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Lecture Notes-Relationship Diagrams

The document discusses relationship diagrams, which graphically represent the relationships between spaces in a building program. Relationship diagrams are part of the pre-design process, as they abstract the program information rather than providing a design solution. Developing relationship diagrams helps immerse the designer in the project's requirements and circulation patterns between spaces. The diagrams are created by drawing circles to represent spaces and connecting lines to show travel between spaces. They are not meant to represent the actual building design and help both designers and clients understand the program.

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Emanoel Noveda
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152 views12 pages

Lecture Notes-Relationship Diagrams

The document discusses relationship diagrams, which graphically represent the relationships between spaces in a building program. Relationship diagrams are part of the pre-design process, as they abstract the program information rather than providing a design solution. Developing relationship diagrams helps immerse the designer in the project's requirements and circulation patterns between spaces. The diagrams are created by drawing circles to represent spaces and connecting lines to show travel between spaces. They are not meant to represent the actual building design and help both designers and clients understand the program.

Uploaded by

Emanoel Noveda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMS

The relationship diagram is an excellent transition between the essentially verbal


analysis of program development and the completely graphic techniques used in
physically planning a space.

The relationship diagram is part of the pre-design process, because it represents a


graphic abstraction or interpretation of the program information rather than a
planning solution.

If handled efficiently the essential values of the relationship diagramming process can
be gained over a relatively short period; the expenditure of time is certainly
warranted for a procedure that may reveal the essence of the interrelationships and
adjacencies between and among the rooms and spaces called for in the program. As
is true of all the other steps in the pre-design process, developing relationship
diagrams helps you become immersed in the project’s requirements and
relationships or circulation patterns between spaces; those connections should be
coded
Here’s how to proceed. With the criteria
matrix just completed and the required
rooms and spaces fresh in your mind,
draw a circle for each required space so
that its position on the paper represents
a correct or appropriate relationship to
the other spaces. Rooms or functions
that should be close to one another
should be dawn close together; draw at a
distance from one another spaces that do
not require closeness (or may even suffer
from being placed in close proximity)
should be drawn at a distance from one
another. Use connecting lines between
the circles to indicate travel by using
heavy or multiple lines for important or
heavily travelled connections and lighter
connecting lines between spaces where
circulation adjacency is less important or
less travelled.
example of visually interpreting the
requirements of Design
The diagram should not be
related to the building shell shape
or configuration or to any
architectural scale. It is a good
idea to have the circles
approximately proportional in size;
ideally, a circle representing a 300-
square-foot conference room
should be about three times the
area of the circle representing a
100-square-foot office. Attempt at
least two or three diagrammatic
arrangements to explore a variety
of viable sets of relationships. All
this should be done relatively
quickly and intuitively.

example of visually interpreting the


requirements of Design
As with the prototypical plan
sketches, drawing quality is not an
issue here, since the diagrams are a
design tool, not for presentation. A
short roll of inexpensive tracing
paper and a soft pencil or felt-
tipped marker is fine for this
purpose. Rather than bothering to
erase in order to revise, it is usually
more efficient to make changes by
placing another layer of tracing
paper over the original and
redrawing it.

examples of visually interpreting the


requirements of Design
As you begin to develop skill in
drawing relationship diagrams,
add graphic and/or verbal
notations to indicate important
planning needs, such as
windows, segregation of public
and private areas, acoustic
barriers, and so on.

Color can be used as a coding


tool to identify similar functions
or planning relationships, such
as privacy or adjacency. Over
time, designers often develop a
personalized visual notation
system that they can to draw on
as an efficient and expressive
pre-design tool.
Alternatives to the hand-drawn diagramming process

In several computer graphic software programs, circles (or other shapes) can be
manipulated on the computer screen, and lines of varying types and visual weights can
be drawn to connect them. Text notations, legends, and color coding are also easily
incorporated with computer graphic techniques.
Relationship diagrams, after some modest graphic refinement, are made a part of
the finished design program document. Although their primary purpose is to help
you gain a first visualization of program requirements, if skillfully drawn (and if the
nonprofessional’s limited visualization capability are kept in mind), they often can
help clients and users to better understand the content of the design program. In
this context, it is important to ensure that the diagrams do not resemble floor plans,
so that non-professionals will not confuse them with actual floor plans to be
developed later.

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