Conceptual Frameworks in Design Representation: Hierarchies and Networks

Abstract

This thesis shows how architectural concepts of hierarchy and network structure complex systems of representation. These two modes of conceptualization may seem oppositional, but they are in constant conversation with each other. Hierarchical frameworks describe very controlled sets of relationships, whether they be static loads or spatial boundaries. Networks are more malleable and resilient and are useful for modeling human activity, movement and other dynamic relationships. Architecture is for people and people need both structure and flexibility, rules and play. It is from the dialogue between these two modes in architectural design that a spatial concept— a thesis that drives and organizes a design—emerges. With a clear conceptual structure designers have a better understanding of the relationships and relative importance of various aspects of a spatial composition. Without that understanding designers can easily lose sight of the idea that organizes and holds a project together. This masters thesis explains the roles that hierarchical and network thinking play within architectural representation and how they can help designers develop the relationships and relative importance of design elements through representation. Since architectural design is fundamentally the composition, integration and division of complex systems that organize the built environment, how we think about these spatial relationships is essential. A more intentional use of these conceptual frameworks will improve architectural education and architectural practice by giving designers better tools to think about the underlying conceptual systems shaping their designs.