Discoveries Throughout Conceptual Design

This paper describes current progress of an interview study of architects which considers how these individuals design, focusing on breakthroughs and unexpected discoveries made throughout conceptual design. The study considers creative outcomes that occur while these individuals are not intentionally designing, as well as when they are, with the intention of identifying and evaluating evidence of latent creative activity. While not described in this paper, issues of insightfulness, based on a Gestalt perspective, are also considered in the study. The completed interviews described in the paper suggest that, in order to achieve breakthroughs, designers adopt distinctive methods of disengaging from currently unproductive designing. These may be categorized by degree and type of disengagement, or subsequent re-engagement. In general, disengaging, instead of persisting in designing, when apparently stuck, appears to be the rule rather than the exception. Statements by the interviewees suggest that discoveries during, or just after, times when they are not actively designing, referred to as cold discoveries, are more important than is currently recognized, which is scarcely at all. Statements describing interviewee experiences of discovery and providing indications of the genesis of discoveries are included in the paper. The paper discusses implications of the wide range of perceptions and experiences of each individual. One interesting finding is that individuals appear to experience and appreciate cold discoveries regardless of differences in key aspects of the way they design, described in the paper. This suggests that the genesis of cold discoveries may be as complex as that of discoveries in general.