<p> Practicing architects and architectural educators have called for better writing by architecture graduates; however, there appears to be a gap in published empirical studies on instructional designs that address the problem of developing student architects&rsquo; writing fluency. Writing well is an especially challenging process for architecture students in design studios because learners must transform the concepts in their visual metaphors, design spaces, and physical models into written language. The study investigated whether architecture students in the treatment group showed greater writing fluency and critical thinking after using sketching as a metacognitive process than did the control group that used words in an identical online lesson. Fifty-six architecture design studio students participated in the quasi-experimental online intervention designed to help students describe their design projects in writing. Student papers following the online sketching intervention were scored using <i> The Cognitive Level and Quality Writing Assessment, Critical Thinking Rubric. </i> Although the one-way ANOVA analysis of mean scores on students&rsquo; papers showed no statistical difference between the treatment group, which used sketching, and the control group, which used words, sketching stimulated students in the treatment group to write lengthy posts critiquing each other&rsquo;s sketches. The finding suggests that online instruction using sketching as a metacognitive scaffolding tool should be further explored as a strategy to engage architecture students in writing practice.</p>

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Carleton University, 2005. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

A new specialist design role is emerging in the construction industry. The primary task related to this role is focused on the control, development and sharing of geometric information with members of the design team in order to develop a design solution. Individuals engaged in this role can be described as a parametric designers. Parametric design involves the exploration of multiple solutions to architectural design problems using parametric models. In the past these models have been defined by computer programs, nowcommercially available parametric software provides a simpler means of creating these models. It is anticipated that the emergence of parametric designers will spread and a deeper understanding of the role is required. This thesis is aimed at establishing a detailed understanding of the tasks related to this new specialism and to develop a set of considerations that should be made when undertaking these tasks. The position of the parametric designer in architectural practice presents new opportunities in the design process this thesis also aims to capture these. Developments in this field of design are driven by practice. It is proposed that a generalised understanding of applied parametric design is primarily developed through the study of practical experience. Two bodies of work inform this study. First, a detailed analytical review of published work that focuses on the application of parametric technology and originatesfrompractice. This material concentrates on the documentation of case studies from a limited number of practices. Second, a series of case studies involving the author as participant and observer in the context of contemporary practice. This primary research of applied use of parametric tools is documented in detail and generalised findings are extracted. Analysis of the literature from practice and generalisations based on case studies is contrasted with a review of relevant design theory. Based on this, a series of strategies for the parametric designer are identified and discussed.

Colour energy and wellbeing in the context of architecture and design are underestimated in terms of the value they bring to design, branding and real estate development in all sectors, ranging from residential to corporate projects, including the hospitality and luxury industry. Colour, with a particular focus on its latent energy, has not yet been sufficiently explored, researched or discussed, and remains one of the great mysteries of perception. Colour is essential for life and survival, and reaches far beyond art and the decoration of space. The sensation of colour, as an expression of the sense of sight, influences wellbeing and is connected to deeply embedded themes and patterns on emotional, cultural, or personal levels, through which it impacts on wellbeing, health, and decision-making in essential ways, not least because vision has replaced odour as the most essential sense for survival. The majority of all conscious and unconscious decisions are affected by notions of colour, a discipline of constant debate in both art and science. Architecture is somewhere in between, and practising architects are expected to provide the client with individual solutions based on informed decisions. When they do this, however, basing their decisions on experience, unspecified knowledge and intuition, they are often perceived as arrogant. Architecture and the design of space are a constant concern for everyone. The desire to build a home, a temple or a public building in a three dimensional environment is a fundamental urge and as old as mankind itself. Yet perhaps because of these strong impulses, the complexity of creating space is often underestimated. Our body records millions of impressions per minute across all five senses. The five senses keep us alive; they warn, nurture, and alert us, and human perception is based on receiving the vibrations caused by energy fields. These sensory vibrations are directly linked with the human body and it is through them that experiences like I am feeling good in this space and even unconscious memories are triggered. Clients may expect the architect to know everything about the perception of space. Architecture, however, is a very complex matter, and in most academic programs little or no time is allowed for the in-depth study of perception, psychology, colour energy, or wellbeing. Even architecture and interior design are often conflated, and treated as one combined subject rather than two complementary disciplines. What is most striking is that colour is often ignored in Western architecture. Furthermore, there is a bias in the literature and education of the West when compared to the holistic approach in the East. In the Orient, holistic means body, spirit and soul. In the Occident, in contrast, it means body, mind and brain. Spirit and soul are missing. And although the sense of something missing becomes more evident in the West, research fights shy of spirit and soul, and leaves unaddressed questions like: 1. What is the relation of colour energy, wellbeing and space in the Occident and Orient? 2. Why is colour not used more often and more instrumentally to improve wellbeing and influence perception? 3. Where do the inhibitions and obstacles come from that prevent occidental architecture and design from reflecting and applying ancient oriental knowledge and belief to colour healing, health, and wellbeing? As a colour theorist, architect and designer I propose that colour energy offers effective principles that provide an invaluable source for informed architectural decisions, which are genuinely independent of subjective taste or contemporary fashion trends, and that enable a truly holistic approach. This research proposes that wellbeing is both timeless and priceless and that wellbeing, health and perception can be stimulated by colour energy.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Newcastle, 2003. / Shool of Architecture and the Built Environment. Discipline of Architecture. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 371-402). Also available online.

Thesis (M.Arch.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-92). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The research is framed on the premise that designing buildings that can adapt by accommodating change easier and more cost-effectively provides an effective means to a desired end a more sustainable built environment. In this context, adaptability can be viewed as a means to decrease the amount of new construction (reduce), (re)activate underused or vacant building stock (reuse) and enhance disassembly/ deconstruction of components (reuse, recycle) - prolonging the useful life of buildings (reduce, reuse, recycle). The aim of the research is to gain a holistic overview of the concept of adaptability in the construction industry and provide an improved framework to design for, deploy and implement adaptability. An over-arching research question was posited to guide the inquiry: how can architects understand, communicate, design for and test the concept of adaptability in the context of the design process? The research followed Dubois and Gadde s (2002) systematic combining as an over-arching approach that continuously moves between the empirical world and theoretical models allowing the co-evolution of data collection and theory from the beginning as part of a non-linear process with the objective of matching theory with reality. An initial framework was abducted from a preliminary collection of data from which a set of mixed research methods was deployed to explore adaptability (interviews, building case studies, dependency structural matrices, practitioner surveys and workshop). Emergent from the data is an expanded and revised theory on designing for adaptability consisting of concepts, models and propositions. The models illustrate many of the casual links between the physical design structure of the building (e.g. plan depth, storey height) and the soft contingencies of a messy design/construction/occupation process (e.g. procurement route, funding methods, stakeholder mindsets). In an effort to enhance building adaptability, the abducted propositions suggest a shift in the way the industry values buildings and conducts aspects of the design process and how designer s approach designing for adaptability.

Cosmic inspiration influenced huge amount of different artistic material. It was the only one topic, which went through categories such as high art and popular culture, fine and applied arts, all the medias, official and independent production, state ideology and interest of common man. Thesis tries to go through these categories high and low, fine and applied, official and independent. It divils its material into thematic chapters to achieve this goal. First of them Expand your mind deals with projects of visionary architecture, which does not try to create new "cosmic" kapes but expand - with Marshall McLuhan -man's mind and senses. Then Gravitationless state describes petting loose of Earth as principal feeling of space age. Peace and Freedom play role of contradictory ideological terms to fights between politicians, artists and spaceships. How Does Space Look Like is a question for representation of cosmic topics between abstraction and realism ant the last charter Space for Children does not show reduced version of space for children but "adult" ideological construction of connection between the youngest generation and future in space. Individual chapters are preceded by theoretical introductin The World Where We Will Live Tommorow and The Word We Live In. It is a confrontation of...