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Publications in Scientific Journals:

U. Pont, S. Swoboda, A. Jonas, K. Tavoussi Tafreshi, A. Mahdavi:
"Effort and effectiveness considerations in architectural design: Two case studies of architectural design studios";
Applied Mechanics and Materials, Special Volume: Energy Saving and Environmentally Friendly Technologies - Concepts of Sustainable Building (2016), 428; 836 - 844.



English abstract:
Contemporary architectural design processes show a high degree of complexity: While
planners try to fulfill their client´s expectations, they are confronted with a set of constraints and
requirements. These include legal constraints such as different building codes, minimum
requirements of thermal, acoustical and energy-related indicators as well as structural integrity. In
many planning processes, however, the minimum requirements are even less stringent than selfdefined
expectations. These could - for instance - include a small environmental footprint of the
suggested building materials, near zero heating demand, etc. Furthermore, the majority of
architectural design processes face a high level of time and cost pressure. Little is known about the
time and effort distribution to different processes within such planning processes. These could
include consultation with administrative bodies or specific technical planners, performing
computational analyses, sketching conceptional options or layouting final designs. In this context,
the present contribution explores the time and effort distribution regarding different tasks within the
design process in the framework of two design studios. These were conducted with graduate
architectural students of the TU Vienna in 2014 and 2015. The concept of these design studios
focused on a realistic emulation of real-world project development processes: Participating students
were confronted with different (and evolving) visions of their clients, were asked to perform
consultation visits with legal bodies of the Viennese building regulation department, and to monitor
their time effort for different tasks. These tasks were defined prior to the design studios and allowed
for rather detailed classification of different design steps. The two design studios included a roof
top extension of a classical 19th century building in Vienna, and the retrofit and extension of a
detached house from the 1930ies. This contribution focuses on the time and effort distribution of
the different tasks and explores if a general pattern can be identified and derived from the
experiences within these design studios.

German abstract:
none - see english version

Keywords:
Effort and effectiveness considerations, architectural design process, building performance, structural integrity, design studio

Created from the Publication Database of the Vienna University of Technology.