Bodily and Spatial Dimensions of the Architectural Design Process in the Digital Age within Embodiment of Experience

Abstract

In today’s digital epoch, existing design interfaces are insufficient for the generation of abstract and conceptual ideas by designers in early phases of the design process. This is despite the rapid spread and wide adoption of digital design tools and methods over the past two decades. Traditional design tools such as sketching and physical modeling maintain their importance in modern digital design studios, which may indicate a gap between the potential of digital media and its realization. This gap cannot be properly understood by merely considering it as a problem of tools and interfaces. In order to gain a holistic insight, we need to factor in the body, which perceives and interacts in-the-world through sensory-motor experiences and cognitive processes. In this study, we explore the role of embodied bodily experience on the constitution of abstract and conceptual ideas. We use both Lakoff and Johnson’s concept of “image schema” and McNeill’s classification of gestures to examine a thirty-minute case study involving two postgraduate architecture students. The aim of this study is to explore whether there are repetitive patterns in the iconic and deictic gestures during the modeling process as the participants generate spatial ideas. We aim to enrich the discussion on the role of bodily experience during architectural design and modeling by using the outcomes of this case study.

Keywords

• Bodily experience; embodiment experience; hand gestures; modeling in design.