Explaining the Qualitative Structure to the Architectural Design Process based on Conceptual Metaphors in a Mixed Method

Along with the evolution of theories about the architectural design process, the creation of the concept as an important part of this complex process has always been considered in design research. Therefore, it is necessary to teach architectural conceptualization in parallel with the teaching of design skills and architectural knowledge. Although significant research has been conducted in this field, it is not sufficient to apply the design process in accordance with the necessary skills of the architectural profession. From an interdisciplinary way, this research attempts to improve the quality of the architectural design process with reference to conceptual metaphors in a mixed approach. In the qualitative part, based on the analysis of scientific sources and logical reasoning, 4 components of searching for mental concepts, identifying and choosing concepts, matching the architectural concept with selected concepts and developing the concept form the conceptual structure of the research. Then, based on this structure, an exercise was implemented in the 3rd architectural workshop and evaluated by three expert judges. Data was analyzed quantitatively by independent t-test method and SPSS software version 26. The findings showed that using conceptual metaphors in the teaching of the architectural design process is beneficial, and this mental shift from architecture to literature has a meaningful relationship with the quality of the design process. The results of the research confirm that the proposed method is significantly effective both in structuring the design problem and in achieving a concept that fits the 4 mentioned components.