ACSA: Conference book: Design Studies

Abstract

In recent years, the Faculty of Architecture, Housing, Urban Design and Planning has been undergoing large changes in the training and research program mes. These changes followon from the signals received from professional practice, but above all from the desire of staff and students to design programma and organization in such a way that they play along with new developments in the field of architecture in an international context. As in 1992 the University of Technology at Delft is celebrating its 150 years in existence, and ACSA was planning to organise a congress in collaboration with a European university, it was decided to organise this congress as a collaboration between ACSA and the Faculty in Delft. After careful consideration it was also decided to place the emphasis in this congress on research in relation to architectural education. We are aware that the time is long gone when the designing of buildings, cities and landscapes could develop without proper reflection from designing research. Ends and means must be weil attuned to each other, as weil as the various aspects of function, structure and form, and of pattern and process. The professional field is renewing itself through the development of new materials and construction techniques, new aids such as the computer, and new problems such as the growth of eities and mobility, environmental protection and energy saving, and the confrontation of rich and poor. It leads to new tasks for the architect and the accompanying research must be newly formulated. Partly as a consequence of these problems, the congress is set up along 3 main lines: designing research in the field of Architecture and Urban Planning; designing research in the field of Building Technology; architectural research in connection with computer-backed designing. For the Faculty of Architecture, Housing, Urban Design and Planning these themes are elements of a new research programma which was started up last year. They form a foundation for the main subject of Architecture, Housing, Urban Design and Building Technology. Our faculty therefore regards this congress as a welcome opportunity to achieve a better foundation and execution of design research. And in this way also, a more intensive cooperation with European and American Architecture faculties.UrbanismArchitectur