design | architecture | sustainability

I have always been curious. My favorite question is why. It is not meant to undermine or distract, but merely to understand. Whether it be reading, researching, or exploring, I always find myself asking why with an intense desire to know more.

In William Eamon’s post “The Disease Called Curiosity,” he notes this quality hasn’t always been seen as positive. There have been times through-out history when politicians, leaders, and officials strongly discouraged and even banned. I really like the post, especially the end, “The transformation of curiosity in the Renaissance was a precondition of modernity. Without curiosity, there can be no scientific discovery, and without discovery, there can be no new knowledge.” It is a good reminder not to be afraid to ask why and see where it takes you.

Read the original blog post here: http://www.williameamon.com/?p=185

In the age of information we can search answers to questions at the tips our fingers from computer, even our phones, with a quick visit to the internet and a powerful search engine. We can model spaces 3-d to understand volume, fluid dynamics, daylight useage and even acoustical studies. What does all this access to all this information gain us?

From a design standpoint, much. Evidence-based design practice evolved from evidence-based medicine. The idea being, you prove the results and are held accountable for them. With so many readily accessible tools, it is no wonder research-based design has gravitated to the architecture practice as a whole.

We now have the opportunity, and potentially, responsibility to validate our design decisions from an environmental, functional, even time lens. We often note the design process is linear, like a spiral. If our process if spiral, it beings in a vast domain of possible solutions, narrowing to the selected design solution. Then research offers us a tool to better hone the direction of the spiral from the fields of solutions.

The following are two links to venues for further exploring these ideas:
Learn about research-based practice
http://www.informedesign.umn.edu/

A grant to apply for research
http://www.aia.org/practicing/research/index.htm