Example DE project

 Example of DE project - Sustainable High-Rise Project

A. Process Report for DE

a) Introduction

Our project, titled "Project Vertica: Sustainable Floor Planning for Urban High-Rises," focuses on developing an innovative and eco-friendly approach to floor planning and unit layout in high-rise residential buildings. The project's domain is sustainable architectural design, with a specific emphasis on optimizing space, reducing energy consumption, and enhancing the quality of life in high-density urban environments. We chose this domain in response to the rapid urbanization occurring globally, which necessitates a shift from sprawling suburbs to concentrated, vertical communities. Traditional high-rise designs often prioritize density over user well-being and environmental efficiency. Our team identified a critical need for a new model that addresses these issues by creating a more livable and sustainable vertical community.

The selection of this domain was driven by our team's collective interest in combining civil engineering, industrial design, and architectural principles with a strong focus on social and environmental impact. We believe that as design engineers, our role is to solve complex, systemic problems. This project is a perfect case study for the Design Thinking process because it is inherently human-centered. It requires us to deeply empathize with a diverse group of stakeholders—from individual residents and families to building managers and city planners. The human-centered process is vital here, as the project's success is defined by how well it creates a sense of community and provides a high quality of life for all residents, not just by its structural integrity or cost-effectiveness.

b) Preparation of Canvases based on Different Phases of Design Thinking

Throughout the project, we used various canvases to guide our thinking and document our progress.

• Empathize Phase: We began with Empathy Maps and Persona Canvases. We interviewed potential residents (including young professionals, families with children, and older adults) as well as building management staff. The Empathy Maps helped us visualize what these users say, think, feel, and do. We created personas like "The Remote-Working Parent" and "The Socially-Active Retiree" to understand their daily routines, needs for privacy, and desire for community spaces, which grounded our design decisions.
• Define Phase: The insights from the Empathy phase were synthesized into a Problem Statement Canvas. This canvas helped us clearly define the core challenge: "How might we design an urban high-rise floor plan that minimizes noise pollution and maximizes natural light, while also promoting a sense of community and providing access to sustainable amenities?" This reframed the problem from a technical floor plan task into a user-focused design challenge.
• Ideate Phase: We used an Ideation Canvas to brainstorm a wide range of solutions, from unit configurations to the placement of shared facilities. We conducted "How Might We" sessions and "Crazy Eights" exercises to generate creative ideas. This phase produced ideas for integrating biophilic design elements like indoor gardens, creating flexible and multi-functional communal spaces, and implementing smart building technology for resource management.
• Prototype & Test Phases: Our initial sketches and concepts were developed into a detailed Prototype Canvas. This canvas helped us outline the features and functionality of our first rough prototype—a digital 3D model of a typical floor. We then created a virtual walkthrough to test key concepts with users and simulate the flow and feel of the space.

c) Feedback Analysis with the User

Feedback from our target users was critical for refining the design. We conducted two rounds of user testing with our digital prototypes.

• Round 1: Rough Prototype Testing: We presented our digital walkthrough to a group of 10 potential residents. The feedback was insightful and often critical. Key points included:
• Concern: The floor plan felt too impersonal and lacked a sense of private entry.
• Suggestion: Users desired small, semi-private alcoves near their front doors to act as a buffer zone from the central hallway.
• Concern: Skepticism about the effectiveness of sound dampening between units, especially in a dense configuration.
• Feedback Analysis: We categorized this feedback and used it to inform the next design iteration. The concern about the lack of privacy led us to revise the floor plan to include these semi-private entry areas. The sound skepticism prompted us to focus our next phase of research on specific, tested acoustic insulation materials and staggered unit layouts to prevent sound transmission.

d) Summary of Findings of Prior Art Search

Our prior art search was an essential step in understanding the current state of the industry and learning from existing solutions.

• Paper 1 Summary: "Vertical Communities: The Social Impact of High-Rise Design" (Student A, by author J. Chen, et al.). This paper analyzed the sociological factors influencing resident satisfaction in multi-story buildings. Findings: Residents' sense of community was positively correlated with the presence of shared spaces, like rooftop gardens and communal kitchens. This finding directly influenced our decision to integrate these features into our floor plan design.
• Paper 2 Summary: "Passive Solar Design for High-Rise Apartments" (Student A, by author M. Singh, et al.). This research provided a quantitative analysis of how building orientation and window placement affect energy consumption. Findings: Strategic placement of windows and use of high-performance glazing could reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 25% annually. This validated our initial hypothesis and provided data to support our project's energy efficiency claims.
• Paper 3 Summary: "Psychological Well-being in High-Density Urban Housing" (Student B, by author L. Rodriguez, et al.). This paper explored the role of biophilic design and natural light in mitigating the negative psychological effects of urban living. Findings: Access to greenery and natural views significantly improved residents' mood and reduced stress. This finding led us to include integrated plant walls and optimize our layouts to maximize views and natural light.
• Paper 4 Summary: "Smart Building Systems for Centralized Resource Management" (Student B, by author S. Patel, et al.). This study analyzed the benefits of integrating smart sensors and IoT platforms for managing energy, water, and waste in a high-rise. Findings: Smart systems provided real-time data, enabling building managers to identify and fix leaks, optimize HVAC performance, and streamline waste disposal. These insights were crucial in our design, leading us to include a central smart hub as a key feature.

e) Summary of the Learning from Design Thinking

The Design Thinking process was invaluable to this project. Our key learnings include:

• The user is the building: We learned that in a high-rise context, the "user" is not just an individual resident, but the entire vertical community. Our design had to satisfy a wide range of needs, from private living to communal interaction.
• Balancing competing needs: The first prototype was not perfect, and that was okay. We learned that the process of iterating and refining the design was about balancing often competing needs, such as the desire for privacy versus the need for community.
• The value of a multidisciplinary approach: Our team, with backgrounds in civil engineering, architecture, and user experience design, was able to view the problem from multiple perspectives. This collaboration led to more innovative and holistic solutions that considered both the structural and human elements.

f) Summary on Validation Process and Refinement

The validation process was conducted using our rough prototype, a 3D digital model of a single floor in our building.

• Validation Method: We had users interact with the digital model, allowing them to "walk through" the units and shared spaces. We also used a series of user stories to simulate daily activities and identify potential issues. For example, "A resident wants to have a party in the communal lounge," or "A delivery driver needs to access the package room."
• Refinement based on Feedback: Based on the validation feedback, we made several key refinements:
• The proposed shared laundry room was moved from the basement to a floor-specific location, making it more convenient and promoting neighborly interaction.
• The hallway layouts were adjusted to be less monotonous, incorporating varying wall textures and colors to make them feel more like a series of smaller, more intimate spaces.
• We added a small, integrated storage unit for sports equipment on each floor, addressing a user concern about the lack of space for bulky items.

g) Any Other Important Aspects

A critical aspect of this project was the consideration of the entire life cycle of the building, from construction material sourcing to long-term maintenance and adaptability. We performed a preliminary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impact of our proposed materials and construction process. This assessment revealed that while our design significantly reduces operational energy use, the embodied carbon in certain materials remains a challenge. This finding has led us to identify future research opportunities, such as exploring carbon-negative building materials and establishing a long-term plan for modular upgrades to ensure the building can adapt to future needs without demolition. This long-term, holistic perspective is essential for a truly sustainable design.

I've received your request. That's a great approach to building out a comprehensive process report. Based on the project described in the Canvas, here are some guidelines to help you prepare the additional sections for your report.

B. AEIOU Framework

The AEIOU framework is a great tool for the Empathize phase. It helps you categorize observations from your field research or user interviews. Think of it as a way to structure your notes and find patterns. For your "Project Vertica" report, you'll use it to document what you observed about residents and building staff.

• Activities: What are the actions and behaviors you observed? (e.g., residents waiting for elevators, children playing in hallways, people using shared spaces for work).
• Environments: Where do these activities take place? What is the physical setting like? (e.g., the lobby is noisy, the rooftop garden is peaceful, the hallways feel monotonous).
• Interactions: How do people interact with each other and with the space? (e.g., neighbors greet each other in the lobby, residents share a potluck meal in the communal kitchen).
• Objects: What items and tools do people use? (e.g., packages left near front doors, smart locks on apartments, shared gym equipment).
• Users: Who are the individuals you observed? What are their roles and what do they care about? (e.g., a family with a stroller, a building manager troubleshooting a smart system).

C. Mind Map

A Mind Map is a visual brainstorming tool, perfect for the Ideation phase. It helps you connect ideas and explore different dimensions of a problem. For your report, a mind map would stem from your core problem statement and branch out into potential solutions.

• Start with the central topic: "Sustainable High-Rise Floor Plan" or your refined problem statement from the Canvas.
• Create main branches for key areas: Energy Efficiency, Community Spaces, Unit Layout, Water Management, User Well-being.
• From each main branch, add sub-branches with specific ideas: under "Energy Efficiency," you might have "Passive Solar," "Smart Sensors," "High-Performance Windows," and "Recycled Materials."

D. Empathy Map

You've mentioned Empathy Maps in your report already, but for this section, you'll create a detailed one. An empathy map is a visual representation of your user's feelings and thoughts, a key tool for the Empathize phase. You can create one for each of your personas.

• Says: What did your user say during interviews? (e.g., "I wish my apartment had more natural light.")
• Thinks: What are their thoughts or beliefs? (e.g., "This hallway feels impersonal.")
• Does: What actions did you observe them taking? (e.g., they often use the stairs instead of the elevator, they carry packages to their door).
• Feels: What are their emotional states? (e.g., stressed about noise from neighbors, proud of their plant collection).
• Include Pains (their frustrations and fears) and Gains (what they hope to achieve or what makes them happy).

E. Ideation Canvas

The Ideation Canvas is a structured way to document your brainstorming. This is a great tool for the Ideation phase and should directly follow your mind map. It helps you take the ideas from the mind map and give them more structure.

• Problem Statement: Re-state the core problem you are trying to solve.
• Target Audience: Who are you solving this for?
• Brainstorming Sections: Divide the canvas into different sections for brainstorming, such as "Biophilic Design," "Smart Systems," "Modular Layouts," or "Community Building."
• Ideas: Under each section, list your ideas, using different techniques like "How Might We..." statements.

F. Product Development Canvas (PDC)

The Product Development Canvas (PDC) is a framework to plan and manage the entire project. It's used in the Prototype and Test phases and beyond. It helps you outline the key features, costs, and timeline of your final proposed solution.

• Product Name: Project Vertica: Sustainable High-Rise Floor Plan.
• Problem: Re-state the key problem from your Empathy and Define phases.
• Solution: Describe your proposed solution in detail.
• Key Features: List the core features of your floor plan (e.g., semi-private entryways, biophilic elements, shared community spaces).
• Resources: What materials, tools, or expertise do you need?
• Cost: Estimate the costs associated with the design and materials.
• Milestones: Outline the key stages of your project (e.g., "Prototype Completion," "User Testing Round 1").

G. Rough Prototype Model/Conceptual Plan-Layout

For this section, you will detail the rough prototype you described in the Canvas. This is the physical or digital model you used for your first round of user testing.

• Description: Explain what the prototype is (e.g., a digital 3D model of a typical floor).
• Purpose: What was the purpose of this prototype? (e.g., to test the flow of the space, to gather feedback on unit size and layout).
• Visuals: Include a conceptual plan or layout. This could be a basic floor plan drawing or a schematic. You can also mention it will include screenshots of your 3D model.

H. Individual Log Book (duly signed by faculty guide)

This is a personal record of your project journey. Your log book should be a continuous document, and the guidelines for its content are straightforward.

• Daily or Weekly Entries: Record your activities, research findings, and design decisions.
• Challenges and Solutions: Document any problems you faced and how you overcame them. This shows your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Reflections: Write down your personal learning and insights from the process.
• Faculty Signature: Ensure you get your faculty guide's signature to validate your progress.

I. Continuous Assessment Card for Internal Evaluation

This is typically a formal document provided by your institution. It will be used by your professor to evaluate your progress at various stages.

• Purpose: The card tracks your performance and assesses your understanding of the design process.
• Content: It will likely have sections for each phase of the project, including a place for a score and comments. You won't create this document yourself, but you should mention its purpose and how your work will be evaluated against it.

By following these guidelines, you'll be able to create a comprehensive and well-structured report that showcases your entire design process. If you have any other questions, just let me know!