Analysis of Building Element Design Methods

The building industry has become a complex world with the exploding number of new building materials and construction techniques since the industrial revolution and changing demands since the end of WWII. "Design methods" have been introduced instead of traditional design approaches in coping with complex design problems of modern times. Especially in the area of architectural technology in terms of detailing building elements, using "design methods" is an important aid in the design process. As the detailing of building elements stage has inputs which are mostly defined systematically, it is a rational way to use methodic approaches in the design process. In the paper, three "building element design methods" are examined. The first method is; H.F.O. Müller's "Method of Construction and Choosing of Building Materials", which is based on VDI regulations. The second method is; "Principles of Building Element Design", by P. Rich and Y. Dean. The last method, discussed in the paper is; "Generation and Evaluation of Alternatives for Building Elements" by M. Aygün. Those methods are analysed and the stages of the proposed processes are defined. Each "building element design method" is simplified and transformed into a "step by step" process flow chart to achieve a basis for better comparison. The three "building element design methods", from different cultural, technological and economical environments are evaluated with criteria for characterization and choosing of design methods. As a result the characteristics of the methods in comparison with each other are presented.