The Marriage of Figaro diagram represents an analysis of the opera dramatic arc. The opera’s main concept is self-knowledge.

PreSocratic architectural theory diagram: a representation of macro/microcosm concepts

What is interesting in ancient observations of celestial pattern logic is the intersection of how Ancient Athens applied it to “making visible*” the demos–body politic.

The weaving of cloth – the hearth loom; – the winged temples– pteron columns; and the warp and weft weave of the city street grid –conveyed and represented the values and purpose of political order.

Prior to the City of Athens’s focus on societal order, craft- the making of something was the way– the way of making something visible –was synonymous with knowing something. In fact, theory came after the making.

* Further reading on this topic can be found in Indra Kagis McEwen’s texts Socrates’ Ancestor, an Essay on Architectural Beginnings and Vitruvius, Writing the Body of Architecture.

Applying the O – framework to the teaching and learning of design history and design research is to show the simultaneity of how designing influences and impacts culture. What we design in the present is influenced by previous practice. What is emphasized logically, then, is what we design in the present will influence future design and designers.

Through the process of “filling in” the framework student’s discover their design interests. What is also presented in this approach is the concept of interdependency: how one’s point of view of design history effects our narratives of it.

The Value and Meaning research framework illustrates Couwenberg’s research approach.
This framework organizes the keyword vocabulary used when she describes and discusses her textile research. The arc of her making is driven by her unwavering curiosity and community ethic. Her critical thought constantly compares Value variables in relation to Meaning output.

To read more about Annet Couwenberg: Sewing Circles exhibition, click here.

What is a concept? framework was presented to Morgan State University graduate architecture students in the fall of 2019. The diagram and Professor Rubeling’s demonstration of it was to show a strategy for visualizing and mapping an architectural program: utility, theory, and impact. The dialectics organized in this framework situate architecture knowledge in relation to ontological concepts and impact.

What is synchronized in this framework model is dialectics, the mirroring of a designed thing’s effect and affect in the space it is built.

Questions being asked include:

• How a built thing “designs” its users;

• How intended and unintended messages and experiences are embedded in materials; and

• How might multiple POV’s inform the designing process?