Design Research
Theoretical Reflection
The methodology of theoretical reflection is that it creates a fresh perspective on a given topic. Theoretical reflection can take a topic and put a microscope to it, employing specific and relevant context to provide new knowledge and greater insight. Theoretical reflection systematizes and clarifies what was previously vaguely implied or lazily misinterpreted. It provides a research-centered and scientifically oriented approach in order to breach modes of new theoretical discourse.
Tactics
INTERVIEWING/QUESTIONNAIRES
“Human Nature in Architectural Theory: The Example of Louis Kahn” by Robert Gutman
Gutman reflects: “From the perspective of someone situated outside the world of architects, it may be surprising that the Richards building has not shaken the architectural community‘s attachment to the building, or diminished in any way their reverence for Louis Kahn.” [2]
DEFINITION/CLARIFICATION
Warell, A. 2001: Design Syntactics: A Functional Approach to Visual Product Form
A thorough investigation of the different definitions of functionality has been carried out by Warell [4]. He concludes that all perspectives on functionality agree that the concept is strongly connected to the reason why the product should be designed, i.e. the purpose of the product. He also notes that talking about functional aspects of an artefact makes it possible to address its properties in an abstract way, without choosing definitive solutions.
EXAMINATION OF SOCIAL/CULTURAL/HUMANISTIC INFLUENCES
excerpted from “A Theoretical Reflection on the Practice of Designing for Usability”
Truth in rationalism is something logically derived from intellectual reasoning rather than from experience. It might be strange to some readers to accept that professionals, involved in such practically-oriented activities as space planning and design, should lean on a philosophical paradigm that sets intellectual reasoning before senses beliefs and experiences.
DESIGN EXAMPLE
The Phantom City concept designed by Irene Cheng and Brett Snyder is a research tool intended to “transform the city into a living museum of speculative proposals for the city of New York.” Other Futures is a public exhibition of visions of how New York could be or could have been, created for an architectural and urban design context. It employs the method of theoretical reflection because it is centered around the idea of redefining a space in order to better reflect or address cultural, social, design, philosophical and environmental concerns.