Abstract
Synthesis has mostly been presumed to be an important aspect of designing. Few people in design research have felt the need to explain why it is. Synthesis has usually been presumed to be concerned with the generation of design solutions. Little or no design research has questions this assumption, or seriously proposed anything else. Here a Knowledge Level theory of designing \( {K_L}D_V^E1 \) is used to support a theoretical investigation of synthesis in designing, in terms of the knowledge used and generated. First, the concept of knowledge used is introduced. Designing as exploration is then briefly explained, and, \( {K_L}D_V^E1 \) which embodies this view of the nature of designing, is set out. Then, using the different kinds of knowledge, and their roles and relationships, defined by \( {K_L}D_V^E1 \) different kinds of synthesis activities are identified and discussed. The motivation for doing this is the belief that, knowing what knowledge is used and generated by the different synthesis activities in designing is one way of understanding the nature and role of synthesis in designing, and how it might be supported effectively using knowledge based systems.
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Smithers, T. (2002). Synthesis in Designing. In: Gero, J.S. (eds) Artificial Intelligence in Design ’02. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0795-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0795-4_1
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