A method to index and retrieve images to improve reasonning during the design process

During their activity, designers use various kind ofheterogeneous information presented in the data list ofthe design program. To solve their design problem theyuse “references”. If by reference some writers meanevery representation of a reality having an active role inthe design process, in our case we have limited thereference definition to the physical parts of a building,the so-called “built work”. To present these referencesto the designer we choose Images as a media support totransmit the relevant information. More precisely wehave chosen photographic images to illustrate thesereferences because an image illustrates the graphic partof an architectural concept. For this, in this paper wepresent a method to organise these references to makethem more easily accessible to the designer. Thismethod, once incorporated into a retrieval engine, aimsto assist the designer in his creation work