Ways to a Study Proposal

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Ways to aStudy Proposal

• Prof.dr.ir. Taeke M. de Jong
• prof.dr.ir.V.J. Meyer (Urban composition)
• dr.ir.S.A. Read (Urban Transformations)
• dr. I.T. Klaasen (Urban Design and sciences)

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Tentamen AR3U011

• elaborating take home assignments 1-13 on your
  website before 30st of October and
• assignment 14 before 1st of January
• every delay costs 0.5 point in your judgement per
  month.

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Handing in

• MailtoM.E.Wenmeekers-Thomas_at_bk.tudelft.nl
• your web adress (URL),
• student number and course code AR3U011
• as soon as you are ready (2 times). Please check
  your URL and later results, to make proper
  judgement possible for AR3U011.

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Judging AR3u010
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Operational study proposals

• y(x)
• landscape( villa)
• villa( landscape)
• villa( landscape( water system))
• urbanity( liveliness, choice)
• ( liveliness, choice)( density, variety)

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Operations (functions) y f(x)

• intuitive f(x) associated with x
• conditional f(x) possible by x
• set-theoretical f(x) part of x, encloses x,
  without x ...
• logical f(x) if x, not x ...
• mathematical f(x) xx , x2...
• causal f(x) caused by x
• temporal f(x) preceded, followed by x
• spatial(formal) f(x) near to, contiguous to,
  surrounded by x ...
• structural f(x) connected with x, seperated
  from x ...
• combinations a box of boards connected by
  nailsbox(boards, nails)

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Valid, Reliable
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Classical empirical research proposals

• problem statement (problem isolation)
• clear aim
• reference
• starting points
• hypothesis
• variables
• data
• method
• content
• publish

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Design related study orempirical research

• Research produces probabilities by causes
• Design produces possibilities by conditions

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Four types of design related study
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Study proposals for design study are difficult to
make, because

• the object of study is still varying
• a design can not isolate a single problem
  statement.
• there is also a field of aims.
• since the object is variable, there is not a
  single hypothesis.
• there is also not an easy to describe single
  method.
• so, the only way to get grip on the project in a
  study proposal beforehand, is the determination
  of the future context by a proper context
  analysis.

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Case studies

• In an empirical jargon these studies are case
  studies (Yin 1994 Swanborn 1996 n1 studies).
• Case studies seldom reach a statistical mass
  (nmany) suitable to draw more general scientific
  conclusions (research).
• Polls and statistics are seldom useful in this
  field of study.
• Specialists can isolate common problems.
• Without context sensitivity, their general
  solutions raise new problems, new assignments for
  ongoing study profitable for them.
• A designer raising new problems will not easily
  get new assignments.

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Context sensitivity of our design object
Preface by Rector Fokkema Within the range of a
technical university the object of design in
terms of (urban) architecture and technique is
the design subject that is amongst all others
most sensitive to context. The programme of
requirements is not only derived from an
economical and technical context, but also from
contexts hailing from political, cultural,
ecological en spatial considerations on many
levels of scale.
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Comparable contexts

• An object of architectural or urban design or
  management is more context-sensitive than any
  other object of design on a University of
  Technology (Fokkema 2002).
• So, these objects of study are comparable only if
  their context is comparable.
• If, from the many cases studied before,
  researchers could choose examples that have a
  comparable context, there is some basis for
  generalisation.
• These historical case studies should then be
  retrievable from a systematically accessible
  database to find cases comparable with the one at
  hand.

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A. Level of scale

• The level of scale of an object of study is
  important, because any larger size than that of
  the object supposes a larger context.
• But any smaller size than that of the smallest
  detail taken into account supposes context as
  well.
• So, the reach of scale of an object of study has
  an upper and lower limit, here called frame and
  granule, best indicated by their approximate
  radius.

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Frame and granule
The distance between frame and granule determines
the resolution of the study (sketch, drawing,
blue print), the extent to which the study goes
into detail compared to its largest measure drawn.
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Level of scale

• That order of size and consequently resolution of
  study can be chosen even before the object of
  study is fixed.
• It begins to determine the applicable design and
  management means like legends (scientific
  categories, types).
• Moreover, it puts the concept of aim into
  perspective.

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Scale paradox

• The reach of scale is also important for a
  project proposal, because conclusions on a
  specific level of scale could be opposite to
  conclusions drawn on another level of scale

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Specialisms in Time and space
Scale in space and time determines the
specialisms in our field of study.
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Avoiding confusion of scale
already possible by a linear factor 3 difference
in level of scale (approximately 10 in
surface) Global(10000km) Continental(3000km) Subco
ntinental(1000km) National(300km) Sub
national(100km) Regional(30km) Sub
regional(10km) Town(3km)
District(1km) Neighbourhood(300m) Ensemble(100m) B
uilding complex(30m) Building(10m) Building
segment(3m) Building part(1m) Building
component(300mm) Super element(100mm) Element(30m
m) Sub element(10mm) Super material(3mm) Material(
1mm) Sub material(lt1mm)
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B. Layers of social and physical context
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Opposites of management applying on any level of
scale

• For management you can expect opposites of
  initiative (!) or checking and controlling (?)
• If you suppose impacts of your study in municipal
  administration (R 3km), you should estimate
  that context.
• If it is just checking and controlling the rules,
  initiative should be part of your project to get
  the intended impacts realised.
• The same applies to the administrator of the
  building complex (R 30m) and the users (R
  10m).

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Opposites of cultural context

• what does culture mean on the level of building
  material (R 1mm)?
• traditional (lt) opposed to innovative or
  open to experiments (gt) applies on any level of
  scale.
• if your study will have impacts on households (R
  10m), and these households are mainly
  traditional, it will be difficult to confront
  them with an experimental design.
• However, if your client is an innovative housing
  corporation (R 1000m?), you will get support
  from that side. That cultural context will
  influence your study and your presentation, the
  way you will arrange the arguments.

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Opposites of economic context

• The economic context is shortly characterised by
  growing () and declining (-).
• That can be different on different levels of
  scale.
• The economic context could be a declining
  neighbourhood within a prosperous municipality.
• A context like that will determine a project or
  an assignment to a considerable extent.

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Opposites of technological context

• Which extremes could be found to characterise the
  technological context on any level of scale?
• Internal separation (/) and combination (X) of
  functions are relevant and essential
  technological context values.
• It is also an essential design choice on every
  level of scale shall I
• separate or combine pressure and tension (R
  10cm)
• separating and supporting functions (R 1m)
  within my construction,
• cooking and eating in my kitchen (R 3m),
• living and work in my neighbourhood (R 300m)?
• If the trend is to combine living and work on a
  level of the district (R 1km), then you still
  can separate it on the level of the neighbourhood
  (R 300m) or the building complex (R 30 m).
• So that expected context is important for any
  design decision.

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Opposites of ecological context

• In ecology 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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Opposites of physical context

• At the purely physical level of mass and space in
  time, accumulation, concentration (C) of masses
  versus sprawl, deconcentration (D) is an
  essential design context factor.
• What is called mass could be specified later, but
  concentration and deconcentration (state of
  dispersion) of legend units in a drawing are
  characteristics of form and composition on any
  level of scale.

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Concentration Deconcentration
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Limit your object of study by scale
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Grain and impacts of your study
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Desired impacts of your study
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How to judge these impacts without future context?
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Changing context changes impacts
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Subtracting futures

• Field of problems Probable - Desirable
• Field of Aims Desirable - Probable

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Probable futures
There are more and less probable futures
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Probability
s 68, 2s 95, 3s 99.7 chance
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Possible futures
Anything probable is per definition possible but
not everything possible is also probable. The
probable future could be predicted. The
improbable possibilities cannot be predicted. You
only can explore them by design.
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Possibility
Not every condition is a cause, but every cause
is a condition for something to happen
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Desirable futures
Ir. Drs. Mr.
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Obvious and impossible futures
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Problems and aims
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Undesired, improbable possibilities
Are they relevant as long as nobody wants them?
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Unexpected inventions
Yes
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Changing desires
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Field of problems and aims

• Problems probable, but not desirable futures
• Aims desirable, but not probable futures

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How tohandlecontext
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Ideal contents of adesign relatedStudy Proposal

• 1. OBJECT OF STUDY AND ITS CONTEXT
• 2. MY STUDY PROPOSAL
• 3. ACCOUNTS

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1 OBJECT OF MY STUDY AND ITS CONTEXT

• 1.1. Object of my study
• 1.2. Probable future context field of problems
• 1.3. Desired impacts of my study field of aims
• 1.4. My designerly references field of means
• 1.5. My portfolio and perspective field of
  abilities

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2 MY STUDY PROPOSAL

• 2.1. Location andor other future context factors
• 2.2. Motivation andor programme of requirements
• 2.3. Intended results, contributions and planning

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3 ACCOUNTS

• 3.1. Meeting criteria for a study proposal
• 3.2. References
• 3.3. Key words

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Criteria for a study proposal

• A.Affinity with designing
• B.University latitude
• C.Concept formation and transferability
• D.Retrievability and accumulating capacity
• E.Methodical accountability and depth
• F.Ability to be criticised and to criticise
• G.Convergence and limitations

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1 OBJECT OF MY STUDY AND ITS CONTEXT

• 1.1. Object of my study frame and grain
• 1.2. Probable future context field of problems
• 1.3. Desired impacts of my study field of aims
• 1.4. My designerly references field of means
• 1.5. My portfolio and perspective field of
  abilities

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Explicit future context

• protects your study against judgements with other
  suppositions about the future context
• raises the debate about the robustness of your
  study in different future contexts
• makes your study comparable to other studies in
  comparable contexts
• raises a field of problems instead of an
  isolated problem statement by subtracting
  desirable futures from the probable ones

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Explicit impacts within that context

• indicate actors and specialists to join the team
  or take into account
• imply a societal and personal relevance or
  fascination
• imply a field of aims
• imply actors willing to finance your study
• could produce a programme of requirements
• before you have a precise study proposal !

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Subtracting futures

• Field of problems Probable - Desirable
• Field of Aims Desirable - Probable

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Design related study

• can not isolate problems from a coherent field of
  problems
• brings aims together in a field of aims, a
  concept
• has many references, not only written text but
  especially images forms, types, models,
  concepts, programmes
• has many starting points
• has designs as hypothesis stating This will
  work
• has many context variables (parameters)
• while the object still varies in your head
• has many ways to study (in a book with 10 000 key
  words)
• content grows drawing, calculating and writing
• publishes with the medium as a message

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How to limitate, concentrate

• give way to fascinations (motivated
  concentrations)
• choose a scale (frame and grain) before an object
• publish your portfolio evaluating it as field of
  abilities
• decide to improve or to extend them in your
  proposal
• publish images that fascinate you as a field of
  means
• look at them as a professional which concepts,
  types, models programmes could you harvest?
• make your assumptions about the future explicit
• imagine the impacts your study could have
• cash your dreams