ARCC Publications

Proceedings: 1997 Spring Research Conference
From the ARCC Spring Research Conference held in Atlanta, GA, 25-26 April, 1997

1997 Spring Research Conference

Architectural Research Centers Consortium
Spring Research Conference
April 25-26, 1997

Published by
Herberger Center for Design Excellence
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Arizona State University

Foreword

The 1997 ARCC Spring Research Conference highlighted both the range of research currently being pursued in architecture and design schools and the new directions in design research represented by Ph.D. candidates from a number of programs The conference followed directly a two-day symposium on doctoral programs in design and architecture. Both programs were hosted by Georgia Tech University.

The conference coordinators, Richard Schneider, Walter Grondzik, and Julia Robinson, ARCC board members, organized the program around cross-cutting topics reflected in architecture research:

Design and Pedagogy
Environment and Behavior
History, Theory, Culture
Materials
Practice
Representation
Sustainability
Technology
Urban Issues

In response to a call for abstracts, more than 80 abstracts were received from a wide array of schools and programs. Following a peer review 48 abstracts were selected to be developed into papers for presentation at the conference. The conference opened with a welcome by Richard Schneider, President of ARCC who introduced Thomas Galloway, Dean of the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech. Dean Galloway highlighted the importance of design research both within universities and in the broader community as he welcomed the group to Atlanta and the campus of Georgia Tech.

Conferees then participated in fourteen panel sessions, all of which featured both quality papers and lively, provocative exchange among participants. Presenters represented fourteen different universities and their presentations underscored the range of topics and research areas currently being explored in architecture and design schools across the country

A highlight of the conference was a keynote address offered by Dean John Meunier of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Arizona State University. As a longtime friend of ARCC and perceptive analyst of both architecture education and the field of architecture in general, Dean Meunier offered a presentation noting points of convergence between architecture research and practice and urging closer linkage as a way of making a difference. Another highlight was a presentation by Donald Watson of Rensselaer Polytechnic University, highlighting research emphases in architectural schools. Both presentations are included in this volume.

After the conference all papers that were presented were submitted for peer review. The reviewers selected the paper by Pauline Morin, "Ciceronian Texts and Alberti's De re aedficatoria," for the honor of outstanding conference paper. The paper presents a logical and cogent argument for an understanding of Alberti's 1452 treatise as a humanist document raising his contemporaries' view of architecture from a craft "to an art that could be used by a Renaissance prince to enhance his status and influence." Given the linkage between the 1997 research conference and the conference on doctoral education, it is most fitting that Pauline Morin is a doctoral candidate at Georgia Tech University. In making its selection, the jury considered the originality of research, appropriateness of research methodology, and the consistency and quality of presentation.

This volume includes the abstracts of all papers presented at the conference, the keynote presentation, the luncheon presentation, and a set of sixteen papers selected as a result of a rigorous peer review. The selection process was difficult given the overall quality of papers presented at the conference. Selection was made on the basis of quality of oral and written presentation, logic, and appropriateness of methodology. The selected papers include several written by doctoral candidates as well as papers written by established professors, as such they represent the emerging as well as current state of architectural research.

We hope that this report will generate further discussion and networking among researchers at our various universities and, in general, advance architectural research.

Mary Kihl
ARCC Publications Coordinator

Contents

Foreword

Program

Plenary Keynote Speech
Towards the Integration of Research and Practice: Research Degrees in Professional Schools
John Meunier, Dean, College of Architecture, Arizona State University

Luncheon Presentation
Strategic Research Agenda: An Informal Survey
Donald Watson Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and
Walter Grondzik Florida A&M University

OUTSTANDING CONFERENCE PAPER

Ciceronian Texts and Alberti's De re aedificatoria
Pauline Morin Georgia Tech

DESIGN AND PEDAGOGY

Case Based Instruction Strategies in the Design Studio
Omer Akin Department of Architecture Carnegie Mellon University

Methods of Studio Instruction: Hidden Agendas and Implicit Assumptions
Mallika Bose School of Architecture and Urban Planning University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Teaching Structures in the Beginning Architectural Design Studio
Dorothy Gerring The Pennsylvania State University and The Pennsylvania College of Technology

Using Case Information in Architecture
Craig Zimring College of Architecture Georgia Tech

ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR

Architecture and Disability: Measuring Handicapping/Enabling Environments
Edward Steinfeld, Arch.D. and
Gary Scott Danford, Ph.D. School of Architecture and Planning State University of New York at Buffalo

HISTORY, THEORY, CULTURE

Some Contemporary Approaches to the Debate on Public Space
Seema Hossain College of Architecture Georgia Tech

Seeing as Dwelling: An Alternative Interpretation of Philosophical Phenomenology for Architectural Theory
David Wang University of Michigan

MATERIALS

Design It . . . Build it at the University of Oklahoma College of Architecture
William C. Bauman, Jr. College of Architecture University of Oklahoma

Modern Concrete: A New Vernacular?
Robert M. Craig Georgia Tech

REPRESENTATION

Presenting Erosion Occurring to Historic Adobe Walls at Fort Davis National Historic Site Using Graphical and Computer Representations
Richard Burt and
Paul Woods Department of Construction Science Texas A&M University

Developing the Feelings Mapping Technique Using Multiple Attributes Analysis: A Case Study
Thomas H. Selland, Ph.D. Architecture and Urban Planning University of Oklahoma

SUSTAINABILITY

Open Plenum Returns--Impact on Energy Consumption
James M. Akridge Georgia Tech

TECHNOLOGY

The Energy "Penalty" for Maintaining a National Image in Chain-Operated Buildings
Anat Geva,
Veronica Soebarto, and
Larry Degelman Department of Architecture Texas A&M University

Architectural Technology in Cultural Forensics: A Hovenweep Anasazi Case Study
M. Iver Wahl College of Architecture University of Oklahoma

URBAN ISSUES

The Use of Space Syntax Analysis in Predicting Crime in Urban Environments
Mamoun Fanek and
Michael Jones College of Architecture Texas Tech University

ABSTRACTS (included with proceedings)

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