How to develop a concept in Architecture?

Have you ever come across a situation where you're trying to figure out a concept for your design? Either before starting the design process or one day before your jury. We often tend to go blank while trying to think about a concept for our designs. Firstly, what is a concept? Concepts are any kind of ideas or philosophies that you use in your design. Now that can either be the client's philosophy, user's philosophy, or even your philosophy. Here are a few steps which can definitely help you in developing beautiful concepts for your future designs.

1. It begins with an idea, a vision, or a plan

Having an idea, a vision or a plan for your design just gives your design the right direction. The right direction for your design becomes the need to have a concept for your design. Without this vision your building would just be bland - a building without any purpose (not just in terms of functionality). This also helps guide you through the design process. 

2. Identify the constraints, features, and characteristics from the site analysis

You need to have completely analyzed information about your site. You will need to analyze the key constraints, features, characteristics, and surrounding contexts from this analysis. You need to have different contextual diagrams and different layers of the site. With all this information your initial stages of the design process become a lot easier and clear. You just need to sit down and figure out how all of the information you just analyzed is going to affect your design.

3. Determine the scheme, program, areas, circulation, and relationship between spaces

The design brief helps you in getting closer to what your concept can be. This is one major step that most of us tend to skip and directly dive into the main design. You will have to work on the design brief simultaneously along with the site analysis. A design brief helps in determining the scheme, program, areas, circulation, environment, services, finishes, fittings, construction, and relationship between spaces which can be a major driver in developing or influencing your concept development. You can also convert all the information you just collected into a bubble diagram. This gives more clarity to the workability of the design. You can also start with 3D models and then come up with 2D plans.

4. Include theories and narratives of the end-users

What is your story or theory behind the project? How the people are going to use it and grow into a timeless piece? For example, Daniel Libeskind, a Polish - American architect has a beautiful narrative for his 'Jewish Museum' design. You can refer to the theories and narratives related to this project.

5. Keep it simple and then develop it to give a depth

Have some complexity in the design. But that does not mean complicated. 'Complexity' here means your building has multiple meanings and depth. You should definitely have a read through the book ' Complexity and Contradiction in architecture'  by Robert Venturi since complexity is a vast topic to be covered.

6. Lastly, keep sketching to come up with interesting perspectives

No one can come up with an extraordinary concept within the first sketch. It takes a number of sketches or even a combination of all those sketches to come up with a concept as an end product. Therefore, keep sketching and keep your imagination and creativity open at all times to bring in an amazing concept to your design.