design problem structure

Problem statement: 

This study asserts that verbal texts (along with images and drawings) are used to introduce design products, including the introduction of award-winning works in architectural competitions. These verbal texts create a simultaneous perception of the problem and the design solution in the minds of the audience. Therefore, this study seeks to answer the question of what mindset or discourse the texts attached to the award-winning projects of architectural design competitions, such as the Memar Award, create regarding the structure of the problem (and naturally its solution).

This study aims to analyze the discourse of texts attached to the selected projects of the Memar Award based on Lawson’s proposed model regarding the structure of design problems.

This study utilized both quantitative and qualitative content analysis to evaluate the texts introducing the residential apartment projects selected for the Memar Award from 2001 to 2018. For this purpose, the texts introducing 25 selected projects in this category were coded and analyzed.

The study findings indicate that the texts of these projects emphasize highlighting the designer, internal constraints, and formal functions while marginalizing other components of the problem. In other words, the discourse of the texts of these projects emphasizes a singular, individual, and formal perspective on the issue of housing design, distancing itself from a participatory, collective, and radical view. Alternatively, it can be said that this discourse emphasizes the designer’s freedom of action.