PLURALISM IN ARCHITECTURE DESIGN METHODS: THE ANALYSIS OF WHOLES AND PARTS IN A ROW HOUSE DESIGN PROJECT

摘要

If design methods are defined as a means of inquiry to provide order (Papanek, 1971), an evaluative framework derived from philosophy (Philosophy of New Pluralism: Watson, 1985) could be useful in describing the multiplicity of methods used by architects. According to New Pluralism, multiplicity occurs not because each author has a part of the whole, but because there are different ways of appropriating the whole. These methods are described as: agonistic, logistic, dialectical and analytical. In agonistic methods the wholes are produced by testing parts against each other; in dialectic methods wholes are produced by dialogue between parts so that they transcend into greater wholes; in logistic methods wholes are produced by the logical combination of parts, and in analytic methods wholes and parts are reciprocally produced. Assuming that each of these methods provide a reasonable basis for understanding design methods, a study was conducted at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.