Ph.D

Mr  Pour Ahmadi Mojtaba  will  present his P.H.D thesis on "A Model for the Quality of Building Regulations Performance in Architectural Design" in Iran at 14:00 P.M on 13 november 2016.click

Abstract:

The current research examines the quality of building regulations performance in architectural design from the viewpoint of design research. It focuses on the nature of design activity and its interaction with building regulations. It tries to reach a conceptual model to explain this phenomenon. The research is conducted in four steps. In the first step a hypothetical model is formulated based on a thorough examination of Bryan Lawson's relevant viewpoints. In the next step, in order to test the model ten Iranian expert architects were interviewed and their perspectives on the performance of building regulations in architectural design were sought. The findings of the interviews showed a significant difference between the hypothetical model and expert architects' attitudes. In order to examine the problem in more depth, in the third step an experimental test is designed in which the real performance of building regulations in architectural design process is observed and investigated. By using the protocol study technique, the design process of five architectural designers with different work experience is examined in detail. Finally, a model is developed in which the quality of building regulations performance in architectural design is dependent on the status and relations of four major factors, including the configuration of building regulations, the level of expertise of the architectural designer, the specific conditions of the project in hand, and the status of complementary control mechanisms. Then based on the status of any of these four factors and their conceivable combinations, 16 different conditions are identified. By using this model a spectrum is imagined. The desirable and undesirable performances of building regulations in architectural design are located at the opposite ends of this spectrum and between them types of relatively positive and negative performances are predictable. The current research concludes that in order to reach the desirable performance of building regulations in architectural design a holistic view to the subject should be developed and all the influential factors and their interactions should be considered. From the perspective of design research, the desirable performance of building regulations in architectural design can be attained if all the following conditions are provided: when drawing up the building regulations their harmony with the nature of design activity is taken into account and sufficient answers are given to the challenges of "balance", "anticipation", and "accuracy"; the architects by virtue of training and experience reach high levels of expertise in the application of building regulations so that regulations-related considerations enter into their design process in the same direction as the main course of design development from framing on to moving and evaluation, according to Schön's model for the design process; the conditions of the project are reasonable and provide the designer with enough authority to keep the balance between the regulation-related and regulation-free aspects of the design solution; and finally the control mechanism based on building regulations enforcement is harmoniously fitted into the totality of an integrated system of architecture control mechanisms and appropriate arrangements are made to compensate its errors and deficiencies. At the end of this dissertation some suggestions are made for further research.

Keywords: Architectural Design, Building Regulations, Design Research, Bryan Lawson, Design Expertise, Building Control