Abstract:
Most thinking about design, and indeed most research into design, has focussed on what happens within design projects. Yet when we study design and architectural firms/departments more carefully, we observe several layers of design activity ¿ not just activities within projects, but also design activities that work across projects. Lead designers create the intellectual (and physical) context in which design takes place and can prosper, the ¿Practice¿. In this exploratory paper we will sketch the nature of this `Design Practice¿. This exploration leads to a research agenda, and to some first thoughts on how this level of design activities could be better addressed in design education.
