and practical aspects. In
these 3 articles a series of design process is considered as the relation of “design problem –
solution” The reason that there are various design processes is because there are various approach
methods to design problems.
The second article “Design in Mind” and the third article, “ Research Design Thinking” have
different expressions about design process in that in the former article it is “sequence of cognitive
operations”; assimilation-analysis-synthesis-evaluation-communication, and in the latter one it is
Problem Formulations - Solution Generation with cognitive strategies.
But I think they are similar opinions in part, although they use other words or expressions.
Table1. Research Methods
Design Computing Theory
Arch 587A
Oct. 16. 02. Yeonjoo Oh
3
Because in all 2 papers the relations of design problem and solution which is appeared in design
process are “conversational”, and design process is the repetitive process of finding new solution
with feedback or evaluation activities of designers(the former) or with narrowing solution space
changing design goals and adding new constraints-missing ingredients. But in the last paper the
important thing is paying an attention on the fact that designers try to find solution with changing
task goal and design constraints continuously with holding “major solution concept” as long as
possible. This is to avoid the difficulty of starting with new concepts in design process.
In my opinion there are things in common with two different arguments: one is design process is
interactive and iterative process, the other is a kind of analysis procedure is necessary. In other
words, whatever you define design process as “design problem-solution” or “sequence of cognitive
operation”, designers have to analyze and evaluate their design, and design process is interactive
and iterative until they could find the final design.
copied
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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