Junction / Disjunction: analogical thinking and semiotic categories for thinking by doing in the design studio

! 1! Proposal(for(the:( INTERNATIONAL(CONFERENCE( ARQUITECTONICS(NETWORK:(MIND,(LAND(AND(SOCIETY( Innovative(and(Interdisciplinary(Research(by(Design:(Education,(Architecture(and(Social(Planning( Participation( ! Authors:( Jean%Pierre)Chupin,!PhD,!Professor! School!of!Architecture,!Université!de!Montréal,!Montreal,!Canada! Research!Chair!on!Competitions!and!Contemporary!Practices!in!Architecture! Codirector!of!LEAP!lab!(www.leap.umontreal.ca)! ! Carmela)Cucuzzella,!PhD,!Assistant!Professor! Design!and!Computation!Arts,!Concordia!University,!Montreal,!Canada! Research!Chair!in!Integrated!Design!and!Sustainability!for!the!Built!Environment! Researcher!at!LEAP!lab!(www.leap.umontreal.ca!)! ! Main(Topic(of(Presentation:( #3K!Laboratories!for!Human!Centered!Innovative!Design!Interaction!(Torres,!Muntanola,!Bannon)! ! Title(of(Proposed(Presentation:( Junction)/)Disjunction:)Analogical)Thinking)and)Semiotic)Categories)for)Thinking)by)Doing)in) the)Design)Studio) ! Abstract:(( The!OUPROPO!(Ouvroir(de(Projets(Potentiels,!which!can!be!translated!as!Opening(of(Potential(Projects)! has!been!the!main!teaching!studio!for!the!Explorations(in(Architectural(Design!specialization!in!the! master!of!architecture!program!at!the!Université!de!Montréal!since!2001! (www.oupropo.umontreal.ca).!The!Ouvroir(de(Projets(Potentiels(obviously!echoes!the!famous!literary! experimentation!movement!of!the!OULIPO:(ouvroir(de(literature(potentielle!(see!http://oulipo.net!)! founded!by!writers!such!as!Raymond!Queneau!and!others,!as!an!unorthodox!approach!which!builds! on!self!imposed!rules!in!order!to!stimulate!the!formulation!of!new!creative!and!writing!(in!our!case! design)!procedures.!In!the!architectural!OUPROPO,!pedagogical!questions!and!concerns!on!which!it! was!built!over!a!decade!and!a!half!ago!have!always!been!present:!How!can!students!develop!a!”force!of! proposition”,!both!a!capacity!to!respond!and!anticipate,!that!characterize!so!many!of!the!best! professional!architects?!How!can!academic!work!contribute!to!research!and!theory!in!the!professional! practice!of!architecture?! ! Rejecting!the!simplistic!idea!that!architectural!pedagogy!should!be!viewed!as!a!simulation!of! professional!problemKsolving,!the!OUPROPO!is!rather!built!on!the!idea!of!a!profound!analogical!link! between!the(object(as(project!in!a!professional!context!and!the(subject(as(project!in!a!pedagogical! context.!Analogical!thinking!is!the!linking!of!elements!from!distinct!fields!that!show!similarities,!but! also!differences.!The!analogical!link!between!the!pedagogical!and!the!professional!projects!makes! explicit!the!similarity!between!the!modes!of!activity!(physical!actions!as!well!as!intellectual!thinking),! but!underlines!the!difference!between!their!goals:!whereas!professional!activity!is!focused!on!the! result!(the!production!of!a!wellKbuilt!object),!pedagogical!activity!addresses!the!process!(the! production!of!a!critical!understanding).!Therefore,!instead!of!trying!to!mimic!the!problems!and! activities!of!the!realKworld,!the!pedagogy!of!the!OUPROPO!directly!addresses!the!abilities!that!the! future!architects!should!possess!as!they!were!brilliantly!coined!by!D.A.!Schön!as!‘thinking!by!doing”.! On!one!hand,!the!architect!should!be!able!to!navigate!in!murky!waters!without!drowning!in!anguish! while!possessing!the!ability!to!work!in!a!virtual!space!constructed!by!technical!equipment!that!reflects! a!situation!out!of!his!control:!like!the!water!diver,!he!must!learn!to!internalize.!On!the!other!hand,!he! should!be!able!to!climb!an!analogical!mountain!of!which!he!can’t!completely!comprehend!the!base!but! of!which!he!must!imagine!and!somehow!even!see!the!summit:!like!the!mountain!climber,!he!must! learn!to!project.! ! 2! This!pedagogical!approach!brings!the!students!closer!to!integrating!a!new!understanding!of!the! potential!knowledge!inscribed!within!the!best!projects,!inspired!by!long!term!analysis!of!competitions! as!developed!by!researchers!at!the!Laboratoire(d’étude(de(l’architecture(potentielle! (www.leap.umontreal.ca)!since!2002!and!since!2011!in!the!new!Research(chair(on(competitions(and( contemporary(practices(in(architecture(at(the(Université(de(Montréal.!But!one!aspect!has!become! central!to!this!pedagogy!across!the!last!15!years.!Drawing!on!the!original!research!in!the!field!of!the! semiotic!of!space!by!philosopher!and!cognitician!Pierre!Boudon,!we!have!transferred!one!of!his! conceptual!networks!onto!some!fundamental!operations!of!thinking!by!doing.!This!network!revolves! around!the!notions!of!“junction!and!disjunction”!in!order!to!define!a!series!of!semantic!oppositions! operating!at!the!main!scales!of!design!thinking.!! ! Most!of!these!are!typical!reflective!operations!that!take!their!true!meaning,!as!they!get!closer!to! representing!the!complexity!of!an!external!‘public!way’!of!assessing!the!project.! If!reflexivity!is!commonly!implied!in!all!pedagogical!programs,!it!is!a!notion!that!is!clearly!made! explicit!in!the!pedagogy!of!the!OUPROPO.!This!is!a!process!that!places!the!student!back!at!the!centre!of! the!pedagogical!structure.!The!design!process!is!not!focused!anymore!on!the!building!of!an!object! exterior!to!the!student!but!rather!on!the!building!of!a!subject!(the!designer).!As!the!student!builds!his! own!research!program,!experiments!on!his!own!research!question!and!analyses!his!own!design! processes,!not!only!does!he!strengthen!a!power!of!proposition!in!equilibrium!between!thinking!like!a! diver!and!making!like!a!climber,!but!he!also!builds!a!personal!understanding!of!architecture.!By!doing! so,!he!produces!new!architectural!knowledge!from!within!instead!of!integrating!architecture! knowledge!from!outside,!and!thus!plants!the!seeds!of!what!could!become,!in!the!future,!a!personal! theory!of!architecture.!In!other!words,!instead!of!being!taught!architecture,!he!is!being!trained!as!an! architect.! ! Boudon,)P.!(2013).!L’architecture(des(lieux(:(sémantique(de(l’édification(et(du(territoire.!Golion,!Switzerland:! Éditions!Infolio.! Chupin,)J.%P.!(2010,!revised!in!2013).!Analogie(et(théorie(:(de(la(vie,(de(la(ville(et(de(la(conception,(même.!Golion,! Switzerland:!Éditions!Infolio.! Chupin,)J.%P.!(2011).!Judgement!by!design:!Towards!a!model!for!studying!and!improving!the!competition! process!in!architecture!and!urban!design.!The(Scandinavian(Journal(of(Management((Elsevier),!27,!173K184.! Chupin,)J.%P.!(2001).!Pour!une!"analogique"!du!projet!en!situation!pédagogique.!Trames,(Revue(de( l'aménagement,!2001,!91K110.! Chupin,)J.%P.!(1998).!Le(projet(analogue(:(les(phases(analogiques(du(projet(d’architecture(en(situation( pédagogique.!Unpublished!PhD!thesis,!Université!de!Montréal,!Montréal,!Canada.! Chupin,)J.%P.!(1998).!The!Analogical!Phases!of!Architectural!Design!in!Studio!Teaching.!EAAE/ARCC(Proceedings,( Research(in(Design(Education,(North(Carolina(State(University,(April(14Y17,(1998.! Collins,)P.!(1971).!Architectural(judgement.!Montreal:!McGillKQueen's!University!Press.! Coster,)M.!(1978).!L’analogie(en(sciences(humaines.!Paris:!Presses!Universitaires!de!France.! Gineste,)M.%D.!(1997).!Analogie(et(cognition.!Paris:!Presses!Universitaires!de!France.! Rénier,)A.!(1993).!Propos(sur(l’enseignement(de(l’architecture.!Paris:!APS!architecture!pédagogie.! Secretan,)P.!(1984).!L’analogie.!Paris:!Presses!Universitaires!de!France.! Schön,)D.)A.!(1984).!The!Architectural!Studio!as!an!Examplar!for!ReflectionKinKAction.!Journal(of(Architectural( Education,!38(1),!2K9.!