Architectural knowledge: the way that architects know and use knowledge embedded in design

This thesis uses case study analysis to discuss the nature of architectural knowledge, how architects know and what it is we know. I discuss the flexible way architects think to transform knowledge accessed in existing designs into new knowledge and the value of this type of thinking.<br><br>Through case study the architect can see their problem at hand, often in a completely different set of circumstances, as a sort of abstract concept, they then can apply that solution in a new and different context and integrated new whole. I describe this ability as afforded by the flexibility of design thinking. I argue that concentrating on this part of the design process contributes to an enhanced ability to inquire and apply flexible thinking. This thesis raises possibilities for further research as to how we teach architecture and the wider application of the mode of flexible thinking undertaken by the designer.<br><br>The thesis is structured around a series of case studies, many of which were carried out for an Australian Research Council project: The Ageing of Aquarius. Over the many years it has taken to develop this thesis, I have been able to reflect on this material and use both the case study research method and knowledge revealed in the case study analysis in my own architectural practice. <br><br>The use of the case study by architects, or the capacity to ‘see’ the embedded knowledge in a design, demonstrates how the capacity to design and to understand design are interrelated (Ulusoy 1999, 126), they have in common the ability to think in abstract terms – visually decoding the relations among spaces in the visual conceptualisation of these ideas, usually through the plan. They use an understanding that is passive yet technical and rational to analyse and evaluate existing designs. Yet this evaluation is not instructive to them – it does not point to the way to create a new design. This is a distinguishing factor of the way that case study is used by architects.<br><br>A graphic method was developed to reveal what is known by the architect in the case study. The method of articulation validates this aspect of how the architect knows as well as revealing what is known. By presenting the application of this knowledge in new designs I have undertaken, I argue that this research has led to an improved understanding of architectural knowledge and ability to transform it.<br><br>I reflect on how the process of systematically analysing and articulating disciplinary knowledge has contributed to my own practice as an architectural designer through the transformation of knowledge in my own architectural practice.<br><br>Shim, Han Sik, Roth, Gene L. “Sharing Tacit Knowledge Among Expert Teaching Professors and Mentees: Considerations for Career and Technical Education Teacher Educators”, Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, Volume 44 Number 4 2008, pp. 5-28.<br><br>Ulusoy, Z. “To design versus to understand design: the role of graphic representations and verbal expression”, in Design Studies, Vol. 20, no. 2 March 1999, 123 –130.