Tasarlama faaliyeti ve tasarımcı nitelikleri üzerine bir inceleme

Abstract

TÜRKÇE' ÖZET Zihinsel bir faaliyet türü olan tasarlama yoluyla ilk biçim niteliğindeki soyut başlangıç modelleri 'zihinde canlandırma', 'ortaya koyma' ve 'test etme' gibi zihinsel et kinliklerle geliştirilerek sonuçtaki somut ürüne dönüştürülmektedir. Bu çerçevede 'problem çözme', 'yaratıcılık' ve 'düşünme' etkinliklerinin karşıt yönlerinin biraradalığı faali yetin özünü oluşturmaktadır. Bağlı olarak tasarımcı, bütüncü/ adım-adım, atak/temkinli, genişleyen/daralan, alandan bağım- sız-alana bağımlı gibi karşıt davranışlar içinde bulunmakta dır. Çevresel algının sonucu olan, biliş modellerinin kişi zihninde oluşması yollarından hareketle tasarımcının da biçimi düşünmesi sırasında aynı yollara başvurduğunu, 'aktarmalar', 'sıralamalar' ve 'dönüştürmeler' yaptığını düşünmek mümkündür. Tasarımcının biçimi düşünme ve ortaya koyma etkinliği düşünme aracıları (mevcut imgeler, davranışlar, kavramlar) modelleştirme yolları (aktarmalar, sıralamalar, dönüştürmeler) çerçevesinde ortaya koyulmaktadır. Bunların birbirleriyle olabilecek her kesişmesi, tasarımcı düşüncenin biçim oluşturma zenginliğinin yanış ıra biçimlerin daha somut ve soyut olabilme niteliğini ve alternatiflerinin üretilmesi yollarını da anlaşılır kılmaktadır. Sonuçta tasarlamacı kişilik özellikleri, tasarım probleminin çözümünü zihinde canlandırma (imagining), görselleştirme (presenting) ve deneyerek (testing) geliştirme etkinliklerine bağlı olarak açıklanmaktadır. iv

A STUDY ON THE DESIGN ACTIVITY AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DESIGNERS SUMMARY Design, as a learning process and a means of education, enables people to attain certain attitudes, and effects the development of related personal characteristics. Hence, the aim of this work is to examine and to explain design activiti es which develop these characteristics. In this work fundemental theoretical research is made, and results are substantiated by samples of architectural de sign product. This thesis consists of four parts. They are ; definition of the problem, theoretical study, the main work and conclusion. In commencing the research, it is assumed that the va riety in architectural forms could suggest different direc - tions of design activity. Forms around us, with their features which may be simple, bare, ornamented and complex, familiar or unfamiliar are worth considering. Therefore, design is considered to be an activity which balances necessities with means, which makes use of former ex periences and uses new approaches as well, which develops new thoughts and ideas, and above all, which can express them in form itself. On the other hand, it is necessary to reconsider which characteristics future designers should attain in design educa tion in order to avoid repeating the blunders in inconsisten cies of designed forms or to develop their positive qualities. In the first chapter, the problem is considered within the context of man-environment relations. The development of man's personal characteristics is directly related to his mental, sensual and physical activities in the environment vwhere he lives. Besides these activities, design activity which covers all the above mentioned activities is directed to renew and to improve man's environment and also secures the functional organization of his brain. Design activity as a `do-and learn` type process transforms man from a pure phy sical being into a conscious, responsible, civilized and in tellectual being and develops a different personality. With such a personality, man behaves differently in renewing, improving, using, and saving the environment. Apparently, ob taining design personality is a matter of education, i.e., Design education. In programming such an education, above all, the behaviours of a designer to be developed should be ascer tained. Hence, our work aims to investigate design activities, in order to clarify all the behaviours of a designer. Relation between perception and design activity is also being discussed, in order to explain designer's activities and thinking abili ties. Therefore, in the theoretical part of this thesis, to gether with design activity perception of the architectural environment is also being reconsidered. Design, is being described as either imagining something's form in the brain or creating form by thinking in a certain way. Therefore, design should be considered not only as a pro cedure and a process, but also as a product. But until recently, in architecture it is being disputed whether design is a process or a product, and these different approaches have effected the theory and application in this field. However, the common de ficiency in both approaches is that none of them explains clearly how design activity is being done. Consequently, Design Psychology appeared as a new field which brought a more com - prehensive explanation to design activity comprising the two approaches. In this approach, design is considered to be a way of thinking and behaving which consists of main activities such as imagining, presenting and testing. Designer, with such a way of thinking, approaches the design problem more creatively and puts forward the form at first and later develops it by presenting and testing. viIn solving a problem we either use reasoning or symbols. In reasoning, new knowledge is attained by a serial and a linear process. There are three kinds of reasoning; inductive, deductive and a composition of both more applicable in design. We think by using past actions, images and conceptions as symbols. In this case, the thinking process is based on imagin ing and deductive reasoning. But if the designer wants to be successful he must also use some set of rules and inductive approach, while he is thinking in a symolic, intuitive and deductive way. Therefore, reasoning in design, is neither de ductive nor inductive, but instead a mixture of two, namely def inite- inductive and creative-deductive. The designer thinks in a way where contrasting techniques are applied which are also used in perception and learning process. They are, serial/wholistic, reflective/impulsive, convergent/divergent, field-dependent/field- independent. Thus, by using reasoning and symbols with contrasting thinking tech niques, now he is able to approach the design problem closed and open endedly. The design problem can not be whooly known or defined at the beginning. Because it will simply be explored and defined only after initial forms or solutions are presented. Therefore, it is an open-ended problem at the beginning, after an initial synthesis turns gradually into a close ended problem and towards the end it requires more analysis. The necessity of considering the design problem as an open-ended one at the beginning, and close-ended at the end, forces the designer to think formerly in a way which can be described as impulsive, wholistic, field- independent, divergent and lateral, later, vertical direction with its reflective, serial, field-dependent and convergent properties becomes im portant. Therefore where at the beginning initial forms of subjective features are more likely to be dealt with, later on definite forms with objective features become more handy. VllOpen-ended features of design problem necessiates the development of a variety of alternatives. The success of a proposal in solving a design problem can be tested by using various methods. Meanwhile this process also facilitates de velopment of alternative proposals. In a process, where lateral thinking is dominant, evalua tion of a proposal can be done in two ways. The first one is to dispute or to destructure the existing form, the second is to create new forms, or to restructure new orders. Different alternatives can be obtained by restructuring. Disputing the existing forms can only lead to minor changes in alternatives. Thus, whereas the second one is more applicable and appropriate in evaluating the abstract forms of initial design stages, the first will be used in evaluation of the more concrete forms of later design stages. The most important activity of designer is this ability to use design thinking in image forming. Image forming is the same in imagining or visualisation. It is accepted that in modeling, the designer can adopt four ways of approaches, typo logic, pragmatic, analogic and canonic. But they are far from explaining designer's modeling activities. Therefore, it is suggested to investigate environmental images formed in man's mind in perceiving the environment. Environmental perception is not only a sensation but a selective and creative process. In this process, environmental stimulators are organized in various and continuous structures. They are mental models which enable man to learn, to remember, to use and to organize the environment where he lives. Because the observer re-creates in his mind what he sees. The imagina tive abilities of designers can best be explained by this pro perty of human mind. Man perceives his environment operationally, responsively or inferentially depending upon the type of activies he is involved in. The environmental image created depends on the properties of his way of perception and also explains the viiiabstract or concrete forms in design process. In discussing environmental images, it is been noted that in responsive perception, man thinks by various symbols which are directly transfered into a model. In operational percep - tion he forms the model by organizing his actions. Whereas in inferential perception associated forms are transformed into a model. Therefore, it won't be wrong to conclude that the designer will use the same ways (transfering, organizing, trans forming) and mediators (symbols, actions, associated forms, i.e. concrete and abstract concepts) during his modeling both in imagining or presenting. As shown in the diagram below, it can be concluded that existing symbols can be easily transferred into concrete forms, actions and their order lead to less concrete forms. Whereas, conceptions will be transformed into abstract forms. But it is obvious that, to obtain forms, existing symbols could not only be used in transfering, but also in organizing and trans forming. In other words, in transfering, organizing and trans forming, all existing symbols, actions and concepts can be adopted to obtain forms. Existing Symbols Actions Concrete Conceptions Abstract Conceptions [concrete.form lless.abstract..form labs tract 'form less concrete form' Cr. -8 S N o u in TYPOLOGIC APPROACH PRAGMATIC APPROACH ANALOGIC APPROACH CANONIC APPROACH As shown in architectural samples given in the diagram (Fig. 3.2), abstract forms achieved by transforming could be turned into more concrete forms by organizing and transfering respectively. On the other hand, it is also possible to turn IXconcrete forms achieved by transfering, into more abstract forms by organizing and transforming. These features of design activities enable us to under stand the characteristics of designers. A good designer must have an ability to simplify, a well developed creative mind, graphic thinking ability, comprehension, adaptability, ability to participate, organizing and directing, ability for research and he must be open to criticism and discussion, and above all, be an open minded and patient observer. In order to achieve the above mentioned characteristics, the design education of architectural students must emphasise the development of their imagination, visualisation and test ing activities. Meanwhile it must enable them to acquire the ability to deal with various concrete and abstract forms in serial -wholis tic, reflective- impulsive, convergent-divergent and f ield-dependent/f ield- independent ways, where appropriate.