Collaborative Integral Design of Active Roofs

In the world of design and engineering, gaps of knowledge between these disciplines are recognized. The learning capacity of the building industry – as well as in other industries – is becoming a main issue, also within Architect-organizations. To link the parts of the knowledge-triangle practice, education and research forms the basis for possible solutions – within the context of the building design-engineering. This context can be represented by the Product-Process-Organization model. This integral approach is the basis for integral solutions, by structuring knowledge of design and engineering within the design team. A model for structuring knowledge on different abstraction levels is found in Methodical Design, a system theory based on the combination of the German design school (Pahl, Beitz and others) and the Anglo-American school ( Archer, Krick, Jones and others). Methodical Design is a problem oriented model based on functional hierarchy, which can be applied on several levels of abstraction and makes it possible to link these levels of abstraction with the phases in the design process itself. This paper describes the research methodology, based on Methodical Design, as used in a doctoral design related to practice and the 6th European framework research project EURACTIVE ROOF-er. The research methodology – as quasi-experimental design – uses the structuring method of the Methodical Design to investigate how this specific design method and associated design tools can support the collaboration between designers and engineers.