Patterns & Variations: Designerly Explorations in Architectural Composition and Perception

How can we better understand and explain the phenomena of architectural composition and perception? The aim of this research is to systematically and imaginatively (re)consider the conditions of architectural composition, whilst doing justice to the operational and the aesthetic issues of design. The ambition is to contribute towards generating a deeper, more objective understanding, concerning the craft of architectural design and consequently: the art of architecture. To unravel the expressive themes that are at interplay in a designed object and to demonstrate their combined workings, formal characteristics are identified and conceptual and analytical models were developed. These are applied and tested in case-studies. The Patterns & Variations study as a whole has been a laboratory and testing-ground for a variety of steadily evolving assumptions, interpretations, and applications that have been generated over a number of years. It is the closing piece of an extensive, personal search, which has sought to bridge the gap between practice, education, research and theory.