Cyclical Iterative Design Process

Congratulations

2008-03-14T07:00:00.005Z

I got a lot of lot of congratulations. It started right after the official ceremony when people queued up to congratulate . The professors, of course, did not have to wait and were the first ones.

One of the nicest presents I got was from our CEO Dick Ringeling. He gave me a plastic model tot assemble, glue and paint in the right colors was even included!

I even got some cards from abroad. The nicest ones are shown here. The one on the left side is from the States and the other one is from Germany.

Graduation

2008-03-12T08:57:00.009Z

This weblog has been in the “sleeping mode” for almost a year. The reason for that is that I have been very busy completing my PhD. On the 11th of February I had my exam. In Holland a graduation is a rather traditional ceremony, but as I can now say from my own experience: It is great fun ! The event start with a so called “lekenpraatje”. In this 10 minute presentation you try to explain to the invited people the essence of you research. I had about a 100 guests and from their reaction I understand they got the point.

Then the formal part starts with the 8 professors coming in, leaded by the “pedel”, that’s the lady with the staff. For a hour they asked questions about the research. After that they went to a separate room and they returned after about 20 minutes. I was invited to stand in front of the chairman and he read an official statement that I had passed the exam.
After that Mick Eekhout, my professor, gave me the official document (it’s in the red tube) .

Finally, the professors with the pedel in front, left the room. On the stairs the official photo was made and that was the end of the formal part of the day.

Mock-ups at the Philips High Tech Campus

2007-07-18T07:12:00.000Z

I one of our project at the High Tech Campus in Holland we made an extensive use of mock-ups. The Philips High Tech Campus is situated near Eindhoven in the south of Holland. It is a campus like setting of several laboratories were companies and knowledge institutes combine their knowledge, experience and research facilities to develop generic technology.

We designed several building and one of them is the so called WDX building. One of the most difficult aspect was the façade of the laboratories. For these laboratories there were almost contradictory requirements. Daylight should be able to enter as much as possible but direct sunlight was not allowed. Because of the experiments taking place the maximum allowable temperature variation was 0.5 degrees Celsius. The requirements for the offices were only slightly different.

A facade system was developed were large sunscreen panels automatically cover the windows in case of direct sunlight. Because of the requirements we decided to build two mock-ups. These mock-ups were quite large and heavy and did cost around $ 18,000. For the client experimenting and testing are an integral part of product development so he readily agreed to build the mock ups.

From these mock-ups we learned a lot. Some elements were modified in the mock-up itself while other elements, like the shape of the louvers of the sunscreen panels and the glass panels were modified and tested in additional models. The contractor wanted to be sure that all the requirement were met so he build a prototype that was attached to the actual building frame.

After the completion of the building it was calculated that the cost of the two mock-ups was less than 0.5 % op the total building costs. Correcting the mistakes that would have occurred in case the mock-ups would not have been build would be somewhere between 5 and 10 % of the building costs. So concerning mock-ups our conclusion was:

It pays to build mock-ups !

Non-Quantitive Diagrams

2007-07-10T06:17:00.000Z

In my thesis I developed so called ‘Non-Quantative Diagrams’. Non Quantative diagrams do not use specific data (hence the term ‘Non-Quantative’), but show time related developments that can contribute first of all to a better understanding of the current situation and of future developments. This better understanding can be used in the tactical (short term) and strategical (long term) management.

One of the aspect we encountered in our retail projects was how to reduce the costs and at the same time to improve the quality by innovating. Due to the learning process we were able to work more efficiently and as a result to reduce the costs. Instead of enlarging our profit margin we used the cost reduction to improve the quality.

With a non-quantitive diagram we were able to illustrate possible developements to ourselves but also to the client. The diagram below shows the quality, revenue and cost versus time in the retail project that we are involved in.

In the beginning of the project,due to a learning process and improved efficiency, the costs are reduced. Given a constant revenue this leads to a growing profit margin. At a certain moment (t=1) the profit growth is used to innovate and improve the quality by initiating innovations. Off course not all innovations are in the end successful. As a matter of fact most of them are not. The way we worked we in our retail project we could afford that in certain cases we do not to succeed and therefore we felt confident to take risks in developing new products and services. This process repeats itself in a number of cycles. At the end of each cycle the quality is improved.

Concepts like Six Sigma usually focus on reducing the costs of existing projects and do not use these cost reductions to initiate innovations in new projects. They tend to kill potential innovations by taking les risks

According to an article in Business week Six Sigma almost killed the innovation at 3M. The way we worked in our retail project shows that cost reducing and improving the efficiency do not have to contradict innovation: on the contrary !

Woven Architecture

2007-06-15T11:39:00.000Z

In a recent lecture by prof. Adriaan Beukers (Delft University, Faculty of Aerospace) he touched upon the subject of the empty weight versus the payload. For a number of transport vehicles he calculated the so called ‘system efficiency’ that is the empty weight divided by the payload:

Buses 2.5
Cars 3-8
Subsonic Aircraft 4
Supersonic Aircraft 12
Intercity trains 10
Global orbit 66
Lunar orbit 500

How do buildings fit into this ? The average Dutch house has a weight of around 50.000 kg’s. The average house has 3 occupants (let’s say 220 kg) and the weight of all the combined furniture is around 2000 kg. This gives a “system efficiency” of 22.5. Disappointing you might say!

Let’s go back to aerospace and gliders in particular. The Discus 2b, see picture below, has an empty weight of 245 kg. The glider can carry one person (90 kg) and 190 liter water (190 kg). The water by the way is used to improve the performance when gliding between the thermals. This give a total payload of 380 kg and a system efficiency of 0.64. Not bad compared to other forms of transportation and certainly not bad compared to the Dutch house.

But is everything is not lost for architecture: during our holidays some of us use a building that has a much better system efficiency: the tent. An average tent for 4 persons has an weight of around 12 kg. Four people with their luggage have a weight of 350 kg. This give a system efficiency of around 0.04. Even better than the glider.

And the glider and the tent do have something in common: woven fabric. The glider is largely made of glass, carbon and kevlar fibers and the tent of plastic fibers. Maybe this can lead us to a future development in housing: buildings that are woven of fibers:

Architects and Research

2007-05-29T16:14:00.000Z

Although architects are involved in research every day, the research is mostly project driven and result orientated, within a limited timeframe. There seems to be no tendency towards the creation of a written or documented body of knowledge concerning learning processes.

Project independent research could lead to a body of knowledge, not only for the architect doing the research, but also for other architects , this way raising the professional level of the architectural profession as a whole. Project independent research can, as we know from out experience, be time consuming and therefore “budget consuming”. Therefore, only the very large architectural offices can afford it. Maybe it is the duty of these large offices to engage in what can be called architectural research.

In our office some architects did a research on the so called “Encroachment Zones”. This is the small public space between the road and the houses. This project generated a lot of knowledge for ourselves but also, as the enthusiastic reactions showed, for other architects and people involved in planning and construction. Below you can see the cover of the book that was the result of the research. Currently the book is printed just in Dutch, but in the near future it will probably be published in English as well.

My own PhD research can also be considered as an architectural research. There is a continuous interaction between the (architectural) Practice and the (architectural) Theory. The scheme below shows the research structure of my PhD thesis:

The research can be divided into two parts. There is an inductive research with an information flow from Practice towards Theory and a deductive part with a flow from Theory towards Practice. In both parts an extensive use is made of case studies. The research is cyclical in its approach in that there is a constant interaction between the inductive and deductive parts of the research. The case studies from the practice lead to a theoretical framework, and this theoretical framework is then tested in practice through a number of other case studies. In the inductive part of the research case studies in architecture as well as in aerospace are extensively used to get to a better understanding of the four stages of the Cyclical Iterative Design Process

Relevance of the thesis and new insights

2007-05-18T09:55:00.000Z

The web log has been on line for a week and I have received numerous reactions. Thank you all for you comments. There seems to be a growing interest for the Cyclical Iterative Design Process, not just from architects, but also from people working in other areas. Once a week I will add a new article. If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment !

There appear to be some problems with posting comments to the weblog. To avoid this I have added an short instruction that you can find in the right column of the blog.

As a few of you mentioned the cyclical concept in itself is not new. The question is how my research will add new insights. I will try to answer this question with the scheme below:

The Cyclical Iterative Design Process is not just about the design process, but also about creating a design environment. Creating an environment where such a design process can take place.

The design process itself is basically very simple and straightforward. It consists of just four phases. This way, the design process can easily be understood and what is perhaps even more important, can be applied. What this thesis adds is the extensive research on each of the four phases and the sub phases resulting in new definitions and new tools that can be used when dealing with the subsequent phases and sub phases.

The design environment consist of four main elements: Information Management, Contract Structure, Quality System and Office Organization. In the thesis the cyclical concept is applied to these four elements. Tools are developed to optimize these elements through a cyclical process to create the best possible environment for creating the best possible product.

In due time I will write about the phases and sub phases that are part of the design process and the elements that are part of the design environment.

Norman Foster and Aviation

2007-05-18T09:28:00.000Z

Besides being an accomplished architect Norman Foster is also an experienced pilot. He flies anything, from light jets to helicopters and gliders. He writes extensively about the relationship between aviation and architecture, not so much in the technical sense, but more on a conceptual level. In his book ‘On Foster…Foster On’ he writes: "… If at their peak architecture and flight are about the spirit as well as the physical practicalities, and the outcome of that fusion is a beautiful object, then there are links between architecture and aviation - even if one is earth-bound and the other traverses the earth…”

Norman Fosters writes about the paradox that although architecture usually uses standardized technologies that have been developed over a long time, and aviation uses technologies that are relatively new, the life span of an aircraft is usually much longer than the lifespan of a building. According to Norman Foster one of the reasons could be that in aerospace one is used to continuously improving the product. He takes as an example the Boeing 747 which made its first flight back in the sixties. Due to a continuous process of improvements there are still 747’s flying today.

In the same book he talks about the Boeing 747 as a piece of architecture and a special one as well: it flies. He refuses to believe that the 747 was just shaped by its aerodynamic forces. There is still a factor that makes the difference between just an object and a being a beautiful one: that is where design comes in.

Norman Foster writes about gliders: “I have flown many hours in high-performance sailplanes which must be the ultimate solar powered vehicles-capable of using natural up currents of air to traverse hundreds of kilometers at very high speed. For pilots it is difficult to separate the spiritual uplift from the experience of flight from the satisfaction of delicately balancing the physical forces involved in the process”. In the book ‘Sir Norman Foster’, Foster tells that he used to fly gliders in competitions but that he had to quit due to lack of time. In connection to the restructuring of Foster and Partners as mentioned on their website I hope Norman Foster will be able take up gliding again. After all it is one of the purest forms of flying…

Cyclical Information Management

2007-05-11T07:50:00.000Z

The amount information that you need for project, especially retail projects, can be quite extensive. From our experiences as retail architects we learned that especially in retail project the information not comes not only in large amounts, but can be extremely complex as well. Because these projects can run for a number of years, the information is likely to change which makes it even more complex. We refer to it as dynamic information.

From our experience in producing paper manuals (that are outdated from the moment they are published) and the numerous attempts of other people we decided to develop a web based dynamic information system in cooperation with ABN AMRO Bank (not one of the most boring banks at the moment). During the development, we used the cyclical concept on two levels. Firstly, the basic concept of the information system is cyclical in the way it works, and secondly the basic concept was improved in a number of cycles, mainly by feedback from the users of the information management system.

One of my colleagues, Maurits Ruis (he has by the way a very interesting weblog - SustainaBrazil - about sustainability in Brazil) is writing a book about the whole development process. The name of the book will be ‘(visual) architecture - retail banking and information management’. The book will be made available freely at the Inbo Retail site.

Thermalling Gliders: an Iterative Process

2007-05-11T07:23:00.000Z

Gliding appears to an outsider as just taking a glider into the air and flying around. I reality there is a fight going on up there: to stay up in the air. Without any rising air the glider would be forced to land within a few minutes.

So how to stay up ? You have to find a thermal ! A thermal is basically a column of rising air that you try to stay in by making circles. This continuous circling is for the passenger in a glider not the most exiting part as very soon the stomach will start to protest !

The thermals may be marked by a cloud, but this is not always the case. After you have found the thermal, you not only have to stay in it, but you also have to find the area with the strongest lift. This is done in a number of iterative steps that will bring you to the center of the thermal. After every turn you make a mental picture of the lift division you encountered, and according to this you correct you circle so that you will fly into a stronger lift. After this circle you start all over again: making a mental map of the thermal, correcting you circle and look if things improve.

As you climb in the thermal, the shape and the lift division of the thermal can change considerably. This can result that all the way up in the thermal you are to correct your flight path. The iterative process goes on and on !

But whatever us human beings develop, compared to the birds we are just amateurs, and they are the professionals. When looking for thermals, the best thing you can do is to try to spot a bird. If you spot one it is usually for just a few seconds because it quickly outclimbes you ! The picture below shows a very rare picture of a glider and a bird thermalling together.

As the saying goes in Latin: “Natura Artis Magistra” which translates as 'Nature is the Teacher of Art'

Richard Horden and the Wing Tower

2007-05-11T06:47:00.000Z

As mentioned before, aviation is one of the inspirations for my research. Quite a few architects make references to aviation, like Le Corbusier, Richard Horden and Norman Foster. In due time I will write about these architects and their aviation connections.

First in line is Richard Horden, a British architect well known for his ability to use advanced technologies tot make very special buildings. Well known is his Ski Haus, a light weight structure that can be transported by a helicopter to a place high up in the snowy mountains and give 4 people the opportunity to stay in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The picture shows it all !

But to me, far more exiting is the Wing Tower in Glasgow (UK). This 100 meter lookout tower is standing freely without any external supports attached to it. To avoid vibrations, that would give an uncomfortable feeling to the people at the top, Richard Horden made an extensive use of aerodynamics. The tower was shaped in such a way that the air flow is laminar for as long as possible and then with the help of vortex generators it is changed into a turbulent flow. This way, separation bubbles, that could lead to vibrations, are avoided. Aerodynamics as a form generating principle !

In my thesis I made a whole range of illustrations to explain the aerodynamics of the Wing Tower. The illustration below shows the flow around the tower with the vortex generator that turns the laminar boundary layer into a turbulent one and the separation bubbles that only appear behind the tower.

When talking to my friends in architecture they see the Wing Tower as just a building with some aerodynamics applied to it. However when talking to my aviation friends they consider the tower just as a large, very efficient wing, stuck into the ground. It is all in the eye of the beholder !

For anybody interested in these and other projects of Richard Horden I can strongly recommend his book Light Tech.

The Design of an Internet Reading Table

2007-05-10T14:18:00.000Z

For the ABN AMRO Bank we designed an internet table. This is basically a table with a number of computer screens that can be used by the client to check on all kinds of financial websites. There is also a small collection of relevant newspapers and magazines for the clients.

The design of such interior components usually take several months and a large amount of money. By applying the Cyclical Iterative Design Process we were able to cut dramatically on the time from the first idea to the first production model. In all it took a period of six weeks. After the first virtual model was build and evaluated the first prototype was build. The client, we as the designers, and the contractor met together to test and evaluate the table. It was decided that a number of changes should be made. The legs of the table should be of a different shape in order to match the existing furniture line. The lighting of the white element in the middle of the table should be done with LED lights in stead of tube lights. These changes where realized within two weeks and again evaluated. The pictures below show the second evaluation meeting.

Two weeks after this second evaluation the first production model was finished.
After a period of six months the table was again evaluated and some aspects were changed. The whole design process is illustrated below.

As we analyzed and evaluated the table there where vivid discussions, and coffee was of course an essential requirement. This lead us to the following statement:

“The success of a prototype can be measured by the number of coffee stains on it ...”

The Cyclical Iterative Design Process

2007-05-10T12:52:00.000Z

The design process was developed after an extensive study of architectural design processes and design processes used in other design related areas such as aviation and industrial design.
The design process consists of 4 stages:

1. (Re)definition of the Specifications and Design Development
2. Production (Model, Mockup, Prototype and Product)
3. Testing / Using
4. Analyzing and Evaluation

The four stages are worked through successively. At the end of each cycle the result is analyzed and evaluated. This serves as an input for the next cycle. The iterative principle is an integral part of the Cyclical Design Process, in which each cycle should lead to an improvement of the quality. Maximum quality in the minimum number of cycles. If after the first cycle the result is analyzed and evaluated and the required quality is not yet reached another cycle is started. At the end of the second cycle, the quality is still not at the required level another cycle is started. This process is repeated until the required quality has been reached. The illustration below shows a case where 4 cycles were needed to arrive to the required quality.

The next graph shows how in each cycle the difference between the required quality and the attained quality becomes smaller and finally reaches zero.

Of course this example shows an ideal situation. In practice such a steady increase of the quality will not be very common. The next item will deal with the iterative aspects in the design of an internet table for a retailer.

Inspiration

2007-05-10T12:40:00.000Z

It is quite easy to start a PhD research. But to finish it is more complicated. You need a lot of persistence, motivation but above all inspiration. I have been inspired by three people: Mick Eekhout. Stefan Thomke and Ben Rich.

Professor Mick Eekhout (Delft University of Technology) is an accomplished designer himself, and an engineer who besides teaching has his own innovative company Octatube. He taught me how to reflect in a scientific way on my architectural experiences and how to apply the results of these reflections in the Architectural Practice.

Professor Stefan Thomke (Harvard University) has done extensive research on experimenting and learning from experience. His work, and especially his book ‘Experimentation Matters’, has been inspirational for this research. The intention of this research is to develop a basic system as described by Thomke, and to make it applicable for architectural assignments as well as the architectural practice.

Ben Rich, as director of Lockheed Skunk Works, showed me in his book ‘Skunk Works’ how inspirational leadership can push the organization to deliver the highest possible performance.

The experience in Retail Architecture changed my way of thinking from ‘product based architecture’ towards ‘service orientated architecture’. And aviation inspired me not as much in the technical sense as well on a conceptual level.

The continuous search for improvement by teams of talented and performance orientated people that are willing to try and evaluate their performances was instrumental in defining the four stages of the Cyclical Iterative Design Process.

Topics

2007-05-10T12:18:00.000Z

Past, Current and Upcoming Topics

Cyclical Iterative Design Process (CIDP)
(Re)definition of the Specifications and Design Development
Production (Model, Mockup, Prototype and Product)
Testing / Using
Analyzing and Evaluation

The Iterative Concept
The Iterative aspect of the Cyclical Design Process
Thermalling gliders: an iterative process

Existing Design Processes
Design Processes in Architecture
Design Processes in Aerospace and Industrial Design

Architects and Aeropspace
Le Corbusier
Richard Horden
Norman Foster
Johan Schepers
Meyer en van Schooten
Huib Plomp
Martin Smit

The CIDP and the Application in the Architectural Practice
Design Process
From Contract Based Design Process to Performance Based Design Process
Organization of the Architectural Practice
Quality Systems
Information Management

Non-Quantitative Graphics
Introduction to Non-Quantitative Graphics
Planning
Time management

Vision
Architects and Research
Architect and Technology Transfer