The Concept of Organizing the Design Process
Methodology. Management.
Abstract
This doctoral thesis, finalized in June 2021, lays the conceptual foundations of a structured methodology for architectural design and process organization. Although completed prior to the formal articulation of the SoPh[A]iloTechnoLogy paradigm, the work anticipates its core elements by exploring the relationship between man and universe, the causality of creative action, and the evolution of architectural thought through control, planning, and algorithmization.
The SELF Methodology developed herein is a hybrid management model that utilizes Planning Units and Levels (ULP) and integrates project management principles, algorithmic design thinking, interdisciplinary coordination, and information structuring. The thesis draws upon both classical philosophical sources (Plato, Vitruvius) and practical technological implementations (software tools, AI, design workflows), culminating in the design of a scalable, repeatable methodology applied successfully within VEGO, an architecture company coordinating over 100 projects and 200 designers.
Structured into eight chapters, the thesis addresses the evolution of design management, sustainability, team coordination, hybrid project planning, and platform-based automation (the SELF Machine), offering solutions transposable to multiple knowledge domains.