The use of parametric mapping as an analysis method in contextual design studio

Abstract

This paper is discussed an experimental study carried out in the undergraduate Contextual Design Studio (CDS). The studio comprises four stages: Site Analysis Phase, Conceptual Design Studies, Design Development Phase, and Final Presentation. The site analysis stage lasts for about four weeks,10 hours a week in the studio. Particular importance is given to this part of the project so that students have a chance to gain different perspectives on multiple meanings of context and, more specifically, the historical, social and physical context of the the neighborhood. Besides conventional mapping and representation techniques and tools, some new design tools have been introduced in the studio, one of which was this experimental study in question. The study aims at the integration of the Parametric Mapping techniques, at a basic level, into the site analysis process in the contextual design studio to provide an entry point to thinking through the tool used for the students. In this term, the method of abstracting site features through Parametric Mapping was used in the site analysis process and the effect of this form-oriented data on the concepts of the projects was interpreted. NudiBranch, an add-on to the Grasshopper program, was used in the Parametric Mapping workshop. Students' works were discussed briefly with the help of some representative instances.