Bridging the Gap Between Architectural Designers and Developers: Why Empirical Design Research is Crucial for Computational Design Support

Abstract: This paper addresses the gap between architectural designers and computational design support developers by proposing a Lakatosian framework grounded in empirical design research. Combining Peirce’s reasoning modes with Schön’s reflective practitioner, we extend Pauwels et al.’s (2013) framework by revising the hypotheses on design thinking and tool adoption. We derive three guidelines: computational design support as aides of reasoning modes, as artefacts for experimenting, and as collaborative reasoning agents. For each guideline, we formulate a primary empirical research question. We also propose two empirical instruments to help answer those questions.