Are there conditions for good architectural design? Would it be possible to achieve successful designs each time by providing them one by one? On the practical side of the job, it is not always possible to proceed so quickly. However, if we talk about modern architecture, we can say that there are some conditions that every design must meet. Here are the four stages of successful architectural designs.
The Concept
Today, almost everything develops around a concept. Even a 10 square meter coffee shop demands an idea in its design. Therefore, the designer needs to establish architectural designs on intellectual foundations firmly. The concept provides convenience to the designer in user scenarios. It also gives the necessary references for the procedure to continue as a whole throughout the space. In this way, the designer can hold on to them and proceed without being too messy.
Function
We can still see the traces of the Bauhaus school in today’s architectural design approach. These traces are most evident when it comes to form-function conflict.
As it is known, Bauhaus did not underestimate aesthetics in architectural design but argued that it should not be a phenomenon that progresses independently of function. In other words, according to the Bauhaus school, one should form the form of a structure or product according to its role. Thus, function and form could become one.
We can say that the same understanding is still valid today. Even with minimalism, which has been on the rise again in recent years, this understanding seems to prevail in the field of architectural design for a while. That means that one of the essentials of architectural design is to design primarily fulfills its function successfully.
Ergonomics
Architectural design mostly takes people to its center. Whether it is a place to be designed or furniture, the user is human. And if there are people, there are also fundamental anthropometric ratios. Just as a design comes before its form, its ergonomics take precedence over its form.
Who would be good with a chair that looks great but no one can sit on it?
Form
The fourth stage of architectural design is, of course, the form that we cannot ignore. Aesthetics is an essential part of architectural design. If aesthetics were not involved, we would be talking about craft or industrial production, not art and design. That is why it is essential to interpret the form’s following function and ergonomics in architectural design. Here the form follows these two concepts, not because it is less critical, but because these concepts are a whole that should feed each other.
Moreover, although there are thousands of examples of buildings that successfully fulfill their functions, today, we only remember those created with a creative architectural design and find them visually pleasing.