Category: Design

Design, Education, Preliminary Design Stage Series

Episode 2: Case Studies and Literature Review

Mariya Aminu Kabir

Case studies and literature review in architecture are extremely important before conducting any design. An architect is required to be a good observer and have the ability to examine and analyze buildings. These abilities are necessary when conducting case studies.

From the term “case study”, it simply means studying an existing case (i.e. building, area etc.) which is similar to your design project. Literature review simply means the review of existing literature on a particular topic through books, articles, building codes, etc. Conducting a case study and review of literature helps you in understanding what is required in the design project.

How to conduct a case study

The first step before visiting any building for a case study is conducting a literature review. It gives you the first idea of what to expect in any building. For example, before designing a house, a simple google search will provide you with basic information of what a house comprises of. You become familiar with the functions in a house, names of the spaces, what they are used for, and other information. However, reading alone does not give you full knowledge of the house, users, user-space relationship, cultural values, and the rest. For example, you are designing a house for a Hausa family, the information online will not give the way a Hausa family lives, how they interact with the space, or the form and function of the spaces.

Next, you conduct a live case study, which means visiting an existing building. You need at least two local case studies and an international case study (through online research). You will also require an introductory letter from your school before heading to the case study location. Before choosing the two buildings, you need to make sure that they have the following in common with your project:
• Occupants of the existing buildings and the intended users of your design are of the same background.
• Location of your case study and the proposed location for your design have similar features (e.g. climate).
• One case study should have the minimum basics while the other should have the maximum i.e. case studies can be from a lower-class family, middle-class family, and a high-class family home to have an overall view of what a house can have.

During the visit, there are some elements that need to be analyzed which are as follows:
• The environment and the micro-climate
• Behavior of the occupants/users
• User-space relationship
• The form and function of the building
• Circulation patterns
• Materials and construction methods
• Merits and demerits of the building

Proper documentation of the case studies during the visit and after is required. You will need pictures, sketches (if possible), questions for interviews with the users and the rest. After the case study visit has been completed, it is now time to present and document your findings for your presentation. Below are some of my case studies from my time in school:

Case studies for a transit hotel
Literature review for transit hotel
Case studies for a Flour Mill Industry
Literature on Flour Mill Industry
Literature on Flour Mill Industry

The documentation of your case studies are not limited to these examples. You can make several sheets on a single case study giving full details on it.

(NOTE: My designs were done before the establishing of Quif Studio. These current blog posts are written in line with research, my experience and through consultations. Any mistakes, omissions etc. that have been noticed in my designs, were made a few years ago. The sole purpose of sharing them is to give you an idea of what each and every step should look like.)

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next episode!

Design, Education, Preliminary Design Stage Series

Episode 1: Introduction

Mariya Aminu Kabir

Welcome back to my blog guys!

Today marks the first episode of the preliminary design stage series, which will be talking about introduction or introductory sheet. For the purpose of this series, I will be choosing a residential design project to give a more practical and in depth explanation.

The introduction is the initial or first stage which kickstarts the further process of the design project. Every design project is given an introductory stir that paves the path for the successive stages in the project. It is important to make explanations and introductory sketches because it gives the first impression of what the content of the project is about. Imagine introducing yourself to a stranger for the first time. It gives them a slight impression of who you are which helps them decide on whether they want to know you better or not. As your first impression is important to other people, so is your attempt to introducing any project.

In architectural education, introductory sheets are a way of showing your jury panel and audience that you have the necessary information required for embarking on that project. It shows that you have done your research and gives you an upper hand at defending your work. The introductory sheet mainly consists the following:

  • Definition of terms:

The prominent keywords are to be defined. For example, “residential buildings” is my main keyword for this project.

  • Brief background:

A brief explanation of residential buildings or a house will be given. For example, spaces found in a house, their uses, etc. will be explained.

  • Aim and objectives of the project:

The aim of the project should also be stated and the objectives on how the aim will be achieved.

The following are some guidelines on how to properly do an introductory sheet:

  • Be short and crisp: Too much words makes the sheet unattractive. Try to be short and crisp. Explain the contents in simple grammar and vocabulary.
  • Be clear in what you write: The introduction must be written in the most simple but attractive manner. What you pen down should be clear and easy to understand. If the first part is complicated, it will reduce the interest of readers to go through the preliminary write-up of the design project.
  • Make good and elaborate sketches: It is important to make nice sketches in order to make your idea of the design clear to the readers. It helps build interest and it makes it easier for you to sell your idea to the readers and draw more of their attention.
  • Make your writing legible: Your writing should be neat, legible, and big enough for your jury to read from a distance. It is advisable you use capital letters. Make guidelines for the text, it makes it more appealing and organized.

Some part of the introduction goes hand in hand with literature review and case studies which will be discussed in the next post. Do you have any tips you would like to share? Feel free to share them in the comment section. Thank you for reading and stay tuned!

Design, Education, Preliminary Design Stage Series

Preliminary Design Stage Series

Mariya Aminu Kabir

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Welcome back to my blog guys!

Welcome to the launch of a new series called the Preliminary Design Stage Series. I know from the title, you might be thinking “what is going on here?“. Well today, I am officially launching this series for the sole purpose of explaining what the entire preliminary design stage entails. Throughout the course of the series, I will be talking about each preliminary step taken before any architectural design.

From my previous post, which was talking about The Most Neglected Steps in Design, I pointed out that the most neglected steps are mainly from the preliminary stage which usually end up having an adverse effect on the overall design. This series is to help guide anyone in the architectural world (both in training and in practice) on what the steps are, their importance, and how to do them properly.

What is Preliminary Design Stage?

From the word preliminary, this is a stage in design that is done before the actual 2D or 3D architectural drawings. The stage involves gathering information of the site, its surroundings and the building type to be built or designed, and how that information is used in producing a functional design that will satisfy the users and fit perfectly into the environment. In a more detailed list below, these are the items that fall under the preliminary stage:

  1. Introduction
  2. Case studies and literature review
  3. Site selection criteria
  4. Site maps (site location map, vicinity map, etc)
  5. Site analysis
  6. Site zoning
  7. Space analysis
  8. Bubble diagrams
  9. Functional flow charts
  10. Schedule of accommodation
  11. Design concept

Depending on the project given, you might end up having a wider range of steps. For example, there might be cases where you are including sustainability or energy solutions to your design; sheets or presentations will be required on those issues which fall under the preliminary steps. In some cases, you are required to give an explanation of your building system, the materials and construction. This is also part of the steps. I only captured these 11 steps because they are the basic ones, but some of them are so wide and have a lot of categories under them as well.

Stay tuned for this series and comment down below what your expectations are. If you are a student, tell us what your favourite step is, what your least favourite step is, where you think you are lacking the most, etc. I would really appreciate your feedback. You can also email me with any suggestions from my Contact page. This series will also run through Instagram so make sure you check out our page from the links below.

Thank you for reading and stay safe!