OPERATIONAL CONTEXT ANALYSIS

1. OPERATIONAL CONTEXTANALYSIS Necessary part of design related study and research 3rd IASME / WSEAS International Conference on ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, ECOSYSTEMS and SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (EEESD'07) Agios Nikolaos, Crete Island, Greece, July 24-26, 2007 Prof.dr.ir. Taeke M. De Jong, chair Technical Ecology And Methodology, chair Regional Design Faculty of Architecture, department Urbanism

2. An architectural, urban or regional design is always a case study • and (like any location bound project) consequently is: • scale-bound and very context sensitive • integrating many less context sensitive contributions: • probable futures of specialists • desirable futures of politicians, managers and stakeholders • together creating a field of problems to be solved and • a field of targets to be optimised • cannot isolate problems or targets like empirical research

3. Context sensitive design • cannot isolate problems or targets like empirical research • cannot even formulate a proper object of study • since the object of study does not exist • since it has to be designed, • being variable in the head of the designer • searches for non-probable possibilities in a given context • on a specific level of scale

4. Design related study • The object of design study is variable by definition • Social and physical context delimits that object • But ‘context’ is everything • How to get grip on that vague concept first?

5. Getting grip on future context • distinguish: • Levels of scale (largest frame and smallest detail) • Layers of social and physical context • Language games supposingprobable, desirable or possible future contexts

6. LEVELS OF SCALE • The object of design is variable • But at least the order of size could be determined • Then, anything larger or smaller is ‘context’ • Determining ‘external variables’with hidden assumptions: models for anything outside the object of study • But conclusions from outside and inside may differ:is a ball convex or is it concave?

7. Scale paradox • On the level of one spot you should conclude ‘difference’ • On the level of 7 spots you should conclude ‘equality’ • Reversal of conclusions may appear by a factor 3 radius • So, the order of size determines your view

8. Levels of scale to be aware of • Different scales mean different legend units, categories, views, approaches, conclusions

9. Names and boundaries of size categories • In this presentation ‘nominal values’ indicatean order of size • They are ‘elastic’ • 10m means somethingin between3m and 30m

10. A frame 100x the granule of a drawing representing a building • r/R determines the resolution of a drawing or discourse, • the ‘resolution of the argument’

11. Locating a spatial object of design study within its context • If the scale (frame ‘O’ and granule ‘o’) of the object is determined, then the rest is context • The programme is a set of desired impacts

12. The object (O,o) its inconvenient (I) and profitable (P) impacts located • The programme of requirements is a set of desired impacts • Locate them to locate the stakeholders • Perhaps they are willing to pay the project!

13. LAYERS OF SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CONTEXT • Managerial/governmental contexts (active <> passive) • Cultural contexts (innovative <> traditional) • Economic contexts (growing <> declining) • Technological contexts (separating <> connecting) • Ecological contexts (differentiating <> equalizing) • Spatial contexts (accumulating <> dispersing )

14. The future context determines the possibility of realization • The supposed future impacts will be different in different future contexts • For example, the economic impact will be different in a growing local economy compared with a declining local economy • So, you have to specify your suppositions about the probable future within which your object will have its impacts

15. Making suppositions about the context more explicit to assess the impacts • You cannot estimate the impacts without suppositions about the context • Make them explicit before study

16. Suppositions about management context on any relevant level of scale • Is it an active management context with much initiatives? Give it sign ‘!’ in the scheme • Is it a passive administrative context of just checking and controlling the rules? Note ‘?’ • In the last case initiative should be part of your project to get the intended impacts realized • And they can be different on different levels of scale

17. Local initiative expected

18. Suppositions about cultural context on any relevant level of scale • For administration and management we took opposites of initiative (!) and checking and controlling (?) • They apply on any level of scale. • But what about culture? For example, what does ‘culture’ mean on the level of building material (R = 3mm)? • To include any level of scale, we propose 'traditional' (<) opposed to 'innovative' or 'open to experiments' (>)

19. Traditional building expected

20. Suppositions about spatial context on any relevant level of scale • Mass can accumulate, concentrate (C) or disperse (D) in space and time • That is an essential design context factor • What is called mass could be specified later • State of dispersion of legend units in a drawing are characteristics of form and composition

21. Accumulation or sprawl R=30km • Towns can concentrate, disperse or be subject to a policy in between • In which spatial context your project will have its impacts?

22. States of dispersion r=100m • Houses can concentrate or disperse • In which spatial context your project will have its impacts?

23. States of dispersion in the same density on one level of scale • Anything can concentrate or disperse on any level of scale • State of dispersion and density are different concepts

24. One million people in two states of distribution on two levels of scale

25. Making suppositions about the context more explicit to assess the impacts • You cannot estimate the impacts without suppositions about the context • Make them explicit before study

26. Locating the object (O,o) its impacts (I) and the origin of a programme (P) • The programme is a set of desired impacts • Locate them to locate the stakeholders • Perhaps they are willing to pay the project • Don’t forget the other impacts

27. LANGUAGE GAMES • One cannot agree with a proposition without determining its modality: • I agree it’s is true or probable is different from • I agree it’s desirable • I agree it’s possible • Probable but not desirable detects a problem • Desirable but not probable detects an aim

28. Three language games in a planning team • Different specialists use different language games • The same concepts may mean different things uttered by politicians, scientists or designers

29. Subtracting futures to outline fields of problems and aims • If a statement is probable but not desirable, then it’s a problem • The reverse it’s an aim

30. Adding possible futures, skipping the impossible ones • Probable but not desirable futures are relevant • Desirable but not probable ones also • Probable and desirable futures are not relevant • Impossible and desirable ones also

31. Proposals for design studies with many specialists and stakeholders • Struggle with: • A variable object • Uncertain impacts hitting different stakeholders • They need an agreement about a supposed future context, properly distinguishing relevant • Levels of scale • Layers of social and physical context • Language games (modalities)

32. Discussion