Journal of Computational Design
Yazarlar: Deniz OSKAY, Ethem GÜRER
Konular:Mimarlık
Anahtar Kelimeler:Design evaluation,Design process,Hermeneutics,Measurement science
Özet: In the 21st century, it can be argued that measurement is considered as the basis of all experimental and theoretical researches including human sciences such as sociology and psychology and natural sciences both physical and life sciences, whereas design process can be considered both in the field of human sciences and natural sciences due to its cross disciplinary and multilayered constitution. There are different approaches to design processes offered by many pioneers of the field such as Alexander (1964) and Archer (1968). This plurality of proposals shows that there is not a singular and absolute consistency while supporting the ambiguous nature of design processes. Design evaluation can be regarded as one of the most ambiguous design sub-processes since it both includes objective evaluations and analysis, yet it includes subjective understandings such as interpretation and abstraction as well. Measurement activity emerges in disparate stages of a design process, such as doing site surveying, calculating project budget and feasibility studies can be considered as objective measurements and making questionnaires, site queries and sustainability outcomes as subjective measurements. Depending on this fact, design evaluation can be regarded as one of the most controversial design sub-processes in terms of its measurability because of the co-occurrence of objectivity and subjectivity. In that regard, the paper aims to clarify a hermeneutical framework to expand the design evaluation process with theories from measurement science since the studies in measurement science can guide the measurement activity in design evaluation with its constitution of a clear understanding of information and its qualitative features. By doing so, both objective and subjective understandings in design evaluation are addressed with a hermeneutical process for clarification of the evaluation within the dual nature of hermeneutics. The lexicological history of the Greek word ‘metrein’ confirms that design evaluation includes measurement inherently since ‘metrein’ conveys measurement as evaluation and judgment. Thus, discussing design evaluation obviously necessitates discussions about measurement as well and a cross-disciplinary approach should be adopted for such an endeavor, considering the importance of measurement in design evaluation. Therefore, a hermeneutical design evaluation process is formulated by using the understanding of measurement theories since they are implicitly active in design evaluation. This paper proposes to retake the problem of measurability, specifically through an examination of evaluation processes, to show that evaluative actions in design processes can and must be re-formulated with the understanding of theories of measurement and hermeneutics to build up a holistic and integrated negotiation of quantitative and qualitative information in design decisions.