In my studio courses, when communicating design concepts, I
ask my students to think about the WHAT?, WHY?, and HOW? If students can both intellectually explore,
and then communicate the answers to these three questions, they will be well on
their way to a project with a solid design concept.
WHAT? What is the big
idea? What is the thesis? What are you doing? What are you trying to
accomplish? What is your design an exploration of?
This is often the easiest of the three for students to
address. Most of the time, I find that
my students are able to tell me what they are trying to accomplish in their
work.
WHY? Why is this
exploration necessary, relevant, or important to explore?
This is a little bit trickier, as not all concepts are necessarily worthy ideas. As a designer, communicating what you are doing
is one thing, but understanding why it matters in another. This requires students to question their own
ideas, and challenge their initial assumptions, on their way to an understanding
of why the design exploration is worthwhile.
HOW? How is this
being explored, specifically, through your work? How does the design address the concept? How do you attempt to explore the concept
through the design moves you have made?
In other words, HOW does the concept drive the design
decisions of the project?
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| From 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick |
