Phase Zero
A practical exploration of the production of architecture from a systemic design perspective
Systems Oriented Design Master’s thesis
Ingerid Helsing Almaas
Executive Master’s Course in Systems Oriented Design Oslo School of Architecture and Design
Spring 2024
Abstract
A building is a confluence of human systems. The production of buildings is a complex process, and so the organisations that are tasked with building production have to be equipped to handle complexity. However, many of the structures and instruments currently in place to support systems and processes in the building industry – organisational, legal, financial – assume a linear causalities and predictable effects. The sheer number and scale of conflicts that arise in the industry makes it obvious that current has serious shortcomings.
The practice of architecture is embedded in these systems, and the quality of the architecture society produces, depends on people together navigating through complexity, guided by explicit and implicit aims and aspirations. Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA) is currently developing Phase Zero, a proposal for how you might explore the earliest or pre-phases of building projects, to help client organisations and project groups expand the innovative possibilities in their projects. Can systemic design approaches be of use in making temporary project organisations work better, help define common aims, and better navigate the complexity that any building project is and will be embedded in?
Phase Zero has been an opportunity to examine the role that the theory and methodology of systems oriented design can play in extending the scope of architecture and building projects. This thesis summarises the development of Phase Zero and discusses four real-life pilot cases, each delivering a new piece to the praxiology of the project. Based on the case experiences, the thesis discusses areas of overlap in the theory and practice of architecture and systemic thinking. The concluding discussion also presents some points as to what the discipline and experiences of the practice of architecture might bring to systems oriented design.