How to Formulate Your Architectural Design Concept by Detecting Patterns (Video)

Video Introduction

By becoming highly aware of pattern both within your architectural designs and within the way your occupants use them, you can significantly boost your ability as an architect to design for better experiences.

There is a point where pattern becomes behavior, and your awareness of not only when this occurs, but also what it affects is key as you create building designs that will interact with your occupants.

In today’s video, I walk you through the relationships between building and occupant through the lens of pattern detection — to help you think in new ways as you formulate your initial architectural design concept.

Video Transcript

00:01 Maria Lorena Lehman: Hello, this is Maria Lorena Lehman with SensingArchitecture.com. Today, I’m going to talk about pattern detection within architectural design and how you can use pattern to really enhance your designs not only esthetically but also functionally in terms of what they can do for your occupants. So, if you’ll notice here, you have your building and your building, of course, communicates with your occupants. But then you ask, “What comes between these? What from here to here can we use as architects to really open up the dialog of communication between the two, so that each enhances the other?”

00:49 MLL: One major thing I’ve been looking at lately are patterns, and pattern detection. Because of course, the building has its own behavior and with its behavior, it yields patterns that ultimately affect occupants. And as your occupants inhabit the building and travel within it and experience it, they too then elicit behavior, and those behaviors also have patterns. So, the trick then becomes for you as an architect to pull all of these pattern behavioral cues together so that you can best mirror and open up that dialog of communication between building and occupant. Now, pattern detection of course can take on many forms.

01:47 MLL: So, I’ll just mention a few here. One might be variation. So, begin to look at how your building elements, both static and dynamic, play off of one another, how they vary from one another, how they’re different, and then look at how those differences affect your occupants because they too are different. They have different ages, different genders, different learning styles, different ways of socializing, and they need to know different things at different times while they’re within your space so that they can function within it optimally.

02:32 MLL: Another thing to look for might be the use of metaphor. And with this, what I mean is to simply look for patterns that your architecture brings where it can pull together and mirror something greater than itself that we recognize, or that your occupants recognize. This is a great way to bring your architecture to new heights so that it can be greater than sum of its parts. Another is juxtaposition. Begin to look at where your architectural elements contrast with one another, and how the differences between these things can actually help your occupants.

03:29 MLL: When doing all of this, as you get started and begin to focus on variation, metaphor and juxtaposition, you’ll suddenly be gaining new insight into how you can better inform your design concept. This is a question I get asked about a lot from you, my readers. When you’re beginning a project, you’re given certain programmatic requirements but you seem to get stuck on how to begin your overall grand architectural gesture and your concept which is very important because so much stems from that initial gesture. So, just begin by looking at patterns, and I think that will take you in a good direction.

04:23 MLL: Thank you, for listening. This is Maria Lorena Lehman with SensingArchitecture.com.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter and Facebook followers by clicking on the “re-tweet” and “like” button at the beginning of this page.

Join My Newsletter and Get a Free Copy of my Book Sign up for the FREE Sensing Architecture Newsletter to achieve breakthrough insights that will expand the way you think about architectural design. This is a great way to set your work apart from the rest. Plus, get free immediate access to Bringing Architecture to the Next Level, where you will learn how to shift your mindset to reach breakthrough ideas, meet and predict occupant need using sensory design, leverage your design process to get more with less, rethink technology to unleash your innovative edge, and so much more. Sign-Up Now for Instant Access Enter Your First Name: Enter Your Email: * Your information will always be kept confidential.