DECODING HYEROGLIPHS Master Thesis by Laura Gutierrez Mesa

Decoding Hieroglyphs Master thesis by Laura Gutierrez Mesa

Master thesis by Laura Gutierrez Mesa

Summer Semester 2019 (MAID) Master of Arts in Integrated Design Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Design Department

Advisors: Prof. Uwe Gellert and Prof. Dr. Japer Cepl

Dessau-RoĂ&#x;lau Printed by Grafische Werkstatt der Hochschule Anhalt

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Acknowledgments

I want to express my gratitude to all the people who participate in the process of writing this thesis. First, I would like to thank my family, especially my parents and brother, Juan Fernando, Margarita, and Andres, who had always encourage and support me in my personal and professional life, it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be possible without you. Thanks to Ines and Tona for inspiring me every day, thanks to Rodrigo for all your love and support and for always being there for me. Thanks to Mariana and Gustavo for your friendship and being my piece of home during this whole experience. Thanks to My advisors Prof. Uwe Gellert and Prof. Dr. Jasper Cepl, for your help structuring this thesis and your support along the development of the research, also to all my colleagues, professors and friends in the MAID community for all the things you teach me, not only during this thesis but in these last two years, I came to this master looking for an integrated design experience and you all made it possible. Finally, I would like to express deep gratitude to the people who had an important roll this master thesis, Sherohze, for his advise and insights as an architect, to Marie for her dedication and help connecting me to Germany in this master, and last but not least, to Raphael for the moral and academic support, for your friendship and for all the things I learned from you.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nowadays, architects use sketches, scale plans, models, and renders in the same way they have been using them since the beginning of times; the upturn in representation is very limited, even though, in the last few years there has been a big technological improvement in construction methods, new improved materials, and intelligent technologies to control buildings, making the exercise of design a lot simpler than before. However, this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that because we keep using the same methods of representation, they are perfect or even adequate. In fact, most of the time these tools are very difficult, if not impossible to understand for people not related to the field, and because of that, there seems to be a problem of communication between the different stakeholders in architecture projects, maybe because of the lexicon used to present projects, or the tools of visualization which are sometimes too technical for laypeople to understand. Architecture has been seen as a very elitist profession where the exercise of design is made only by experts, assuming that they understand the real needs and feelings of the people for whom they design. In this master thesis, I gather examples of de differents tools of visualization used by architects around the world in architecture presentations and propose some new ways of expression and technologies that can be used to have a better understanding with our clients. Keywords: Architectural representation, Communication, Design disciplines, mutual understanding visualization tools.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 2. 3. INTRODUCTION

COMMUNICATION

VISUALIZATION

Presentation

Introduction

Motivation

About communication

History of architectural

STRUCTURE

Cases of study

hypothesis

Systems of inquiring

Descriptive Geometry

research question

Technical language

CAD and 3D Modelling

research aims

Architectural presentations

About Scale

Prototyping

Photomontages and renders

Importance of human figure

Typography

Architectural competitions

Diagrams

research methods

Decoding Hieroglyphs

representation tools

Table of contets

4. 5. 6. EMOTION - SENSES

RESEARCH CLOUSURE

Introduction

Introducion

Senses and Architecture

Conclusions

Architecture and User

Further steps

Experience

Virtual and augmentedreality

Architecture and cinema

SURVEY 76

Introduction and purpose Design of the survey

Analized concepts Details of participants

Results of the Survey

Conclusion of the Survey Learnings

DESING INTERVENTION

Introduction

DECODING Architectural Drawings

Presentation

Target audience

Inspirations

Firts Prototype

100

Final Prototype

104

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION presentation

Architecture, compared to other disciplines of design and arts, is one of the most complexes in terms of representation and display of information, due to the large number of technical drawings that a project needs to provide to make its construction possible. It is also one of the most intangible disciplines during the design process, if we think on the time that it takes for an architectural project to become real, the huge amount of money and resources involved, and the difficulty to make real scale prototypes that can show us the true feeling of the place. Nevertheless, architecture is an everyday life art that is necessarily related to all human beings, which is why it should be the result of the contribution of the whole society. One of the most important things that define a good design project is the story of the process behind it, how it was made and what were the ideas and intentions of the designers, which is why involving other people in the process of design (clients and communities to whom the project is directed), could be the key of a successful project. In my opinion, progress and development are based on multiculturalism and construction of collective ideas that treat problems and their solutions in a holistic way, which is not possible if there is no adequate communication between the parties involved.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Introduction

motivation

I start to question myself about the problem above while working for three years in different architecture companies. During that time, I had the opportunity to work in all kinds of projects (single family houses, private and public buildings, urbanism, master plans) with different levels of complexity. At some point I realized that the way we projected and presented a project in the different stages of the process was always very similar; in every project some parameters where changed, but in essence, they were not resolved differently. I could see that sometimes a very good idea for a project that was displayed with technical language and complicated concepts, if it was not understood by the clients, it turned out to be rejected or invalid. In other cases, I came across with already built projects that were unsuccessful; because during the design process designers believed that they found the best solution for their clients, based on personal believes or just because of the misunderstood language. I also realized that the complexity of the language was not only in a graphic way but also in the spoken and written language This master thesis does not intend to teach how to make architecture, but rather question the way we transmit information to the clients and users in order to improve the way we design.

STRUCTURE hypothesis

concret research questions

Decoding Hieroglyphs

There is a big problem of communication in the way architectural presentations are being displayed nowdays, but there is also a big potential for new ways of visualization that can be found in other design and arts disciplines. Integrating new methodologies and tools can help architects to express ideas in a more concise and simple way that leads to greater possibilities of successful projects.

How can other types of design and arts disciplines be integrated into architecture presentations to help involved clients in the process of design to achieve better results in the final product? (specially in public projects)

How can I provide means to facilitate communication between the different stakeholders in an architectural project?

Structure

research aims

research methods

Analyzing the notions of communication and representation in architecture.

Analizying the tools of representation used in architecural presentations, their origins and purposes.

Provide a general context of the way architecture is being displayed around the world by showing examples of different architectur studios and projects.

Identifying the main problems of communication in architectural representation and their causes, mainly in the first stages of the project (conceptualization)

Defining possible points of intervention by design.

Literature Review

Carry out interview and surveys to test my theories about communication in architecture.

Defining possible points of intervention by design.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Communication

COMMUNICATION In this chapter, I would like to talk about the importance of the written and spoken language. In my opinion, progress and development are based on multiculturalism and construction of collective ideas, but with no real communication, treat problems and their solutions in a holistic way seems like a very

difficult task. Our job as designers is much more complex and important than we think, The term design has generally been associated to a mere problem solving or planning, but in fact, it could also be used as a very powerful tool of inquiry and action. (Nelson, 2004)

About Communication If we look at the definition of communication by the Oxford dictionary, communication is “The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium” so it is essential that not only the person A is giving the information but also that the person B is receiving it. During this exchange of information, it is important to know that everyone is responsible for what they say, but it is also as important what the other people hear/understands. The same sentence might have a completely different meaning for two different people. For me, the problem comes when we understand communication as one way of direction giving and receiving information. I believe conversation and dialogue are important components of communication. “One of the most important attributes about conversation defined in this way is that it only has value when it is maintained and ongoing. Conversations lose their value when ‘cut off’, particularly by absolutes or relativisms” (Nelson, 2004) This commonly happens when architects and other professionals use technical language when communicating with clients. Another important attribute of conversation is trust; a person can give better insights and feel more comfortable to express ideas when he or she feels in a safe place, (e.g. a casual conversation) but when the information given uses a complex jargon this automatically creates a barrier in the common under-

Decoding Hieroglyphs

standing. (Nelson, 2004) The other main component of communication is dialogue (Gk: dia-logos) and it means to access understanding and meaning through words. When the dialogue between designer and clients takes place, small unpredictable insight from the client can trigger a complete transformation in the main ideas of a project, and this information comes from the uncommon knowledge; the experiences, expertise, and wishes of the client. But this information has to be translated into common meaning and understanding. It is important to be aware that clients and users are also experts in their own domain and all their knowledge in their own fields should be considered in the proposal. I must clarify that the problem is not the technical language itself; architects have their own jargon, as well as lawyers and doctors and all the rest of professionals. This specific technical language is what makes possible to build amazing structures, to solve intricate cases and to treat complex disease more accurately, but using this jargon to communicate with clients, patients and customers sometimes can turn into misunderstandings and problems, professionally it may appear competent, but at the same, time it could also exclude other people. A doctor would never say to a patient that he has a “coronary thrombosis or a myocardial infarction”, he would say “heart attack”, and a lawyer would never say to his client “we have a remedy in the contract which can be executed by a judge”, he would say

Communication

“enforcement of a legal right” so why should we, as architects, use technical language when we talk to our clients? Why is important in the design practice that the information goes in both directions? We can’t forget that we as designers off all kinds, are (in most cases)

designing for others. Other people are going to live in that house, other people are going to work in that building, other people are going to walk in that park, so it is, in fact, necessary for us to truly understand the wishes of our clients. Every day, new projects (especially projects made with public resources) are criticized for not meeting the expectations of the users.

“In fact, a lot of more or less significant changes are done in the last stage of the construction, or even after the project is finished, and you know what? it hurts more than just failed expectations, it hurts a lot more when you have invested thousands even millions in the building. You will know what actually the same feeling of lost in translation happens every day on the construction field, expectations do not match reality” (Gunita Kulikovska, 2016)

Cases of study Some institutions around the world have become aware of this problem and have started to come up with ideas to work this out. Prof. Dr. Frank Brettschneider a professional in communication science from the Hohenheim University in Stuttgart is working with these procedures to communicate public architectural and other big infrastructure projects to clients and communities. In his research (along with students of the university) he uses intensive interviews and quantitative surveys, to determine how aware is the community involved, about the development of a project. (Hohenheim, U. n.d.) Another organization that is making a big effort to involve the community (clients) in the process of design is Decide Madrid which is the Madrid City Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s citizen participation platform, where the inhabitants of Madrid can make proposals, vote in citizen consultations, propose participatory budget projects, decide on municipal regulation and open debates to exchange opinions with others. (Decide. madrid.es, n.d.) There are many examples of unsuccessful projects around the world, from single-family houses to big cities. It is well know that cities like Brasilia (Brasil) designed by Oscar Neimeyer, or Chandigarh (India) designed by Matthew Nowicki and Albert Mayer but further developed by Le Corbusier, were not inhabited the way the architects thought they would be, is a fact that in this cases the level of complexity

Decoding Hieroglyphs

was considerable because the large scale of the project, but what happen when the project consists of a residential building, or a public space (park or mall) where the direct contact with the future users is easier? (Xataka.com, 2015) In 2004 in Colombia some houses were donated by the government to a small destitute community in Cauca to improve the quality of living, their previous houses were made with tiles and wooden boards and they were replaced with block walls and better roofs, but after a couple of months when the community moved to these houses, people start to abandon them and move back to the old settlements, when the developers of the new project ask the people the reason why they were living these houses they argue that they no longer had control over their neighborhood. Before, when there were thinner walls, there was a network of community control and protection, where they could hear their neighbors and take care of each other, if someone left the house the community would know their children were alone and pay attention to them, or if a suspicious visitor was prowling around they could hear him and alert the community. This is a clear example of how sometimes; preconceptions and expertise are not enough to truly understand the needs and wishes of a specific client. Perhaps, in this case, improving the way of living was not about shape but more about durability.

Communication

Figure 1: Plan architectural drawing on limestone, of the Rock Tombs of Ramses IX found in the Valley of Kings 1142-1123 BC.

Figure : â&#x20AC;&#x153; Example case of sudyâ&#x20AC;?

Source:

Another example of an infrastructure project that failed because of cultural aspects, was the water connection system in (Congo, Africa) where the women of the village (name), for lack of a clean water source nearby, had to walk for several miles to wash clothes and get water from the nearest river, the solution given by the engineers was to install a water purification system and storage tanks that they connected through pipes to different public points in the village. The community used them for a while, but after some time, they suddenly stop and start walking to the river again, even though the system was in perfect conditions. The reason they gave was that by not going to the river, they would never find a husband because in other to get to the river they had to go through other villages where they would meet the men that will become their husbands. (This case of study has to be verified and sourced) In conclusion, sometimes, we think development is linked to a unique way of understanding the world but we forget to see the whole picture, understanding problems from different perspectives.

About Systems of inquiring Perhaps the problem is how should we inquiry our clients. In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bela H. Banathy: The Legacy of a Design Conversationâ&#x20AC;? Harold G. Nelson characterizes three traditions of design inquiry; what is true? What would be ideal? And what should become real? Inquiry into what is true is the most developed and common form of inquiry in the Western tradition. Scientist, artists and religious leaders all assert that the purpose of their inquiry is the search for truth. Inquiry into what would be an ideal has a more philosophic or metaphysical basis but is still a fairly common form of inquiry in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world. Inquiry into what should become real is the least developed of the triad making up design inquiry. (Nelson, 2004) And it this last type of inquiry that interested me the most because what should become real is not the same of what can become real or what needs to become real because the last two of them are trying to solve problems by looking at them from one direction, from the point of view of what resources and technology are available and what can we do about it from our expertise, but the question of what should become real is more linked with the desires and wishes of the clients, becoming a more inclusive kind of inquiry because it considers also the knowledge and experience of the clients. Harold G. Nelson has made a diagram (Figure) where he displays how the stages of design communication should develop and iterate; first, there is

Decoding Hieroglyphs

conversation where a basis of trust and agreement must be formed; then there is dialogue, where it is possible to express oneself with a common meaning and understanding and then he creates a new concept that he calls Diathenic Graphologue, (Gk: dia-theno, grapho) it means to let a thing show or be seen through its image or representation. This last part refers to the uncommon meaning and understanding and how it should be express through external visual aids. (Nelson, 2004) To allow this exchange of knowledge and experiences to enrich a project it is necessary to shift into a new posture or mindset where designers also become learners. It is imperative to see the big picture and to understand that our individual and collective mindsets represent the beliefs, values, assumptions, and expectations formed by our individual experiences, cultural norms, religious and spiritual beliefs, and the socioeconomic and political paradigms to which we subscribe and that everything we do is connected. (Irwin et al., 2015) The best example for this change of mindset is Transition Design a growing movement that asks designers to examine their own value system and the role it plays in the design process and argues that solutions will be best conceived within a more holistic worldview that informs more collaborative and responsible postures for interaction. (Irwin et al., 2015)

Communication

n ic g

nic g r a p h olo g u the

nv e r s at

dia

dia log ue

io n

con ver sati on

it e r a ti o n

Stages of design communication

ue dialog

conversa tion

implem ent ati o

dia

th e

e gu olo ph gra nic the Dia

ra p h olo g ue

dialogue

Figure 2 : Nelson, H. G. (2004). Bela H. Banathy: The legacy of a design conversation. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 21(3), 261â&#x20AC;&#x201C;268. Source: https:// doi.org/10.1002/sres.620

About technical Language Technical language is a very broad and complex term, not only because of the academic lexicon itself but also because it is constantly changing and developing, from one mother tongue to another, from one country to another and from one era to another. Which is why, in order to analyze its role in communication, it is necessary to frame this research in the English language of the contemporary era. The Plain English Campaign (PEC) is a commercial editing and training firm based in the United Kingdom it was found in 1979 and it advocated for plain communication, persuading organizations to communicate with the public in a simple language, and helping them rewriting documents, reports, and publications with the argument that everyone should have access to clear and concise information. Even though their work specializes mostly in government and official organizations I strongly believe that this system could also be implemented to help professionals of other fields to communicate ideas in a more simple way (Plainenglish.co.uk, n.d.) As I stated before, architects and other kinds of designers tend to explain architecture using words that require a previous knowledge to be understood,

Decoding Hieroglyphs

(referring to concepts, and not to specific construction elements) or that have changed meaning over time, and the lexicon they learn while studying or working is, most of the times misused. Arch Daily a weblog about architectural news, projects, events, competitions and interviews carry out a survey in 2015 asking architecture students and professional about â&#x20AC;&#x153;the weirdest words that only architects useâ&#x20AC;?, more than 150 words came from that list but the most surprising thing was that even the same word had different meanings for different people, the overlapping was very little, what proves that even for people in the field there is no real communication. To name some examples, people tend to overuse words and concepts like organic, gesture, iconic, playful, paradigm or dynamic architecture, urban fabric or urban grid. (Stott, 2015) After this survey a variety of opposing postures emerged, some people defended this way of expression by arguing that not everything had to be diminished and diluted to the lowest common denominator, or that the question was between being a better storyteller or simply pretentious, but for me the best argument to support simple language was a comment made by Greg Hudspeth via Facebook in the previously mentioned article:

Communication

“As a builder who has been in the industry for over 20 years, I understand what I’m doing and consider myself intelligent enough to grasp relatively complex concepts in construction. However, I have a running list of the ridiculous words and phrases that the architects we work with are using. I spend a portion of each day stripping away the fluff and overly complicated explanations and descriptions for simple ideas. It is the biggest waste of time and ego. ” (Greg Hudspeth, 2018)

About architectural presentations As stated before, there is a problem of communication, but the question is where, during the process of design, are we missing communication? In the first stages (conceptualizing) in the middle stages (development) in the last stages of pre-construction (technical details) or after it is done? It is not the same thing to have a conversation with a single client, than to a large group of people. Having a conversation or dialogue with a single person is easier and can be very productive in a short period of time, especially when the project consists of designing a single family house, but what happens when the project is directed to a whole community? In my own work experience, I had the opportunity to work on large scale projects of urbanism, governmental buildings, and master plans with different levels of complexity. One way of informing people about the project was to make a public presentation during the process, but for me, the components of dialogue and conversation were completely missing, it was precisely about â&#x20AC;&#x153;informingâ&#x20AC;?, but not constructing ideas together. In my opinion, the ideal would be that every stage of the process was accompanied by a public presentation, but not in the way it has been done until now. One way of improving communication in architectural presentations is considering them not in the conventional conference format, but more like a conversational meeting. Many academics,

Decoding Hieroglyphs

professionals and practitioners agreed that conversational meetings formats should be considered as an alternative to conventional conferences (which is basically the way we make architectural presentations). Many organizations and institutes have started to make this transition, like International Federation of Systems Research (IFSR), The International Systems Institute (ISI) inspired by The Fuschl and The Asilomar Conversations founded by Bela H. Banathy, former President of the IFSR and the ISSS (International Society for Systems Research). (Callaos, 2010) Nagib Callaos, from the University Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) and The International Institute of Informatics and Systemics: IIIS believes that is it possible to integrate Conventional Conferences and Conversational Meetings in order to achieve more effectiveness. (Table A) There are many differences between both of the formats; for example, in the conventional method one person deliver a presentation to a relatively passive majority of people (in this case clients) and there is no profound exchange of information except for the short period of questions and comments, and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;expert delivers a pre-made package of information that is supposed to be received and accepted by the attendants. Also that in the format of conventional conference or presentations the flow of information stops when the conference is over. (Callaos, 2010)

Communication

conventional conferences

conversations format

input

paper based on a solution or an answer, which will be presented by an individual (autor)

A problem or a question, which will be addressed by a group.

output

knowledge or information communication

sharing of knowledge, reflections, idea and opinions in multi-directional communication.

flow of information

basically unidirectional

multi-directional.

sequence

serial: one presentation after another in a linear format

Serial/Parallel: short individual presentations interacting with similar presentations of others in a non-linear interchange of ideas.

cybernetic loop

none or very low level of feedback in the small time period of questions answers

high levels of feedback and feedforward loops in a highly interactive environment.

formal/Informal

papers are presented in a formal environment and informal interactions is limited to breaks.

More informal sharing of ideas and reflections with more possibilities of group creativity and emergence of ideas

creativity

individual or (group) creativity previous to the meeting.

Group creativity during the meeting, nurturing and being nurtured by the individuals in the group in positive loops of feedback.

order

pre-established fixed order of papers presentation. plan-based order.

Post-established, emergent and dynamic order. Rules-based order.

process

systematic

systemic

implicit genral objective

oriented to efficient knowledge or information communication

oriented to effectiveness in knowledge communication, sharing of ideas and reflections, solvin problems, achieving consensual designs, etc.

whole/parts

the whole is basically equal to (or sometimes even less than) the sum of its parts.

the whole is basically more than the sum of its parts.

guiding methaphore

mechanism

organism

methodological / epistemic approach

mostly, but not uniquely. oriented by reductionism and mechaniscism.

oriented by the systems approach and its pragmatic-teleological epistemology and methodologies.

Table A: From Nagib Callaos, Integrating the conversational format into conventional conferences. Source: www.iiis.org/conversational-Sessions

An important upturn about conversational meetings is the opportunity to keep an ongoing dialogue, one of the attempts to do this was encouraging attendants after the presentation to write papers where they could share their thoughts and comments about the subject, and opening a blog where they could post them to keep the conversation and dialogue continuously changing and evolving. This can also happen in architectural presentations, not necessarily in a paper format, but with any tool of expression.This way of conventional format of conferences can be inherited from the traditional Western architectural design education that is based in one-to-one conversations between a student and a tutor working together in a shared studio; The conversational model of design studio education has evolved historically from an apprenticeship system where there is little dialog, despite the apparent conversational nature, it can be called more like a monologue where the teacher commonly guides and criticized a project from his/her own experience and perspective, limiting learning or different ways to explore problems solving. It is difficult to keep a conversation balanced when the parts have different levels of knowledge about a determined subject and is easy to fall into an attitude of superiority where it is difficult to open up to different perspectives or solutions. This causes that in many cases students want to blindly follow their teacher advices rather than find their own solutions. (Sweeting, 2014)

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Communication

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Visualization

VISUALIZATON Communication refers not only to the written and spoken language; it is also about visualization tools that help materialize ideas. During history, multiple types of visualization tools have been used by architects to give support to their projects; models, sketches, renders and, drawings, are some of the most commonly used,

but the variety and scope of tools and techniques can be much wider and innovative. This chapter is intended to give a short brief about architectural representation in history, analyze how these tools are being used nowadays and finally to give examples of other kinds of graphic material that could improve communication.

Brief history of architectural representation tools To better understand how architecture is represented nowadays it is important to outline the origins of architectural representation, the commonality, purpose, and necessity of architectural drawings in different periods of history. Although it was very uncommon in ancient times, the history of architectural drawings is known to be dating back to the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian eras. Most of the earliest examples of architectural drawings are ground plans and sections in a very simplified form. The word ‘plan’ in German is ‘Grundriss’ which correlates to ‘ground cut’ in English, was the first kind of architectural representation that appeared, followed shortly after by the section. The word ‘section’ in German is ‘Aufriss’ which correlates to ‘up/vertical cut’ in English. (Ongut, 2015) Both plans are abstract representations of the space, in order to understand them, is necessary to imagine a building split horizontally or vertically in the middle, where half of the construction is missing, allowing to see what is underneath or behind. Normally everything cut by the section plane is shown as a bold line, often with a solid fill to show objects that are cut through, and anything that is seen beyond generally shown in a thinner line.In this period of time, dimensions were written out, but they usually never correspond with the proportions of the plan.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

A lot of research has been done regarding these architectural drawings, some researchers argue that the purpose of these drawings wasn’t to display mathematically accurate issues, but to orient masons on an intuitive level, hence, plans didn’t require a lot of details. (figure 2) They also believe that architects had a more active role in the construction site, guiding the workers verbally. (Wahbeh, 2015) In Greek history, there is almost no mention of architectural drawings (whether sketches or working drawings). Ancient Greeks used to build and design architecture using only mockup models and direct orders to workers in the field, some of these models date back to as early as 725 B.C. drawings were only made to display details specifications and ornaments, but not used in the design process. There are two Greek terms related to the execution of architectural details; Anagrapheus, which probably alludes to template design for details and hypographe, which some researchers think refers to full-size drawing marked on a wall or floor, acting as demarcation plans. (Pelletier, Perez-Gomez, 2000) There are some surviving Roman plans, but they were not intended to design either, but rather representations of architectural practice or artistic drawings. (figure 3) Most of them are incredibly basic, sometimes they were also accompanied with dimensions, but the proportions were inaccurate and they were extremely undetailed. (J.J.Coulton, 1977)

Visualization

Figure 2 (Left): Plan architectural drawing on limestone, of the Rock Tombs of Ramses IX found in the Valley of Kings 1142-1123 BC.

Figure 3 (Down):

Image source: https://www.academia.edu/23442220/Pre_Renaissance_Architectural_Drawings_2015_

Image source: http://lfmundy2002.blogspot.com/2016/04/plan-roman-freedmens-funerary-estate.html

A Roman plan on marble belonging to the second half of the first century AD

Even in medieval ages, architectural drawings were rare, and the notion of scale was unknown, simple constructions were made with very standardized techniques and masons needed little information to be able to build them. In the Gothic period, there were significant developments in architectural drawings. Although they were still not used for presentation or design purposes, but rather as working templates, or record plans (for the archive) they were becoming more and more accurate, articulate, and impressive with personalized styles from the different architects. (Ongut, 2015) Most of the interesting drawings with elements of orthogonal projection were created between 1200 and 1500, and generally consisting of representations of temples or towers, Typical feature with an arbitrary connection of the top and the front orthogonal view. (Podstawowe, 2014) Previous to renaissance, the only truly indispensable drawings for buildings were moldani or template drawings, designated for cotour templates, employed by stonecutters to carve building details in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The modani

Decoding Hieroglyphs

drawings acted also as a print mark of the architect’s abilities and erudition. It wasn’t until the renaissance that more kinds of architectural drawings were included, and the use of scales and proportions was more precise. An important characteristic to outline was the increasing use of paper as basic material for the drawings, and also the exchange of “standard orthogonal sections” for “perspective sections drawings”. The period of Renaissance was the main age of the development of perspective because of the works of artists like Filippo Brunelleschi (1377– 1446), Piero della Francesca (1415–1492), Masaccio (1401–1428), Paolo Ucello (1397–1475) or Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472). But perspective was used intuitively; no real mathematical rules were applied until 1600 when Guidobaldo del Monte formulated the basic theorem of perspective, the projections of parallel lines meet at one point (the vanishing point of the parallel lines), in his work Perspectivae Libri sex. (Podstawowe, 2014) Figure 4: Intuitive use of perspective in Giotto’s painting from Scenes from the life of Saint Francis (Bardi Chapel, Florence) Image source: History of descriptive geometry with an emphasis on the boom of descriptive geometry in Austro-Hungarian empire in the 19th century. Podstawowe, Nauki

Visualization

Figure 5: Title page from the work about perspective by Guidobaldo del Monte Image source: http://the-halfbreed-hobbit.tumblr.com/ post/77802176154/speciesbarocus-guidobaldo-del-monte

Descriptive Geometry The next big improvement for architectural representation was the development of the basis of Descriptive Geometry by Gaspard Monge at the École Polytechnique, in the late eighteenth century. The result of this method is the two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object using a system of coordinates of X, Y, and Z where an object is projected in two mutually perpendicular plans (horizontal and vertical) according to an orthogonal projection system. At the same time, sketches by hand and perspectives were evolving and becoming more important. Plans and sections were already

very accurate, resulting in complex elevations. (Emmons, 2012, pp299). By the late 1850s, axonometric projections were introduced, allowing to have a strong sense of depth, with the addition of shadows in a forty-five angle degree. (Miguel Baptista Tavares Carreiro, 2013) Following axonometric projections, diagrams emerged at the end of the 1920’s and space start to be considered more than just a mere concept of physical space, but rather an abstract idea that was linked with senses, volumes, and time. Architec-

Figure 6: Illustrations from Monge’s work Géométrie descriptive Image source: https:// www.the-saleroom. com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/ reiss-and-sohn/ catalogue-id-reisss10003/ lot-1126486cc195-4cd0-b7e8a60100eb7a3b

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ture schools were now teaching about forms, materials and a more abstract concept of space which shifted from the analytical architecture lessons to alternative introductory courses where students learned about human perception. Photomontage and collage techniques were introduced in offices and design schools as innovative communication tools thanks to the dissemination of photography and popularization of cinema and television in the late nineteenth century and early twenty century. (Miguel Baptista Tavares Carreiro, 2013)

Figure 7: Illustrations from Monge’s work Géométrie descriptive Image source: https://goodnighturpis.tumblr.com/post/19046024720/ c1790-1799-gaspard-monges-universal-spatial

CAD and 3D Modelling A big step for architectural representation in the 1960s was the oncoming relationship with computer technologies, in 1963 Ivan Sutherland developed a graphic interface called sketchpad where the user could make virtual drawings using a digital pen. During the next decade, computer-aided design (CAD) programs would spread and gain more and more importance in architecture firms. Finally in the late 80 AutoCAD would appear changing completely the

way of design, optimizing processes as architects didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to spend a lot on time drawing by hand and they could correct their drawings easily without starting all over again. Despite the big improvements AutoCAD was able to make mere sophisticated 2D drawing and 3D representations were still made by hand or in a very simple format using other computer programs. In the following years, CAD would develop and merged with computer-aided

Figure 8: Picture of a computer using AutoCAD in 1982 Image source: https://www.scan2cad.com/tips/autocad-brief-history/

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manufacture (CAM) and computer numeric control (CNC), creating a new generative process using variables and algorithms to improve digital design that later would be the starting point of more advanced technologies and movements, like fractal or parametric architecture. (Miguel Baptista Tavares Carreiro, 2013) Building information modeling (BIN) appear in the 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being one of the first representation technologies of three-dimensional objects, based on the method of Monge, it could integrate building information and display objects in three dimensions that could be observable from any point of view. One of the most important improvements with 3D modeling programs was the possibility to detect and predict (during the design process) complex situation by instantly simulate and test a variety of situations, that until then required a lot of mental effort and several 2D drawing to understand. (Elsen & Heylighen, 2014) In conclusion, each period of time has improved or developed more tools of expression to bring us closer to understand space in an abstract way. But are these tools enough to communicate? For a long period of time, architectural representation was intended either as a construction template, orientation guide, archive records, or as an artistic display, but in the majority of cases, clients of the higher classes with more sophisticated constructions (kings, pharaohs, landlords, etc.) trusted the design

almost entirely to the architects, or the architects explained the intentions of the project on site (in the absence of drawings). In the case of middle and poor economic classes, constructions were almost self-made, or with standardized techniques, that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require specialized architects. Selling an idea or transmitting accurate information to clients were not the main purposes of an architectural drawing. In contrast, this era, where more sophisticated and complex buildings are made every day with resources paid by public or private clients, hundreds of new different techniques of construction and materials are being used around the world. Communication is essential; it is no longer possible to decide on site during construction or to guide ourselves with templates or standardized techniques. A lot of resources and time is involved and clients need to understand what they are asking and paying for. According to this new purpose of architectural drawings in which selling an idea or transmit information is essential, clients have to understand the basic attributes and tools of architectural representation.

About Scale An important attribute of plans nowadays is the graphic scale, without it, would be impossible to design and build the complex architecture of the present, but this attribute of plans can be ambiguous or incomprehensible for non-architects, and a previous knowledge is required to truly be able to dimension, understand or even imagine a space before it is done. (Sometimes, architecture students and even professional architects in their first years of work need some training to be able to image space just by reading plans). In my opinion, understanding scales is fundamental to prevent disappointment and frustration, not only for clients but also for the architects. But what exactly is a scale plan? When a drawing is described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;to scaleâ&#x20AC;? means that every element in the drawing is bigger or smaller but always in the same proportion related to the real or proposed object. Architects and engineers used a variety of standard scales that are common to all in the construction industry, and normally every kind of plan (depending on the size of the project) is displayed in a specific scale. In the real world, one meter is equal to one meter. A drawing at a scale of 1:10 means that the object is 10 times smaller than in real life scale 1:1, or 1 unit in the drawing is equal to 10 units in real life. It is possible to explain this to someone that never heard of scales before, and he or she can understand easily the logic behind it, but being able to dimension and imagine it in real life is something that requires experience and practice.

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Example: if we show a section or a ground plan of a house to a client and we tell him that the plan is on scale 1:50, does he really understand what that means? Can we think of a way where something as basic as a drawing scale could be explained in a more simple way? One way to do this can be relating those scales with objects of everyday life, for example, a AA battery, that in the metric system is equivalent to one meter in a 1:20 scale, so if you can fit four of those batteries in the room it means the room is equivalent to four meters. But this exercise can be a clumsy attempt to explain a scale, it is not always possible to find elements from everyday life that we can directly relate to a certain scale, and sometimes these elements do not represent the same thing for different people. In my opinion, the fundamental thing is not to teach clients how to read technical scales, but to help them to truly understand space.

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Figure 9: Groundplan, Building for musical practices competition entry (Awarded) Bogotรก 2017 MOBO Architects Image courtesy of MOBO Architects

Scale 1:100

Examples in practice The Norwegian architecture studio Vardehaugen is a good example of how real dimensions and space can be display to clients. Their strategy is to make architectural drawings more comprehensible to people by drawing plans in real scale over the floor of their office parking lot. Using simple tools like white tape or chalk, they are able to make their clients have a first real impression of how space could look like, and even help them design the furniture and lighting directly on the virtual space. Actually, this technique is called demarcation plan and it makes part of the

Figure 10, 11 and 12: Vardehaugen Studio, Plan drawn in 1:1 Scale Images source: https://arquitecturaideal.com/wp-content/ uploads/2016/05/planos-a-escala-real-3.jpg

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process of every architecture project. It is required to delimit the excavation area and is the first step of construction. If this exercise is already being used by builders in the construction sites, why canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we use it too in the design process? This technique raises a lot of questions; what if there is not enough space to draw plans? What if the project is too big to draw in real scale? How can they display highs? But in my opinion, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a first real approach to reach a mutual understanding that enables both parties to contribute to the design process. (Arquitecturaideal.com, 2016)

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About Prototyping All the other kinds of designs disciplines (graphic, industrial, service, etc.) have a huge advantage in terms of how the project will be received by the users, and as I stated before this is due to the possibility to make real scale prototypes, not only by using drawing or other kinds of visualization tools, but to actually show results; materials, shapes, colors, and services working together as a whole before the final project is done. In architecture, this is more complicated because of the size and cost of prototypes. The Latvian firm Fine Young Urbanists (integrated by Evelina Ozola and Toms Kokins) has made big achievements in this area. Located in Riga, (where they have made several urban installations) Evelina and Toms started to analyze the city looking for potential interventions, and they found that the city has being following the same mistakes of American and some European cities in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;60s where cities were planned principally for motorized circulation. Cars were more important than pedestrians and the priority was to build highways to solve traffic problems disregarding public spaces and green areas. This results in almost half of the public space taken by private vehicles, generating problems like pollution, fragmentation, and segregation of uses. In 2014 the firm selected a street in the City of Riga to carry out an experiment. The chosen street had no bicycles lanes, very narrow pedestrian sidewalks, share by pedestrians and bicycles, and a fourth

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street line, were two lines were intended for cars and the other two for trams. Even though cars had their own designated lanes, 90% of the cars used the tram line to circulate living the car lines empty. They realized that, even though space was badly distributed, the street had a big potential, and that the available street space could be used in a more balanced way. First, they propose a shared car-tram line in the middle, living space to a bicycle line in each side of the streets and liberating the sidewalks for walking, sitting, green areas for threes, bicycle parking and outdoor cafes. For them it was very important in the proposal to have the approval and contribution of the local people and the users of Mierigi street, in order to do this, they made plans, collages and photo montages that later on were shared with the people in the site. The responses were mostly positive, but the feedback was not very conclusive and they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure if the people actually understood the proposal simply by looking at drawings, so they decided to test the solution spatially.

Instead of building a scaled model they decided to build a real size mockup, the installation last three days and stayed in place for almost a week. The

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architects, unlike any other artists, do all their work in media which are different from the one in which the final work is realisedâ&#x20AC;? (Sonit Bafna , 2008)

Figure 13: Photomontage of Mierigi street project intervention Image source: https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8iQnrM3DkVI&feature=youtu. be

1:1 Prototype mock-up was painted with a bright blue color and the sidewalks were filled with plants, chairs, and tables to attract passers-by and encourage them to be part of the experiment. In one side they were able to add just 30 centimeters to the sidewalk that was enough to put some benches and small tables next to the wall, but in the other side, where there was more space, as soon as they put tables and chairs, people from a nearby café start serving

Figure 14, 15, 16: Mierigi street project intervention real mockup Images source: http://fineyoungurbanists.tumblr.com/ post/110122869398/mier%C4%ABgi

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coffee, others sit there to read or simply to contemplate the activities that were happening. The main conclusion was that “people instinctively know how to use a good street when they see it” (Evelina Ozola, 2015) Redefining dynamics in the public space. Also that allowing people to be part of the real scale mockup generates more clear and useful insights for the final proposal. (Publicspace.org, 2016)

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Photomontages and Renders Due to their proximity to photographs or real life views, Renders and collage images are one of the most useful tools to visualize ideas before the project is done. For some architects this type of visualization tool is one of the most important ones when it comes to selling a project, it has somehow become the indispensable tool (what gives personality and character to a project) clients can easily understand a picture in comparison to sections or ground plans. A good or bad render can be a “deal changer” and have an important impact on the ultimate decision of the client. But this kind of images is so moldable that they can be exaggerated and distorted, giving a very distant impression of reality. The selection of atmosphere in an architectural presentation can be compared to the art direction in a movie; a lot of unconscious emotions can be evoked with a simple image. Designers must be aware of the responsibility that this entails and they also should be certain that they can deliver what they are offering.

“The doctor can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines” (Frank Lloyd Wright 1931)

Render vs reality

Figure 17: “Mark’s House” by Two Islands; left: rendering courtesy Two Islands; right: a photo that appeared in local news coverage; © Scott Atkinson Image source: https://architizer.com/blog/practice/tools/the-art-of-rendering-7-mistakes/

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Figure 18: Good example of visualization Render image Leon Mozzarela Bar Bogotรก 2016 MOBO Architects Images courtesy of MOBO Architects

Figure 19: Picture of Leon Mozzarela Bar Bogotรก 2016 MOBO Architects Images courtesy of MOBO Architects

A lot of symbolic material is usually added in architectural renders and collages, the selection of elements, their composition, atmosphere, and colors say a lot about the real intentions of the design proposal but it is important to clear out that symbols are useful tools of communication, as long

as they express the truth. It is needless to say that architects choose to show in renders the best and more attractive angles of the project, also that there are several ways to hide mistakes or unsolved problems; a commonly known way is to cover unwanted characteristics with vegetation.

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Simbolism in rendered images 1. Children playing = safety 2. kites = open spaces 3.dogs = animal friendly 4. spectator = panoramic view 5. Sculpture = Cultural environment 6. Threes = green areas 7. Water fountain = calm and quiet

Figure 20: Self-analysis over a process render never published from El Equipo de Mazzanti Architects personal archive. Images courtesy of El equipo de mazzanti Architects

Importance of Human Figure A very important factor in renders, illustrations, collages or three dimensional representations is the human figure, not only because it gives the sense of scale, allowing viewers to compare and associate their own dimensions with those of the represented figures, but also because it express cultural and economic backgrounds, as well as activities, purpos-

es, and functions of the place itself. Adding human figure in perspective views can be a difficult task, the point of view and angle in which the camera is placed can favor or affect the perception of space and scale. When the human figures are not well scaled it affects the whole proportions of the building, making space looks distorted, bigger or smaller.

Scaled people

Figure 21: Personal analysis â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hornachuelos housing projectâ&#x20AC;? competition entry (Honorable mention) Cordoba, Spain, 2017 Image courtesy of the author

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Figure 22: Personal analysis “Hornachuelos housing project” competition entry (Honorable mention) Cordoba, Spain, 2017 Image courtesy of the author

Figure 23: Personal analysis “Hornachuelos housing project” competition entry (Honorable mention) Cordoba, Spain, 2017 Image courtesy of the author

Typography Even though it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be a priority, typography has a very important role in architectural representation, not only as part of the built project itself (wayfinding design) but also as part of the graphic proposal. A lot of research has been made about the perception of typography and how it affects peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emotions in other disciplines of design. In graphic design, typography and typefaces have an important role in building visual hierarchies for information organization, and to create a brand or logo signature for commercial purposes. Their form and appearance can be manipulated to create certain moods or feelings in an audience. The relationship between design and emotions was initially conducted primarily on product design but

in the past decade, other disciplines of design have begun to explore its potential. Aware of its possible contribution to graphic design, scholars have started to investigate the application of user-centered design and emotion theories in typography. (Ho, 2013). But as important as it is for graphic designers, sometimes typography seems to lack importance in architectural presentations, even though, most drawings are always accompanied with several written analysis and information; project brief, specifications, explanations of plans and diagrams. Based on my personal experience, I can say that for some architects, choosing fonts seems to be a matter of comfort and convenience and the potential it has to improve communication seems to be underrated.

Figure 24: typography project compact week Anhalt University, summer semester 2018. Image courtesy of the author

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Architectural Competitions Analyzing architectural competitions can be a good example to understand the fundaments of architectural representation nowadays. Within them is possible to see displayed all the tools, elements and representation techniques working together. In order to be clear to the jury, the proposed concepts should be unmistakably represented when defended and they are therefore better documented and more complete than when designing for a client.

Normally competitions are intrinsically connected to the political and sociocultural scenarios of the moment, and they are the best example of how a specific society follows determined aesthetical patterns and trends. They do not only reflect the society in which they are framed but also the architects own intentions and beliefs, in a way that can help people recognize the signature of the architect just by their aesthetical preferences.

“the representations architects create are not merely neutral windows into a design proposal but in themselves hold evidence of the interests and intentions of their authors” (Francisco Gomez, 2012).

A lot of different types of drawings are usually added in an architectural competition, (plans, sections, diagrams, renders, collages, perspectives, analysis etc.) sometimes even drawings that are not required in the specifications. This surplus material is usually made in order to stand out and excel from other proposals. In his essay Translations from Drawing to Building, Robin Evans notes that the direct products of building designers are not buildings, but graphic representations, in his words, “architects do not

make buildings; they make drawings of buildings” so for some architects the definitive result in architectural competitions is more about appearance than content, and outstanding representations sometimes overcomes the content. (Evans, Robin. 1997) It is true that the goal of most of the competitions is the realization of a real project, but most of the times the winning project of a competition drastically changes during de design process to a point

where is no longer recognizable or comparable with the first proposal, this commonly happens when judges don’t take in consideration important aspects required in the basis, (legislation, technical details, budgets) and they let themselves get carried away by attractive drawings, choosing nonrealistic or unfeasible projects. It is common that architectural competition demands a very strict and limited format in order to homogenize all proposals, therefore being able to choose objectively the winning project. Regarding this, the America Institute of architects

wrote a guiding code with instructions for professional design competitions advisors to organize and evaluate competitions disregarding of the representation techniques. In conclusion, it is clear that the ideal would be to choose the best and more adequate proposal according to the needs and requirements of the clients, and that the types of projections we make in the proposal should be realistic representations of the actual building.

“Judgment must be based on scheme and not on presentation. … The professional advisor should remember that if a simple presentation is required it should be made mandatory. Only drawings absolutely necessary to the explanation of the scheme should be required” (Code for Architectural Design Competitions, 1972.)

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Figure 25: Uniandinos Building Competitin entry Bogotรก 2016 MOBO Architects Image cortesy of MOBO Architects

Figure 24: Different layouts of a competition of the National Museum of Memory Colombia MOBO Architects.

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Architectural Competitions The process of design in architecture prevalent today, assumes that the traditional set of different types of drawings delivered by architects in different scales (from site to detail) adds up to a complete idea of building, but the problem is that every individual drawing (that makes part of the whole set) gives a different information that has to be first

understood separately and then connected with the information provided by other drawings in order to make sense, as they make part of a whole, but these connections are not always evident or simple to understand for the clients, even though they are expected to be unambiguous to avoid misinterpretation. (Pérez-gómez, 2005)

“When you’re looking at drawings, unless you actually have a pretty sophisticated ability to translate what you see on the drawings into reality and evaluate the problems around that, there’s not much point in having a body image to mind” (Elsen & Heylighen, 2014)

In my opinion, the problem doesn’t rely on homogenization and representation restriction. Variety and innovation are crucial facts for development, the real problem appears when we put aesthetics before information; as stated before, drawings, renders and even models, can be deceiving, they

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can transmit a wrong or altered idea of reality. Many times architects “pimp” their drawings (especially renders) with the intention of transmitting a very fantastic or surreal atmosphere, convincing clients with dramatic, almost science fictional environments (figure 25).

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Figure 26: Science fiction atmospheres Schmidt Hammer Lassen architects â&#x20AC;&#x153;render of their waterfront development in Shanghaiâ&#x20AC;? Image source: https:// www.archdaily. com/383325/ are-renderings-bad-for-architecture

Figure 27, 28: Play park and skate park proposal for Ballyfermot in Dublin by Isankun Chinchilla architects Images source: http://izaskunchinchilla.es/ballyfermot-playpark/

Is important to clarify that there is no right or wrong way of expression as long as architects can be sure that by delivering this â&#x20AC;&#x153;surrealâ&#x20AC;? images they are expressing the desired atmosphere in a way that is closer to a a contemporary piece of art than a image of the real project (figure 27) in this case the drawings and renders are nor displaying literal environments.This can be confusing and lead to misunderstandings, but there must be a balance between innovation and creativity in architecture representations and information that is necessary for the clients. The needs and wishes of clients must be clear before delivering them proposals displayed in one type or another of representation. It is a

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common ground in architectural competitions that instead of judging the more complete and coherent proposal, projects are chosen by its attractive drawings. This shows that the problem is not only in what some architects decide to show but also how other people receive information, what either clients or competition judges find more attractive. For us architects, the way of expression has become, in many cases a contest of who makes the most aesthetical drawings, who has the best and most real like renders, and whose graphic styles become the trend or guideline in representation. Changes in representation techniques are superficial, and the basis of what kinds or tool are being used stays the same.

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Figure 29: Whinter Housing Complex en Aomori (Japรณn) by Isankun Chinchilla architects Image source: http:// izaskunchinchilla.es/ ballyfermot-playpark/

Diagrams In my opinion, diagrams are one the most useful and clear tool to communicate with clients, they express in a very concise and simple way the structure, activities, intentions, or operation of something, people, in general, is used to seeing diagrams in different contexts of everyday life. Almost in every profession, there is some kind of diagram representation, wayfinding designers use them to show people how to locate themselves in a place, scientist or mathematicians use them to show the result of their research etc. By definition, a diagram is a symbolic representation of information according to a visualization technique, and its aim is to be so clear that anyone should be able to understand them no matter their background or training. The problem with diagrams in the context of architecture is that even if it shows a specific type of information it is still a very abstract representation in terms of space.

Figure 30: Diagram, Exploited axonometry Building for musical practices competition entry (Awarded) Bogota 2017 MOBO Architects Image courtesy of MOBO Architects

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Communication

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Emotion and Senses

EMOTION AND SENSES There has been a lot of research about the relationship between architecture and senses because they define the way we experience a place, but little had been talk about the influences of senses during the design process and their use in representation.

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Architecture and Senses There appears to be a distance between architectural representation and sensory experiences, yet, multisensory perception defines the way we experience architecture, even if this experience differs in each of us. Architectural representation seems to have a systematic inclination to visual representations, and physical prototypes are rarely addressing anything else than clients visual experiences, leaving aside other sensory qualities as part of the user’s experience. We must take in consideration that perception relies in different dimensions; every person interpret objects and space in a different way and in different

contexts based on their own motivations, experiences and expectations, the problem is that even if the experience is different for everyone, architects are expected to design for it. Although these dimensions deeply impact in the way people experience something, they are also submitted to a more basic layer of perception directly related with their surroundings and primary senses. For some people vision is not the most developed or sensible “sense” and with this, I am not only referring to people with physical disabilities, but to people in general. It is true that visual aids seems to be the most obvious

Architects do not express (or even consider) the complete range and various dimensions of users’ bodies and their sensory experiences: architectural representations would act as an extra layer between them and their project, pushing them to unintentionally screen-out, or even intentionally filter, those dimensions.

(Elsen & Heylighen, 2014)

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Emotion and Senses

Figure 31: Interior Design Person Hazelwood School Dumbreck Architect Alan Dunlop Image source: https://www.arch2o. com/wp-content/ uploads/2016/02/ Arch20-Alan-Dunlop-Architects-Hazelwood-School-01.jpg

way of representation of space, but this idea might be related to the traditional and inherited way of conceiving architecture. Instead of “representing” space for our clients, we should be thinking of a way that allows them to “experience” space, integrating all senses in the design proces. During the early phases of architectural design, architects rarely consider disabled people, and if they do, these are moreover exclusively people with limited mobility. Even when architects are designing for blind people is usually believed that is exclusively a matter of an adequate way finding design. It makes no sense to design an architecture proposal without

a user in mind, and if this user understands better an idea stimulating other senses besides vision, the right thing to do would be to find a way to make this possible. In some of the conventional tools used in architectural presentation other senses are somehow represented, for example in a section the use of arrows coming from outside a window can represent the incoming light from the outside, making us imagine the heat from the sun, or if we display a mobile wall and we show the mechanism in which this wall can be rearrange we are representing a more haptic experience. But in this way other senses are integrated in an abstract and indirect way. So how could be a way to truly integrate other senses?

For instance, evaluated the potentialities offered by an acoustic simulation tool, enabling architects to assess acoustic qualities from the point of view of several users sitting in various areas of an auditorium.

(Elsen & Heylighen, 2014)

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Emotion and Senses

Figure 32: Diagram of mouvment: Shadow panels in the public space â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hornachuelos housing projectâ&#x20AC;? Rethinking competition entry (Honorable mention) Cordoba Spain 2017 Image courtesy of the author

Architecture and user experience We can easily understand how multisensory simulations can help the clients experience and enrich a project, but it appears to be a gap between architecture and user experience methodologies of design that are commonly related to digital platforms and service design. Although more and more design researchers are starting to talk about the importance of this association, user experience is rarely applied in every day architecture practice. The term User experience design was conceived for the first time by the Cognitive psychologist and designer Don Nor-

man in the 1919s. (Garrett, 2002) The industrial revolution introduced a clear separation (mostly in the architectural and product design field) between the designers, the makers, and the users; therefore the direct feedback was somehow interrupted due to this new gap between them. Today designer conceived objects with the intention of offering the users or clients an experience of course, however, how this experience anchor in the design process and through which design tools, is not always clear in architectural design.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The end goal of UX design is to create an intuitive and user friendly experience ensuring that no aspect of the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience happens without your conscious, explicit intentâ&#x20AC;&#x153; (Garrett, 2002)

Nonetheless there are a couple of examples that approximate to user experience design in architecture, one of them being the plan dedicated to path of circulation, which is a frequently used drawing in architectural presentations, though, this plan is

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typically focus on displaying emergency exists, core point of vertical circulation (elevators and stairs) and its relationship with each floor, and not actually showing how the person would feel and interact with the different areas of the project. It could be argued

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that perspective drawings (from a human view angle) are the closest drawings to express multisensory experience, because they show multiple elements, materials, and light, that can transport users and clients to a particular atmosphere that they could have experience before, and with which they can relate, but exactly the opposite happens with a bird view or worm view perspective, we might be used to this kind of images in architecture but is a sight that is never actually going to be experienced, unless we take our clients to a plain trip or shrink them to the size of an insect.

Figure 33: Plan dedicated to path of circulation SDIS bulding (Awarded) Bogota Colombian 2015 MOBO Architects Image courtesy of MOBO Architects

Virtual and augmented reality The gradually increasing interest in new geometry spaces and artifacts, and the need of a more adequate way for representing them, new technologies like virtual or augmented reality (VR) and immersive digital environments (IDE) had become a useful tool of immersion that allows people to visualize objects and spaces in their real dimensions. This kind of technology brings us closer to understanding the space in a way that is closer to reality, in my opinion, it is the future of representation, some experiments (made by Gunita Kulikovska and her architecture studio) show that people how had the opportunity to experience space through virtual reality had a

better ability to think in three dimensional space. Nevertheless, it is still a developing technology and it has some disadvantages, the first one is that the level and quality of graphics it can reach is still similar to those of a video game, unless the rendering work is very long and complex, which makes it unpractical and unfeasible in terms of resources and time, also that it has a specific navigation system that is not easy to figure out without a previous explanation and training, we are familiar with buttons, clicks, touchscreens and swipes but the VR system is completely different. Sometimes VR experience cause motion sickness caused by the disconnection

Figure 34: Cave Automatic Virtual Reality Image source: https://www. unrealengine.com/ en-US/spotlights/ reynaers-aluminium-makes-design-accessible-with-vr-cave

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between what you see on the device and how your body moves. And after all this, even if it allow us to “experience and go through space” with real dimensions, it is not a multisensory experience, because it only stimulates vision and imagination (leaving other senses aside), but it has a great potential to become one, if other senses are taken in consideration during the design process. Some architecture firms had start to increase the using of this kind of technology but the ones which use it in a daily basis are very few. Within the IDE systems, the ones that stand out are mainly media

rooms, a physical facility where the user step in, such as Cave Automatic Virtual Reality (CAVE) and the Head –mounted Display (HMD) consisting in one or more displays embedded in a kind of virtual goggles that send information directly and a few millimeters away from its user’s eyes. (Miguel Baptista Tavares Carreiro, 2013). Although these representation technologies facilitate communication they are not always available, either because they are expensive or because of missing infrastructure. They can’t completely replace, (but complement) the other kinds of representation techniques, drawings plans are still essential for architects to design and build spaces.

Figure 35: Revit and Oculus Rift (VR) Image source: https://archvirtual. com/2013/04/15/ revit-and-oculus-rift-via-unity3d-experiencing-bim-in-virtual-reality/

Architecture and Cinema I am a strong believer that other kinds of arts and design disciplines can really help architecture to improve expression. Sometimes, when we are explaining a project, for example, a museum of history of war, or a cemetery, we talk about how sublime and peaceful we want the building to be, or if the project is a government building we use words like monumental or majestic, but can a normal plan, section, perspective, model or even a render really project these feelings? “A picture is worth a thousand words” and what if the picture also produces sound and movement? It gives a whole new perspective, full of information and meaning. It is well known that music and cinema have the power to move people’s emotions, so is it really crazy to think that they could be part of an architecture presentation? Can these other types of arts help us to explain a project in a better way? One of the most important tools of storytelling in cinema is the common use of storyboards that help directors and photography designers to develop a guideline on how to tell a story. This normally doesn’t happen in architectural presentation layouts, where each individual image or drawing is placed next to the others according to mere aesthetical parameters and not really thinking if it makes sense.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Figure 36: Example of storyboard for the movie “The birds” of Alfred Hitchcock and Rick Rosenthal Image source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/43/5c/0e/435c0e0667e2883af3fdd60f17302ce1.jpg

Emotion and Senses

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Research clousure

RESEARCH CLOSURE Architecture is a very important part of our everydays life, and we us practitioners should be aware of the importance of our job and how it affects everyone. Many times in our practice there are things that we take for granted and consider obvious to our eyes, but it is very important to reconsider and

evaluate our actions from the perspective of others and find out if we are really giving our best and how we are able to improve in each situation. Even if we act with the best intentions, our actions and the things we produce are not always the best solution for everyone.

General conclusion

Architecture is not the mere result of the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision, it is what every human make of their surroundings and everyone can and should contribute to the design of it.

The world of architecture, the quality, quantity, and scope of each project is very different, and proposing to unique way or template to present all the project would be impossible and unrealistic so it is necessary to always innovate in creatives ideas to display and present every individual project in a way that better suit the situation.

We have to be aware of the importance of clear communication, constantly upgrade in the tools we use to materialize our ideas and support our projects and, with the help of other disciplines, produce integral and complementary projects. Technology is always evolving and we as practitioners have to get out of the comfort zone and keep up with those changing.

Experimental and practical approaches in architecture presentations are better recived by the clients and users and tend to improve the design process and the resulting project.

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Research clousure

Further steps

Review and adjust my own practice as an architect and the way I design and display architecture projects to have better communication with my clients.

Now with all the collected information and examples used in this research, I need to test my theories in a practical way, for this, I designed a survey where some of the basic elements of expression used in architecture drawings are going to be analyzed in different exercises.

With the results of the survey, I want to gather some insights to inspire a possible design proposal from where I can contribute to improve communication between architects and clients.

SURVEY introduction and purpose

Based on the literature review, previous experiences, work experiences and conversations with other architects, I decided to design a survey where I could test my theories about architectural representation. The concepts included in the survey are present in the everyday architectural practice and were discussed with other architects previously to the final design of the survey.

design of the survey

Target group: The survey was designed for architects and lay people equally to be able to compare the results. Language: The survey was made in three different languages, English, German and Spanish. Quantity: 40 copies where delivered printed or in a digital format

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Research clousure

analyzed concepts

details of participants

Relation with architecture field

Types of drawings

Perception

Volume

Depth/line weight

Human scale in renders

Nationality

Age range

10 nationalities

People from 22 to 86

42.5% Colombian 27.5% Germany 30% Other countries

25-34 years old: 42,5% 35-44 years old: 22.5% 45-54 years old: 20% 55-64 years old: 15%

Profession/occupation Architects 25 % Design related professions10% Other professions 65%

Gender 55% Woman 45% Man

ARCHITECTURE REPRESENTATION About this survey My name is Laura, I am an architect currently writing my thesis in integrated design at Hochschule Anhalt University and this survey will help me to test my theories about communication in architectural tools of representation. There is no right or wrong answer. Please answer alone and without help.

Nationality

Profession/occupation

Age

Gender

18-24

45-54

Female

25-34

55-64

Male

35-44

65 ->

Other

1. Have you ever been involved in an architecture project, either as a client, designer or builder?

(Hired an architect to design a place, participated in design meeting of private or public projects, being in contact with architecture drawings).

Yes

what was your experience?

No Don't know

2. Do you think is important that people understand architectural drawings? Yes

why?

No Don't know

3. Do you consider yourself to be an artistic person or skilled with any kind of drawings, sculptures or handcraft? Yes

what kind of activity do you practice?

No Don't know

4. Do you have a close friend/relative who is an architect? Yes

What is your relationship with this person

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Question 1

Question 2

Purpose:

This question was intended to determine if the nonarchitects that had been somehow involved before in architectural projects could understand better architectural drawings because of the access to these plans.

This question was intended to determine how important is for people to understand architecture drawing so that they could be more involved in the projects.

Conclusion:

63% of non-architects claimed they had never been involved in an architectural projects, and there was no clear connection in the people how was involved is architectyre projects and their previeus expirence.

100% of architects and 73% of non-architects agree that all people should be able to understand architectural drawings if they are going to be part of an architectural project.

Some non-architects that answered positively to this question consider important to understand architecture drawings to be able to discuss their thought with architects and really get what they want.

All non-architects that answered think it is not important to understand architectural drawings (26.6%) had never been involved in architecture projects of any kind.

Also, some people mentioned the importance of understanding evacuation and emergency plans.

Some people believe that their professions are not related to architecture in any way.

Question 3

Question 4

Purpose:

This question was intended to determine if people who practice artistic activities had a better understanding of 2D and 3D drawings.

This question was intended to determine if people with close relatives or friends with whom they spend a lot of time could have learned to understand plans better because of the easy access to drawings.

Conclusion:

There was no evident relationship between particular artistic activities in non-architects and a better understanding of drawings, except for people in design-related professions who had better results.

The results of this question were not useful or successful because the question was not clear and people answered shortly without specifying if they had access to drawings.

Organic architecture

Modern Architecture

Juxtapose/Juxtaposition

Robust

Types of drawings There are several kinds of architecture drawings and also different ways of representation in the following images can you tell which is what kind? (the aswer can be more than one option) A

Ground plan

Section

Elevation

Perspective

Site plan

Axonometric

Perception In the following images, can you describe, with adjectives, the atmosphere this place generates for you?(example: peaceful, warm, nostalgic, imposing, etc.)

Note: All the images used as examples in this questions where found in pinterest and are not of my authorship.

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Types of drawings Purpose This question was intended to determine if people can recognize the types of architectural drawings and differentiate between them, despite the various expression techniques.

Conclusions A

100% of architects could recognize all the different drawings.

30% non-architects couldn’t differentiate between facade or perspective view.

40% of non-architects didn’t know what axonometric view means.

24% of nonarchitects didn’t know the difference between site plan and ground plan.

Comments

“I never heard the word axonometry so I chose it by discard when the others were already chosen” (Ecotoxicologie student).

Perception In the following images, can you describe, with adjectives, the atmosphere this place generates for you?(example: peaceful, warm, nostalgic, imposing, etc.)

Meaning / Vocabulary Have you ever heard these words in the context of architecture? if yes, can you tell what do you think they mean? Fabric (urban or building)

Legibility (of something other than writing)

Urban Grid

Orthogonal

Dynamic architecture

Gesture (in the context of phisical space)

Organic architecture

Modern Architecture

Juxtapose/Juxtaposition

Robust

Note: All the images used as examples in this questions where found in pinterest and are not of my authorship.

Types of drawings 82

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There are several kinds of architecture drawings and also different ways of representation in the following images can you tell which is what kind? (the aswer can be more than one option)

Perception

Research clousure

Purpose With this question, I wanted to find out if the rendered images (which are commonly used in architectural presentations) generate the same or similar emotions in people, since most of the time, these images are designed to express a predetermined atmosphere according to the essence of each project. Conclusions Image 1 100% of all participants described this image as “quiet, calm and comfort” these interpretations can be related to the amount of green and nature present in the render. This 96.6% of all participants described this image with positive adjectives, the most common where magical dreamy, nostalgic and happy, this can be related to the little child and the butterflies. Surprisingly the rest of the images had very varied and contradicted perceptions, different people could describe the same image as calm or stressful, warm or cold surprising or bored.

Meaning and vocabulary Purpose There are several concepts and words that architects commonly used in architectural presentations, my theory is that the meaning that architects give to these words has sometimes changed or reassigned to other meanings. After long research and interviews with other architects, I selected these 10 words to analyze if they were in fact understood by laypeople in the same way that architects used them. Note: among the 40 copies 8 were delivered in German and didn’t have this exercise so the percentages are made with the 22 remaining non-architects participants. Conclusions All the architects gave equal or similar meaning to the words but it is common that they have exaggerated or decorated the answers with a deeper more personal meaning, example: Juxtaposition: “Putting something above other thing improving both things by this union” 22.7% of non-architect participants didn’t know the meaning of any of the words. 77.2% of Non-Architect participants gave a wider range and unrelated meaning to each of the words. Number of unrelated meanings: Fabric-4, Urban grid-3, Dynamic architecture 4, organic architecture-5, Juxtaposition-6, Orthogonal-4, Gesture-5, Modern architecture-2, Robust-6.

Volume From the images below in exercise 1 and 2 can you tell which one of the 3D option A, B or C in the right column correspond to the plan and elevation drawings in the left? (Mark the right one with a cross in front of the corresponding letter)

Exercise 1 Plan view (Top)

Legend: Shape Edges Shape Hidden Edges Direction from where you look at the 3D

Comments:

Elevation view (Front)

From 1 to 5 how difficult did you find this exercise? Easy

Exercise 2 Plan view

Difficult

Legend: Shape Edges Shape Hidden Edges Direction from where you look at the 3D

Comments:

Elevation view

From 1 to 5 how difficult did you find this exercise? Easy

Difficult

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Research clousure

Volume Purpose In this exercise, I wanted to analyze if people were able to connect the information of the same project displayed in different views and understand a volume in a three-dimensional representation.

Conclusion excercise 1

Conclusion excercise 2

100% of architects got it right compare to 85% of non-architects

90% of architects got it right compare to 60% of non-architects

Most architects tended to mark it with 1 grade of difficulty while most non-architects rated it with a level 2

Most architects tended to mark it with a level 3 of difficulty while most non-architects rated it with a level 4

Some people found difficult to understand the volume because of the dashed lines, for them this lines were more confusing than helpful.

It was difficult for some non-architects to understand the relationship between the 2D views and the 3D views, they couldn’t understand why curved objects like a cylinder could be seen as a square in the elevation view.

Comments

“I don’t think the plan view and elevation view correspond with each other, where is the blue cylinder?” (Anthropologist, referring to exercise 2)

Depth/ line Weight From the images below can you tell which one of the plan view options A, B or C in the right column correspond to the 3D and elevation drawings on the left? (Mark the right one with a cross in front of the corresponding letter) Plan view

Legend: Position of the viewer Distance of the objects in relation to the viewer

Elevation view (Front) C

Far

From 1 to 5 how difficult did you find this exercise? Easy

Difficult

Comments:

In the left column there is a 3D, an elevation, and a plan view with 3 section, AA’, BB’, and CC’ can you tell which one of the sections correspond to the section views 1, 2 and 3 on the left column? Schnitt

Grundriss (von oben)

Legend: Cut objects

Comments:

Ansicht (von vorn)

Schnitt

From 1 to 5 how difficult did you find this exercise? Easy

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Difficult

Research clousure

Depth / Line weight Purpose There is a particular way of expression in architecture to represent depth in architectural drawings by using different line weight and gray scales, but this information is not usually explained in in architectural displays, with this exercises I wanted to see if people where able to understand this way of expression if I added a legend.

Conclusion excercise 1

Conclusion excercise 2

100% of architects got it right compare to 93% of non-architects

90% of architects got it right compare to 60% of non-architects

Most architects tended to mark it with 1 grade of difficulty while most non-architects rated it with a level 2

Most architects tended to mark it with a level 1 of difficulty while most non-architects rated it with a level 5

Some people found difficult to understand the volume because of the dashed lines, for some people the concept of hidden edges represented by dashed lines is unknown.

some non-architects comment they didn’t understand the legend and that using this leyend was in fact, more confusing.

It was difficult for some non-architects to understand the relation between the 2D views and the 3D views, they couldn’t understand why curved objects like a cylinder could be seen as a square in the elevation view.

Comments

“This exercise requires so much thinking and it feels like an IQ test, the section view number 1 doesn’t correspond to anything ” (Actor, referring to exercise 2)

Human Scale Can you tell which one of these renders has the right scaled people on it? If yes can you tell why? (Mark the right one with a cross in front of the corresponding letter)

General comments

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Research clousure

Human scale Purpose The purpose of this exercise was to figure out if non-architects can easily perceive and understand the logic of perspective in rendered images to be able to accurately dimension and understand a project.

Conclusion excercise 1 A

100% of architects got it right and some of them could explain the logic of perspective. 60% of non-architects were able to choose the right answer but almost half of them wrote they didn’t know why this was the right answer.

Most people that didn’t choose the right answer couldn’t explain the reason of their choosing and some said that people should look the same size in the whole image.

Human scale helps us understand the size of a project, but if people can’t easily understand perspective it is very difficult to accurately analyze and judge a project.

Comments

“ I think is option D, people look in the rigth scale for the size of the building, in the others, people look like the same high as the building and they should be all the same size” (Literature student, the right answer was option B)

General conclusions of the survey A

Most of the participants appreciate the survey and find it useful and interesting.

The majority of participants were able to answer right most of the exercises but the general comments where they required a lot of thinking and a deep evaluation to be able to understand them. when I design this survey I tried to make the exercises as simple as possible, using only simple geometric shapes instead of real architecture projects to make it easier, but if this was already hard for people in general to understand, real projects, with organic shapes and construction elements would increase the level of difficulty.

For some people is not important to understand architectural drawings because they believe is not related to their fields of work, or they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe they are going to be ever involved in a project of this sort, this made me realized that the focus of my intervention should be on public projects where the chances of participatory design where people can actually give their opinion about a projects are wider.

Some architects among the participants commented that this survey helped them to realize the importance of communication in our visualization tools.

Learnings

To get useful insight, the design of the questions have to be very clear and specific, otherwise, the answers can be too short to provide deep information or simply unrelated.

When a survey is relatively long and requires time to analyze and comment, people will be more reluctant to answer, so is important to look up for adequate situations and places where people feel comfortable to answer and will be willing to contribute, this is why this survey was designed so people can take it home with them and answer it at their chosen time.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Research clousure

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Design intervention

DESIGN INTERVENTION As result of the research and survey my main conclusion was that there is no perfect way to present all kind of architectural projects, is impossible to design a template that fits all the requirements of each project. This is why I decided that my contribution to improve communication had to come up from a different perspective. I cannot change how all the

architects in the world present their projects or use visualization tools, mostly because these tools are still necessary for us architects to design (so they cannot just be completely replaced), but I can contribute to making it easier for laypeople to understand the tools we already use. So, my proposal, is the result, of this change of this point of view.

DECODING ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS

presentation

To understand architectural drawings is important to analyze them from the perspective of their creators. Every drawing is charged with a lot of symbolism, the types and thickness of lines, the colors, shadows, etc. Every kind of drawing is meant to give different information, that ideally, every person should be able to understand at first sight, but most of the elements and rules to be able to read architectural drawings are normally unknown to our clients, so we should come up with a solution that teaches them some of these basic elements. In every architecture project there are different stages of the process, from the first step of conceptualization or ideation to development and construction details, to finally building a project. This first stage of the process, where the main aspects of the project are defined, is the most important for the clients to understand. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily need to be able to read all technical details and constructions plans to contribute to the essence of the project. Thinking about that, I decided to focus on how to teach people how to understand this first stage of conceptualization, normally in this stage, the structure, the material, and the budget are not defined, so what really matters is the volumes and space itself.

Decoding Hieroglyphs

Design intervention

target audience

As a result of the research and survey I realized that a big part of the population had never been involved directly in architectural projects, it is a privilege to be able to hire an architect to design your own house, office or any kind of space, but for the people who are able to afford their own project, it should be easier to understand the product of their desires, but also and most importantly for public projects (government buildings and facilities, public space, etc) where all people can and should be part of the process of design of their own environment. This is why the book is directed to all people to plan on hiring an anchitect to desing a space and is willing to be more involve in the process of design. It is meant to be use in architecture offices as a guide to understand the basic tools and elements of architecture drawings every time the studio have new clients who had no experience in reading architecture drawings. It can also be used in worshops and presentations of public projects. Note: This book is not intended to teach how to make architecture, but rather to show and explain (in a simple and graphical way) some of the basic concepts of visualization tools used in architecture presentations, making architecture more accessible for laypeople to understand and hopefully generate consciousness of the importance of clear communication in our practice as architects.

DECODING ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS

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Design intervention

This book was principally inspired by two famous books in the world of architecture, both directed to architects and architecture students, but with a similar approach, where simple diagrams explain concepts of architecture. One of them, teaching how to make architecture to new students, and the other one as a summary of the learnings during studies and in the professional practice. Special thaks to: Francis D.K. Ching for “ Architecture, form, space and order” Matthew Frederick for “101 Things I Learned in Architecture School”

First Prototype Subjects explained in the first prototype 1. Types of lines

6. Horizontal sections -Floor plans

2. Primary Elements

7. Vertical sections

3. Scale

8. Site plans

4. Depth and line weight

9. perspective

5. Facades

10. axonometric views

Testing the prototype The first prototype was tested in different occasions with individuals in a one to one session to see if they were able to understand the diagrams and the explanation texts that accompanied them.

Modifications for next prototype A

Explanatory text that accompanied the diagrams must be short and direct. Only the most important aspects of each subject need to be explained.

There has to be a logical order in the way the diagrams are showned, sometimes to understand a diagram is needed to undestand a different one first. they are all connected.

Diagrams should be simplified to be more legible, “less is more”.

The size of explanatory text (font) should be modified, sometimes bigger and sometimes smaller.

Diagrams shouldn’t be made in black and white, but the color has to be Sutil, that why I choose to use a color palette of different kinds of greens and grayscale with some occasionally red interventions.

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Design intervention

Examples of the first Prototype Text and vocabulary

Conclusions 1. In the first prototype, the texts were very long and unnecessary information, which distracted the attention of the main message of the explanation diagram. 2. Some explanations had words and concepts that needed to be previously explained to be understood.

Complexity of drawings 1. Some of the diagrams had too many details, which distracted the attention of the main message of the explanation diagram. 2. The size of some diagrams and the text was either too small or too big.

Colour expression 1. In the first prototype, diagrams were made in black and white which make them more difficult to understand. 2. I also tried to explain the concepts with different colors but it looked like a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, so people found it childish/not serious.

Final Prototype Subjects explained in the first prototype Taking in considerations the conclusions of the first prototype more subjects were added to the book, and others were deepely developed 1. Introduction

7. Scale

13. Site Plan

2.Types of lines

8. Depth / line weight

14. Projection Drawings

2. Primary Elements

9. Volume

15. Perspective

4. Space

10. Facades / Elevations

16. Axonometric Projections

5. Context

11. Horizontal sections

17. Oblique Projections

6. Openings

12. Vertical Sections

18. Combined Methods

100 Decoding Hieroglyphs

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101

Testing the prototype This prototype was also tested in different occasions with individuals in a one to one session to see if they were able to understand the diagrams and the explanation texts that accompanied them, but mostly to see if these diagrams really help non-architects to understand architectural drawing of real projects. Modification were made along the way.

Conclusions People who tested the final prototype find useful and interesting all the content in the book and they appreciate that they could learn all the elements easily because they were gathered in one book. After reading the exercises the understand better some of the basic elements to read architectural drawings, some were able to recognize them in real architecture projects, but this book work as a mere guide to start familiarizing with architectural drawings, it cannot suddenly change how people perceive and understand architecture plans, for this is necessary to have a deeper commitment and interest in the matter, also some practice is required to be able to apply all the learnings acquired in this book with all the different expressions used in architectural offices to display architecture drawings.

Examples of the final Prototype

102

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103

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DECLARATION Herewith I declare that I have prepared this Masterthesis independently, that it has not been submitted in the same or similar wording as an examination paper in another course of study, and that I have not used any other aids and sources than the ones indicated. I have marked any quotations given in the thesis in their original or similar wording as a quotation. Dessau, 20.06.2019

Laura Gutierrez Mesa

106 Decoding Hieroglyphs

Decoding Hieroglyphs Summer Semester 2019

Master thesis by Laura Gutierrez Mesa Summer Semester 2019 (MAID) Master of Arts in Integrated Design Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Design Department Advisors: Prof. Uwe Gellert and Prof. Dr. Japer Cepl