Design Informed: Driving Innovation with Evidence-Based Design

Chapter 1. Transformation

Figure 1.1. Evidence Development and Application

ARCHITECTURE STARTS WITH VISION AND PASSION—VISION OF A PLACE THAT WILL INSPIRE OUR SENSES AND A PASSION TO CREATE IT. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT TAKING THAT SPATIAL, GEOMETRIC, AND AESTHETIC STARTING POINT AND EXPANDING IT TO EMBRACE BUILDING AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE.

The agenda is a TRANSFORMATIVE one. It builds on what architects do best—make form. Our education as architects is dominated by a language of spatial principles: shape, scale, color, texture, pattern, symmetry, balance, accent. These are the things we are taught and should always be central to what we design. The question is "Are they enough?" Our answer is "No!"

This is a very exciting time for our profession. Every day, more evidence is being created that demonstrates the power of architecture to affect human experience and environmental outcomes. Extraordinary innovations in building performance and materials science are now also possible due to evidence-producing processes.

Today's technologies and challenges feed opportunities to refine, expand, and improve our abilities to make form.

In the transformation we envision (see Figure 1.1), professional practice will still be based on our values and traditions as architects; yet our aspirations and capabilities will go beyond designing only spatially inspirational buildings. In this future, in addition to form-making, ...