Integrating Observation and Network Analysis to Identify Patterns of Use in the Public Space: A Gender Perspective

In the last few decades, increasing attention has been given to gender issues in urban design. However, research on the urban environment continues to show large gender inequalities, which are especially evident when studying the use and enjoyment of the public space. This study aims to identify predominant patterns of use in public places and to explore the possible existence of traditional gender roles in the urban space. The study uses, three public spaces in the city of Barcelona as a case study, an innovative combination of systematic observation techniques and network analysis procedures. Variables collected by EXOdES, a dedicated software analysis tool for systematic observation, are represented as nodes of a network system and analyzed using network analysis tools. Findings confirmed that, in spite of the progressive consolidation of feminist urbanism, uses in the public realm resulting from traditional gender roles remained explicitly recognizable. Whereas women's occupation of space was related to playground and resting areas, generally involving care activities concerned with children or elderly people, men were primarily located in resting and sports areas, practicing sports, or participating in leisure activities. These patterns of use were more prone to emerge when users were part of a group than when they were alone. From a gender perspective, a contribution of the study is that it informed about main aspects of the analyzed public spaces reconfirming the existence of traditional roles in society, and the significance of exploring the public space as a key scenario where social features are explicitly exposed. From a methodological perspective, the processing of observational data with network analysis tools proved to be relevant and suitable for dealing with the intricacies of urban place analysis. Compared to more classical approaches and systems, these techniques allowed to identify and interpret complex systems composed of many variables and relationships in a relatively straightforward manner, which turns it into a useful aid for urban designers and architects

El efecto del diseño del espacio interior de los bares en el sentido de lugar de los usuarios

Una pregunta frecuente que solemos hacernos los diseñadores de espacios es como los usuarios entienden, perciben, y vivencian un lugar. De acuerdo a NorbergSchulz (1969) los espacios significativos confieren forma y estructura a nuestras experiencias en el mundo que nos rodea.&nbsp

Diseño arquitectónico y su relación con la identidad local

El fenómeno de la globalización amenaza con destruir los valores culturales, sociales, históricos, y arquitectónicos del lugar. Al efecto devastador de la globalización no ha estado exenta la arquitectura regional, donde la identidad de lugar está en plena crisis. En este estudio exploramos la relación existente entre la arquitectura y el contexto físico, histórico, y cultural. El objetivo es entender en mayor profundidad el rol que puede desempeñar la arquitectura de la diferencia para preservar la identidad del lugar. Con este fin, presentamos la visión del reconocido arquitecto israelí Ram Karmi, como respuesta desafiante al consumismo, y a la falta de interés en los valores locales. En particular, nos centramos en la Arquitectura Lírica, que es el enfoque teórico que Karmi propone para reelaborar la identidad local en nuestros días

Three studio critiquing cultures: Fun follows function or function follows fun?

For the longest time, design was an activity with no distinction among disciplines. Over time, separate design disciplines had formed their own cultures and their own educational practices. In this paper, we use data from a limited set of design reviews along with a literature survey to conduct a comparative analysis of contemporary reviewing and critiquing cultures in architecture, industrial design and mechanical engineering. We point out differences and communalities, and conclude with a list of the lessons the three disciplines can learn from one another regarding reviewing in the classroom. We dwell especially on one issue that currently differentiates the three cultures: the stress they lay on excitement and fun. We believe that a world in which products of all sorts – from buildings through machines to consumer products – are fun, is a better world to live in

Motivación para la Creatividad en Estudiantes de Diseño: Implementación de una Estrategia Pedagógica

La investigación trató sobre el estudio de la motivación para la creatividad. Los objetivos fueron determinar la motivación para la creatividad en los estudiantes de diseño arquitectónico basados en la teoría de orientación cognitiva que define la motivación en función de un sistema de tipos de creencias, y de agrupaciones basadas en temas identificados como relevantes para el desarrollo de la creatividad. En base a los resultados obtenidos se proponen pautas para implementar programas de intervención orientados a mejorar la educación en diseño

Design creativity in architecture and engineering

Creativity is a fundamental topic of study in design, encompassing the formation of new ideas and insights. As such, creativity is critical to the development of innovative cognitive processes, as well as the development and production of innovative outcomes at the abstract, configurational and detailed levels. The objective of this Special Issue was therefore to explore how creativity can be characterized and supported throughout design activity in architectural and engineering domains related to construction and built environments. Five core papers were originally published, with contributions from an international spread of researchers, including Lithuania, South Korea, Israel, Australia and the UK. These encompass considerations of social context, visual communication, creative spaces, decision-making and computation support

El significado de los referentes en la enseñanza del Diseño

Basándonos en la Teoría del Significado (Kreitler & Kreitler, 1990), el articulo trata sobre el uso de referentes arquitectónicos y su relación con la creatividad en diseño. Los resultados de los coeficientes de la regresión realizada entre los factores de los referentes, y las variables de la creatividad indicaron que los aspectos más valorados fueron aquellos que tenían que ver con experiencias y conceptos derivados del referente, y en segundo término los aspectos relacionados con las funciones del referente. Ambos factores estuvieron estrechamente relacionados con la creatividad en diseño. Proponemos un programa de intervención para la enseñanza de diseño

Creative analogy use in a heterogeneous design team: The pervasive role of background domain knowledge

We integrated two research traditions – one focusing on analogical reasoning, the other on knowledge sharing – with the aim of examining how designers’ unique knowledge backgrounds can fuel analogy-based creativity. The present dataset afforded a unique opportunity to pursue this aim since the design dialogue derived from team members with highly disparate educational backgrounds. Our analyses revealed that analogies that matched (versus mismatched) educational backgrounds were generated and revisited more frequently, presumably because they were more accessible. Matching analogies were also associated with increased epistemic uncertainty, perhaps because domain experts appreciate the challenge of mapping such analogies between domains. Our findings support claims from the knowledge-sharing literature for a direct route from knowledge diversity through analogical reasoning to novel idea production

Augmenting the 6-3-5 method with design information

This paper describes a comparative study between the 6-3-5 Method and the ICR Grid. The ICR Grid is an evolved variant of 6-3-5 intended to better integrate information into the concept generation process. Unlike a conventional 6-3-5 process where participants continually sketch concepts, using the ICR Grid (the name derived from its Inform, Create, Reflect activities and structured, grid-like output) participants are additionally required to undertake information search tasks, use specific information items for concept development, and reflect on the merit of concepts as the session progresses. The results indicate that although the quantity of concepts was lower, the use of information had a positive effect in a number of areas, principally the quality and variety of output. Although grounded in the area of product development, this research is applicable to any organisation undertaking idea generation and problem solving. As well as providing insights on the transference of information to concepts, it holds additional interest for studies on the composition and use of digital libraries