OPERATIONAL CONTEXT ANALYSIS

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OPERATIONAL CONTEXT ANALYSIS

• Necessary part of design related study and
  research

3rd IASME / WSEAS International Conference on
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, ECOSYSTEMS and SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT (EEESD'07) Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Island, Greece, July 24-26, 2007
Prof.dr.ir. Taeke M. De Jong, chair Technical
Ecology And Methodology, chair Regional Design
Faculty of Architecture, department Urbanism
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An architectural, urban or regional design is
always a case study

• and (like any location bound project)
  consequently is
• scale-bound and very context sensitive
• integrating many less context sensitive
  contributions
• probable futures of specialists
• desirable futures of politicians, managers and
  stakeholders
• together creating a field of problems to be
  solved and
• a field of targets to be optimised
• cannot isolate problems or targets like empirical
  research

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Context sensitive design

• cannot isolate problems or targets like empirical
  research
• cannot even formulate a proper object of study
• since the object of study does not exist
• since it has to be designed,
• being variable in the head of the designer
• searches for non-probable possibilities in a
  given context
• on a specific level of scale

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Design related study

• The object of design study is variable by
  definition
• Social and physical context delimits that object
• But context is everything
• How to get grip on that vague concept first?

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Getting grip on future context

• distinguish
• Levels of scale (largest frame and smallest
  detail)
• Layers of social and physical context
• Language games supposingprobable, desirable or
  possible future contexts

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LEVELS OF SCALE

• The object of design is variable
• But at least the order of size could be
  determined
• Then, anything larger or smaller is context
• Determining external variableswith hidden
  assumptions models for anything outside the
  object of study
• But conclusions from outside and inside may
  differis a ball convex or is it concave?

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Scale paradox

• On the level of one spot you should conclude
  difference
• On the level of 7 spots you should conclude
  equality
• Reversal of conclusions may appear by a factor 3
  radius
• So, the order of size determines your view

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Levels of scale to be aware of

• Different scales mean different legend units,
  categories, views, approaches, conclusions

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Names and boundaries of size categories

• In this presentation nominal values indicatean
  order of size
• They are elastic
• 10m means somethingin between3m and 30m

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A frame 100x the granule of a drawing
representing a building

• r/R determines the resolution of a drawing or
  discourse,
• the resolution of the argument

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Locating a spatial object of design study within
its context

• If the scale (frame O and granule o) of the
  object is determined, then the rest is context
• The programme is a set of desired impacts

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The object (O,o) its inconvenient (I) and
profitable (P) impacts located

• The programme of requirements is a set of desired
  impacts
• Locate them to locate the stakeholders
• Perhaps they are willing to pay the project!

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LAYERS OF SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CONTEXT

• Managerial/governmental contexts (active ltgt
  passive)
• Cultural contexts (innovative ltgt traditional)
• Economic contexts (growing ltgt declining)
• Technological contexts (separating ltgt connecting)
• Ecological contexts (differentiating ltgt
  equalizing)
• Spatial contexts (accumulating ltgt dispersing )

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The future context determines the possibility of
realization

• The supposed future impacts will be different in
  different future contexts
• For example, the economic impact will be
  different in a growing local economy compared
  with a declining local economy
• So, you have to specify your suppositions about
  the probable future within which your object will
  have its impacts

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Making suppositions about the context more
explicit to assess the impacts

• You cannot estimate the impacts without
  suppositions about the context
• Make them explicit before study

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Suppositions about management context on any
relevant level of scale

• Is it an active management context with much
  initiatives? Give it sign ! in the scheme
• Is it a passive administrative context of just
  checking and controlling the rules? Note ?
• In the last case initiative should be part of
  your project to get the intended impacts realized
• And they can be different on different levels of
  scale

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Local initiative expected
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Suppositions about cultural context on any
relevant level of scale

• For administration and management we took
  opposites of initiative (!) and checking and
  controlling (?)
• They apply on any level of scale.
• But what about culture? For example, what does
  culture mean on the level of building material
  (R 3mm)?
• To include any level of scale, we propose
  'traditional' (lt) opposed to 'innovative' or
  'open to experiments' (gt)

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Traditional building expected
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Suppositions about economic context on any
relevant level of scale

• The economic context is shortly characterized by
  growing () and declining (-)
• That can be different on different levels of
  scale
• The economic context could be a declining
  neighborhood within a prosperous municipality
• A context like that will determine a project or
  an assignment substantially

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Suppositions about technological context on any
relevant level of scale

• Which extremes could be found for the
  technological context?
• internal separation (/) or combination (X) of
  functions is an essential design choice on any
  level of scale
• Is it usual in the future context to separate or
  combine
• pressure and tension in construction (R 10cm)
• separating and supporting constructions (R 1m)
• cooking and eating in the kitchen (R 3m)
• living and work in my neighborhood (R 300m)?

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Suppositions about ecological context on any
relevant level of scale

• In ecology we suppose diversity or heterogeneity
  () as most universal context variable, opposed
  to equality or homogeneity ()
• Which kind of diversity that concerns could be
  elaborated later
• diversity of plants, animals, or people
• households with the same or different age,
  lifestyle or role-emphasis
• for example familism versus careerism

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Suppositions about spatial context on any
relevant level of scale

• Mass can accumulate, concentrate (C) or disperse
  (D) in space and time
• That is an essential design context factor
• What is called mass could be specified later
• State of dispersion of legend units in a drawing
  are characteristics of form and composition

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Accumulation or sprawl R30km

• Towns can concentrate, disperse or be subject to
  a policy in between
• In which spatial context your project will have
  its impacts?

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States of dispersion r100m

• Houses can concentrate or disperse
• In which spatial context your project will have
  its impacts?

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States of dispersion in the same density on one
level of scale

• Anything can concentrate or disperse on any level
  of scale
• State of dispersion and density are different
  concepts

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One million people in two states of distribution
on two levels of scale
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Making suppositions about the context more
explicit to assess the impacts

• You cannot estimate the impacts without
  suppositions about the context
• Make them explicit before study

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Locating the object (O,o) its impacts (I) and the
origin of a programme (P)

• The programme is a set of desired impacts
• Locate them to locate the stakeholders
• Perhaps they are willing to pay the project
• Dont forget the other impacts

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LANGUAGE GAMES

• One cannot agree with a proposition without
  determining its modality
• I agree its is true or probable is different
  from
• I agree its desirable
• I agree its possible
• Probable but not desirable detects a problem
• Desirable but not probable detects an aim

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Three language games in a planning team

• Different specialists use different language
  games
• The same concepts may mean different things
  uttered by politicians, scientists or designers

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Subtracting futures to outline fields of problems
and aims

• If a statement is probable but not desirable,
  then its a problem
• The reverse its an aim

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Adding possible futures, skipping the impossible
ones

• Probable but not desirable futures are relevant
• Desirable but not probable ones also

• Probable and desirable futures are not relevant
• Impossible and desirable ones also

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Proposals for design studies with many
specialists and stakeholders

• Struggle with
• A variable object
• Uncertain impacts hitting different stakeholders
• They need an agreement about a supposed future
  context, properly distinguishing relevant
• Levels of scale
• Layers of social and physical context
• Language games (modalities)

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Discussion