Project-based design involves a variety of visual representations, which are evolved to make decisions and accomplish project objectives. Yet, such mediated and distributed ways of working are difficult to capture through ethnographies that examine situated design. A novel approach is developed that follows cascades of visual representations; and this
is illustrated through two empirical studies.
In the first case, Heathrow Terminal 5, analysis
starts from paper- and model-work used to develop design, tracing connections forward to an assembly manual that forms a
‘consolidated cascade
’
of visual representations
.
In th
e second,
the
Turning Torso, Malmö,
analysis
starts from
a
planning document,
trac
ing
connections
backward to
the
paper
-
and model
-
work
done to
produce
this
consolidated cascade
.
Th
is
work
makes a
twofold
contribution
:
First,
it
offer
s
a methodological app
roach that
supplements ethnographies
of situated design.
This
allows the researcher to be nimble,
tracing connections across complex engineering projects; reconstructing practices through
their visual representations; and observing their effects.
Second,
it
articulate
s
how
, in
these
empirical cases, interaction with a cascade of visual representations enabled
participants
in
project
-
based design to develop and share understanding.
T
he complexity of projects
,
and
their
distributed and mediated nature makes
this approach
timely and important
in
address
ing
new research questions and practical challenges
.