Levels of expertise in design education

Design ability and differences between novice and expert designers have been quite extensively studied in the field of design methodology. For example, design expertise got much attention in the latest Design Thinking Research Symposium held in Australia. Little attention, however, is paid to the development from novice into expert. At this moment, there is no theoretical basis for explaining and understanding the kinds of transformations the design student has to go through, and there is no theoretical basis for identifying the degree of design expertise of a designer at a certain moment. Also, little is known about how to stimulate design expertise development. We propose to study the development of expertise in designing. This paper introduces a model of the development of design expertise, based on the general skill acquisition model of Dreyfus. Characteristics and limitations of the general model relevant for its\ud application to the field of design are discussed. We will try to match the levels of expertise as they are identified in the model with some empirical data, consisting of a set of self-evaluations of a design student. We could find some empirical basis for the model, but much more detailed empirical\ud investigations are needed to reflect on the basic assumptions of the model. We therefore introduce a wider research programme that eventually should result in a stable description of levels of design expertise, a description of the transitions to higher levels of design expertise, and in ways to support design expertise development

Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem–solution

Empirical data on design processes were obtained from a set of protocol studies of nine experienced industrial designers, whose designs were evaluated on overall quality and on a variety of aspects including creativity. From the protocol data we identify aspects of creativity in design related to the formulation of the design problem and to the concept of originality. We also apply our observations to a model of creative design as the co-evolution of problem/solution spaces, and confirm the general validity of the model. We propose refinements to the co-evolution model, and suggest relevant new concepts of ‘default’ and ‘surprise’ problem/solution spaces

Session A2 - Free access for riverine fish along the Dutch Rhine, hydraulics and construction of the Dutch Rhine fishways

Until 1985 migration of riverine fish for instance salmon and sea trout through the river Rhine system has dramatically declined due to the tremendous decrease of water quality and the construction of river regulation works such as weirs and dams and hydropower stations. During the last decades the water quality in the Rhine and therefore the environmental circumstances for migratory fish has improved significantly. At the same time on international level a discussion was started on the feasibility of restoring fish migration. In 1987 all countries along the river Rhine adopted the Rhine Action Programme. One of the aims of this plan is to restore the main stream as the backbone of the complex Rhine ecosystem and its main tributaries as habitats for migratory fish. The construction of fishways at the three weirs in the river Neder-Rhine was the major Dutch activity in restoring the migration route in the Rhine. Accurate investigations of the behaviour of different fish species and the required migration circumstances, resulted in a design of spacious pool- and weir fishways as bypass channels in the floodplain. To enable migration of different migratory fish species during the various discharge situations of the river the channels have V-shaped weirs with vertical slots

Session B8 - Restoration of fish migration at the Afsluitdijk, The Netherlands, a unique challenge

The Netherlands is a low lying country with 2/3 of its area below sea level. The country is protected against the sea by an expanded water defence system consisting of dunes, dikes, dams and storm surge barriers. In the south western part, the province of Zeeland, the coastline was shortened by closing of many estuaries with closure dams during the decades after the 1953 storm surge disaster. Separated marine and fresh water systems were born. Also for safety reasons in the northern part of the country in the former Zuider Sea, a 32 km long closure dam was constructed in 1932: the Afsluitdijk. This dam connects the provinces of North-Holland and Friesland and separates the salt Wadden Sea (an international protected wetland) from the lake IJsselmeer. Nowadays this lake is a very important fresh water reservoir, a source for the preparation of drinking water, which is fed by the river IJssel, a branch of the river Rhine. The surplus of fresh water is drained daily through two large discharge sluices at low tides in the Wadden Sea. During high tides the sluices are closed preventing sea water to enter. Also during very dry summer periods the sluices remain closed for several weeks. It\u27s obvious that this dam is an immense barrier for many migratory fish species. The adults of the strong anadromous counter current swimmers can hardly enter the fresh IJsselmeer due to the very high current velocities in the discharge sluices, already reached several minutes after opening. The anadromous juveniles, together with the katadromous adults are able to reach the Wadden Sea via the open discharge sluices, but during dry periods they have to wait several weeks which might be a problem. Flounder larvae and glass eel want to enter the fresh water at high tides floating in the flood stream (selective tidal transport). Also weak swimmers as smelts and sticklebacks normally use this water movement to enter inland water bodies. At the seaside, just behind the closed discharge sluices huge amounts of fish are gathering, waiting to enter, attracted by the fresh water discharge flow during the previous ebb tide. But it is uncertain if fish are able to stay close to the discharge sluices during the flushing period. And even if fish are able to resist this flow, it is very difficult to create an extra attraction flow in a fish way which can be competitive with the huge discharge flow. The European Water Framework Directive demands an improvement of the ecological quality of water systems. As a result many fish migration routes in The Netherlands have to be restored; also at the Afsluitdijk. This paper describes the ecological demands and design criteria for fish ways at this location as well as several possible solutions to eliminate this fish migration barrier

Understanding design : reflections on being a designer

237hlm.;bib.;ill.;indek

Frame Creation and Design in the Expanded Field

Design-trained people have access to a very broad range of professions. Yet there is something paradoxical about this development: ostensibly, many of these highly successful people have moved out of the field of “design.” This phenomenon deserves deeper consideration: how do design practices spread across society? What key design practices are particularly relevant to the problems of today's society? Should what these people do still be considered design? To answer these questions, first we need to understand various ways that practices can be adopted and adapted from one discipline to the other. Problem framing emerges as a key design practice that can be adopted and adapted to other fields, and one which provides a valuable alternative to conventional types of problem solving. An example will illustrate how this frame creation allows practitioners to approach today's open, complex, dynamic, networked problems in new and fruitful ways. The paper goes on to argue that the practice of frame creation is still part and parcel of the domain of design, and explores how design can develop into an expanded field of practice