A functional analysis of the role of visualisation in architectural conceptual design

The view that visual reasoning in design is facilitated by external visualisation, specifically sketching, is based on both anecdotal evidence and empirical observations. The purpose of the current research is to investigate the relationship between visual reasoning, via sketches and the development of the early conceptual stages of the design process. Thus, the paper focuses on an analysis of visualising in conceptual design problem solving. The application of a new taxonomy throws light on experts´ use of external visualisations. The results indicate that there are `shifts in focus´ with regards to the functional use of visualisations in architectural conceptual design