@phdthesis{Stapenhorst2012, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin}, title = {The concept as an operant instrument within the interdisciplinarity of the architectural design process}, publisher = {Politecnico di Torino}, address = {Turin}, pages = {242 Seiten}, year = {2012}, abstract = {In the introduction to their book "What is philosophy?" Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari deplore the inflationary and trivialised use of the term concept: "Finally, the most shameful moment came when computer science, marketing, design and advertising, all the disciplines of communication, seized hold of the word concept itself and said: 'This is our concern, we are the creative ones, we are the ideas men! We are the friends of the concept, we put in our computers.' " This doctoral thesis shares the concern of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, but still, it is a thesis in architecture and thus collocated within the field of the representatives of the "ideas men". It engages in architectural design theory, and refers in particular to the investigation of methodological approaches within the design process. Therefore, the thesis will not contribute to the philosophical dimension of the term, but intends to overcome its imprecise use within the architectural discourse, in compliance with Eug{\`e}ne Viollet-le-Duc's admonition relative to vague definitions: "Dans les arts, et dans l'architecture en particulier, les d{\´e}finitions vagues ont caus{\´e} bien des erreurs, ont laiss{\´e} germer bien des pr{\´e}jug{\´e}s, enraciner bien des id{\´e}es fausses. On met un mot en avant, chacun y attache un sens diff{\´e}rent." The term concept in architecture is very often used as pure marketing collateral, it serves to sell an idea, a product, a design. Its functional applicability is reduced to a special manner of illustration, produced as one of the various design presentation documents at the end of the design process. In contrast, the original contribution of this thesis aims to give a precise, instrumental dimension to the term concept: the concept is the expression of a specific logic, capable to guide the decisional sequences of the process and thus to improve the quality of the designed projects. The motivation to define a specific instrumentality of the concept is closely connected to the issue of interdisciplinarity in the architects' profession. The interdisciplinary character of the architectural field is widely accepted and discussed as such, but the thesis intends to give a more precise definition of the various kinds of competences involved by classifying them into either the internal or the external group. The traditional notion of interdisciplinarity, predominantly seen as collaboration between architects and technical experts, and, most notably, the historical, sometimes contentious, relationship between architects and engineers is described. Referring to recent developments, the transformation of the architect's role within the professional sphere, marked by an increasing importance of diverse influences and linked to a growing risk of marginalisation, is illustrated. The thesis describes different ways to adapt to this specific kind of interdisciplinarity, which generally requires the architect's ability to connect and to integrate various contents, different points of view and diverse scales. On the other hand, the big potential which is implicit in the interdisciplinary field is exposed: architects can inform their core competence, the design, by extracting contents of different disciplinary competences, pertaining or not pertaining to their own professional field. They have the possibility to cross fields of external competences in a selective way and by doing so they can build up a corpus of knowledge capable to generate and communicate guidelines and systematic methodologies for their design. At the end, the analysis of these two aspects allows the definition of a more specific professional profile of the architect as specialist of interdisciplinarity. The thesis is concerned with the theories around the design process. The design process is seen as open to inspection and critical evaluation, with major focus on the decisional sequences which characterise it. It concentrates on the process' descriptiveness and the degree of self-conscious approaches applied within it. The importance of regulative, strategic mechanisms is illustrated by testimonies taken from a series of design researches and leads to the functional definition of the figure of the concept as representation of a coherent set of ideas, as generator of a project-specific system of rules and as communicator of decisional strategies. The concept's function is furthermore defined as communicative interface which generates and transmits the system of rules authoritative for all the disciplinary competences involved in the design process, a communicative interface which constitutes a basis of shared convictions capable to increase the efficiency of collaboration. Furthermore, the concept's capacity to explore and elaborate the contents of external disciplines is identified as a possible methodological approach to innovative design thinking. The approach to a specific functional definition of the concept is continued by the description of a series of instruments that are simultaneously generating and communicating it. It is outlined to which degree the concept itself is already the result of an ideational process, collocated within the initial phase of the design proceedings, serving as a guideline to them, but still continuously evolving and adapting in its progression. In addition, it is illustrated how all the diverse instruments of the concept are operational media through which the knowledge transition between different disciplines can occur. The considerations about the concept as operational instrument of design are elaborated with regard to a number of examples of didactical applications that are particularly involved in the development and teaching of specific design methods. These examples illustrate the interrelations between design theory and design education. They are derived from very different schools of architecture and diverse mindsets, but all of them transmit models of conceptual design thinking.}, language = {en} } @book{Stapenhorst2016, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin}, title = {Concept : a dialogic instrument in architectural design}, publisher = {Jovis}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {978-3-86859-364-8}, pages = {207 Seiten}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Concept - this is a key term in architectural discourse. However, all too often it is used imprecisely or merely for marketing purposes. What is a concept actually? This publication moves between design theory and design practice and follows the history of the definition of concept in architecture, leading to the formulation of a specifically instrumental and operative definition. It bases concept in architecture on its strategic potential in design decision-making processes. In the changing profession of the designing architect, decisions are increasingly made in multidisciplinary groups. Concept can serve as a dialogic instrument in the process, making it possible to process heterogeneous information from a range of spheres of knowledge. The effective presentation of selected information becomes a relevant interface in the design process, which has a significant influence on the quality of the design.}, language = {en} } @incollection{Stapenhorst2017, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin}, title = {Robustheit}, series = {Hiatus. Architekturen f{\"u}r die gebrauchte Stadt}, booktitle = {Hiatus. Architekturen f{\"u}r die gebrauchte Stadt}, editor = {Frank, Ute and Lindenmayer, Verena and Loewenberg, Patrick and Rocneanu, Carla}, publisher = {Birkh{\"a}user}, address = {Basel}, isbn = {978-3-0356-1386-5}, pages = {155 -- 164}, year = {2017}, language = {de} } @incollection{Stapenhorst2016, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin}, title = {Grids. Projektdokumentationen als Denkinstrument}, series = {Manifestationen im Entwurf}, booktitle = {Manifestationen im Entwurf}, editor = {Schmitz, Thomas H. and H{\"a}ußling, Roger and Mareis, Claudia and Groninger, Hannah}, publisher = {Transcript}, address = {Bielefeld}, isbn = {978-3-8394-3160-3}, doi = {10.1515/9783839431603-009}, pages = {185 -- 216}, year = {2016}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{StapenhorstGessnerWoerd2017, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin and Geßner, Stephan and Woerd, Jan Dirk van der}, title = {ArchitecTours - a close look on structures around us}, series = {Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia}, booktitle = {Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia}, editor = {B{\"o}gle, Annette and Grohmann, Manfred}, publisher = {IASS}, address = {Madrid}, issn = {2518-6582}, pages = {9 Seiten}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Architects and civil engineers work together regularly during their professional days and are irreplaceable for each other. This co-operation is sometimes made more difficult by the differences in their disciplinary languages and approaches. Structures are evaluated by architects on the basis of criteria such as spatial impact and usability, while civil engineers analyze them more closely by their bearing and deformation properties, as well as by constructive aspects. This diversity of assessment criteria and approaches is often continued in both academic disciplines in the view on structures. Within the framework of the Exploratory Teaching Space (ETS), a funding program to improve teaching at RWTH Aachen University and to promote new teaching concepts, a project was carried out jointly by the Junior Professorship of Tool-Culture at the Faculty of Architecture and the Institute of Structural Concrete at the Faculty of Civil Engineering. The aim of the project is to present buildings in such a way that the differences in perception between architects and civil engineers are reduced and the common understanding is promoted. The project develops a database, which contains a collection of striking buildings from Aachen and the surrounding area. The buildings are categorized according to terms that come from both disciplinary areas. The collection can be freely explored or crossed through learning trails. The medium of film plays a special role in presenting the buildings. The buildings are assigned to different categories of load bearing structures as linear, planar and spatial structures, and further to different types of material, functional programs and spatial characteristics. Since the buildings are located in the direct vicinity of Aachen, they can be visited by the students. This makes them more sensitive to their environment. Intrinsic motivation, as well as implicit learning is encouraged. The paper will provide a detailed report of the project, its implementation, the feedback of the students and the plans for further development.}, language = {en} } @article{AsarStapenhorst2020, author = {Asar, Hande and Stapenhorst, Carolin}, title = {Zvi Hecker: Drawing on drawing}, series = {Archives of Design Research}, volume = {33}, journal = {Archives of Design Research}, number = {3}, publisher = {Korean Society of Design Science}, address = {Seongnam}, issn = {1226-8046}, doi = {10.15187/adr.2020.08.33.3.45}, pages = {45 -- 53}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Background: Architectural representation, nurtured by the interaction between design thinking and design action, is inherently multi-layered. However, the representation object cannot always reflect these layers. Therefore, it is claimed that these reflections and layerings can gain visibility through 'performativity in personal knowledge', which basically has a performative character. The specific layers of representation produced during the performativity in personal knowledge permit insights about the 'personal way of designing' [1]. Therefore, the question, 'how can these layered drawings be decomposed to understand the personal way of designing', can be defined as the beginning of the study. On the other hand, performativity in personal knowledge in architectural design is handled through the relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge and representational and non-representational theory. To discuss the practical dimension of these theoretical relations, Zvi Hecker's drawing of the Heinz-Galinski-School is examined as an example. The study aims to understand the relationships between the layers by decomposing a layered drawing analytically in order to exemplify personal ways of designing. Methods: The study is based on qualitative research methodologies. First, a model has been formed through theoretical readings to discuss the performativity in personal knowledge. This model is used to understand the layered representations and to research the personal way of designing. Thus, one drawing of Hecker's Heinz-Galinski-School project is chosen. Second, its layers are decomposed to detect and analyze diverse objects, which hint to different types of design tools and their application. Third, Zvi Hecker's statements of the design process are explained through the interview data [2] and other sources. The obtained data are compared with each other. Results: By decomposing the drawing, eleven layers are defined. These layers are used to understand the relation between the design idea and its representation. They can also be thought of as a reading system. In other words, a method to discuss Hecker's performativity in personal knowledge is developed. Furthermore, the layers and their interconnections are described in relation to Zvi Hecker's personal way of designing. Conclusions: It can be said that layered representations, which are associated with the multilayered structure of performativity in personal knowledge, form the personal way of designing.}, language = {en} } @article{StapenhorstZabekHildebrand2018, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin and Zabek, Magdalena and Hildebrand, Linda}, title = {Communication process and information flow in the architectural planning context}, series = {Creativity game : theory and practice of spatial planning}, journal = {Creativity game : theory and practice of spatial planning}, number = {6}, publisher = {University of Ljubljana}, address = {Ljubljana}, doi = {10.15292/IU-CG.2018.06.066-073}, pages = {66 -- 73}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Against the background of growing data in everyday life, data processing tools become more powerful to deal with the increasing complexity in building design. The architectural planning process is offered a variety of new instruments to design, plan and communicate planning decisions. Ideally the access to information serves to secure and document the quality of the building and in the worst case, the increased data absorbs time by collection and processing without any benefit for the building and its user. Process models can illustrate the impact of information on the design- and planning process so that architect and planner can steer the process. This paper provides historic and contemporary models to visualize the architectural planning process and introduces means to describe today's situation consisting of stakeholders, events and instruments. It explains conceptions during Renaissance in contrast to models used in the second half of the 20th century. Contemporary models are discussed regarding their value against the background of increasing computation in the building process.}, language = {en} } @incollection{Stapenhorst2019, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin}, title = {Heimat entwerfen?}, series = {Das Eigene und das Fremde - Heimat in Zeiten der Mobilit{\"a}t}, booktitle = {Das Eigene und das Fremde - Heimat in Zeiten der Mobilit{\"a}t}, editor = {Hasse, J{\"u}rgen}, publisher = {Karl Alber}, address = {Baden-Baden}, isbn = {978-3-495-49029-7 (print)}, doi = {10.5771/9783495817568}, pages = {215 -- 246}, year = {2019}, language = {de} } @article{StapenhorstMotta2018, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin and Motta, Luciano}, title = {Citt{\`a} Olivettiana in Ivrea, Italien}, series = {Bauwelt}, volume = {109}, journal = {Bauwelt}, number = {22}, publisher = {Bauverlag BV}, address = {G{\"u}tersloh}, issn = {0005-6855}, pages = {20 -- 31}, year = {2018}, language = {de} } @book{StapenhorstMeerbach2019, author = {Stapenhorst, Carolin and Meerbach, Kerstin}, title = {Studie zur forschungsbezogenen Lehre an der Fakult{\"a}t f{\"u}r Architektur der RWTH Aachen}, publisher = {RWTH Aachen}, address = {Aachen}, doi = {10.18154/rWth-2019-06163}, pages = {140 Seiten}, year = {2019}, language = {de} }