Abstract

When first learning design thinking, architectural design students are tasked to develop ways of thinking about design process and design ideas, how conceptual ideas are abstractly represented as a function of design, how concepts become realized in material form, and how designed objects and environments are received in experience. Structuring these factors into creative yet operational design relationships is very difficult for beginning designers but it is a foundational skill necessary to architectural design pedagogies. This article discusses development of a framework for design ideas, design processes, buildings, and experience that can be conveyed at the beginning of architectural design education. Plato’s “Analogy of the Line” offers a structured model analogous to generalized relationships between design concepts, abstract design thinking, material realization, and human experience. Using this analogy as a pedagogical devise to inform design discourse fosters deeper understanding and development of thought about human/environment relationships as an underpinning of architectural design decisions. Introducing philosophical parallels to design thinking also broadens design’s multi-disciplinary nature. This article will also address criticisms of Platonic idealism in architectural design and its possible pitfalls for use as a pedagogical tool in beginning design thinking.