Diagramming the Big Idea

Methods for Architectural Composition

Jeffrey Balmer, Michael Swisher, Michael T. Swisher (,both at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)

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English

Routledge
03 July 2019

Graphic design; Architectural structure & design; Regional & area planning

Becoming an architect is a daunting task. Beyond the acquisition of new skills and procedures, beginning designers face an entirely unfamiliar mode of knowledge: design thinking.

In Diagramming the Big Idea, Jeffrey Balmer and Michael T. Swisher introduce the fundamentals of design thinking by illustrating how architects make and use diagrams to clarify their understanding of both specific architectural projects and universal principles of form and order. With accessible, step-by-step procedures that interweave diagrams, drawings and virtual models, the authors demonstrate how to compose clear and revealing diagrams.

Design thinking defines a method for engaging the world through observation and analysis. Beyond problem solving, design is a search for possibilities. Mastering design thinking begins with learning the fundamentals of visual composition. It embraces the ability to synthesize deductive and imaginative reasoning, combining both shrewd scrutiny and fevered speculation.

Design diagrams make visible the abstractions that order the built environment. Premised upon the Beaux-Arts notion of the architectural parti, Balmer and Swisher adopt the ‘Big Idea’ as a foil and as a suitcase to organize fundamentals of architectural composition. The goal of this book is to make explicit to students what they are learning, why they are learning it and how to internalize such lessons toward their lifelong development as designers.

By: Jeffrey Balmer, Michael Swisher, Michael T. Swisher (, both at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 2nd edition
Dimensions: Height: 280mm, Width: 210mm,
Weight: 1.383kg
ISBN: 9781138549890
ISBN 10: 1138549894
Pages: 308
Publication Date: 03 July 2019
Audience: College/higher education , Primary , A / AS level
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jeffrey Balmer and Michael T. Swisher are associate professors of architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Reviews for Diagramming the Big Idea: Methods for Architectural Composition

'Balmer and Swisher's objective is to explore the orthogonal geometric frameworks essential to architectural design. It drives their teaching and was rigorously expounded in the first edition of Diagramming the Big Idea. It is expressed so much more clearly in this second edition. Explanatory text has been considerately revised and expanded. The number of examples and case studies has been increased. Interpretation of the many diagrams has been enhanced by the subtle use of colour. The clarion call remains powerful: architecture is a serious intellectual discipline.' Simon Unwin, Emeritus Professor of Architecture, University of Dundee, Scotland 'Diagramming the Big Idea was a tremendous help to me when first learning to teach beginning design. The book is full of useful techniques and processes that distill the basics of teaching architecture. The book continues to help me focus and target my teaching on foundational principles of the discipline.' Sallie Hambright-Belue, Assistant Professor Clemson University, School of Architecture, USA