ASSIGNMENT REFLECTION – MIND MAPPING 

 Challenge 

 As a student from architectural school , I have to face challenges related to design thinking almost   every day . Humans have been constructing their shelters and houses for over centuries ,   sometimes with the same traditional methods and sometimes by involving new technologies .   From where I belong , it is a developing country with not much resources , so we rely on traditional   methods for designing our buildings . I was presented with a challenge to propose an innovative   method for designing buildings in our region , based on computational designing software , so we   could improve our architecture through technology if possible , with currently available resources . 

 Selection 

 Mind mapping process is important for idea generation as it allows you to look for themes and   patterns in data and developing meaningful insights through these observations . It is an engaging   process that includes jotting down of observations , ideas and drawing creative sketches . So , I   selected this tool as it could help me to look for patterns in our present building designs and their   relation to possible future trends . 

 Application 

 Initiating the process from " what is " phase , I gathered data in form of surveys of our regional   buildings , getting reviews from inhabitants about their house qualities and what features they   wanted to have in their future houses . After preliminary observations , I put mind mapping process   into action , by initially drawing a mind map for " what is " phase , thus focusing on our present   buildings , to uncover hidden needs of our building residents . This helped me to put myself in   client 's shoes and understanding that in a building , despite its beauty , there are other factors too   that users cherish more . These factors are user comfort , affordability and easy maintenance of   the building . I also developed a questionnaire for our regional architects to get confirming &   disconfirming data on what are local construction materials , are they enough environment friendly   and easily maintainable or not . 

 Figure 1 . Mind map drawn for design thinking 

 As I continued to draw mind map , I mentioned useful data of what - is phase as " extract " . Then ,   under the umbrella of computational designing , which was a part of my design challenge , I thought   of possible ways in which these software could make use of our local construction materials to 

 design a building . By doing so , I interpreted that one of the most common digital technique i.e.   parametric modeling could be a solution since it involves repetition of only a single module in a   building which could be clay bricks in my case as these are locally available and cheap here . The   software works by taking dimensions of module as input and then generating various design   options . So , when we input dimensions of brick , then not only software will give these design   options but also give instructions for joining bricks in this new way . This will help our local   craftsmen to adapt this new technology as they were previously familiar with only traditional   brickwork . Furthermore , buildings made with local material like clay bricks will endure the weather   conditions better and will prove to more sustainable and affordable . 

 Figure 2 . Clay brick - wall forms generated by software 

 Insight 

 Drawing mind map allowed me to have a clearer picture in mind of what to focus on , as putting   your thoughts on paper helps to develop deeper understanding for the problem and it ’s solution   because it leads you systematically through a series of steps from “ what is ” to “ what if ” phase .   Thus , I started from data collection through surveys and clients , mind mapping different   observations and patterns in our building designs , then deducing meaningful insights from it . And   lastly by relating those insights to possible outcomes . And throughout the process I kept on   referring back to the previous patterns thus merging all into one . 

 Approach 

 I think from now on , my approach towards any design - thinking challenge would be mind mapping   as I find it impactful , because it leads you through a proper channel from beginning to the end of   process by establishing a design criteria which becomes foundation of possible solutions . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: ASSIGNMENT REFLECTION – MIND MAPPING 

 Challenge 

 As a student from architectural school , I have to face challenges related to design thinking almost   every day . Humans have been constructing their shelters and houses for over centuries ,   sometimes with the same traditional methods and sometimes by involving new technologies .   From where I belong , it is a developing country with not much resources , so we rely on traditional   methods for designing our buildings . I was presented with a challenge to propose an innovative   method for designing buildings in our region , based on computational designing software , so we   could improve our architecture through technology if possible , with currently available resources . 

 Selection 

 Mind mapping process is important for idea generation as it allows you to look for themes and   patterns in data and developing meaningful insights through these observations . It is an engaging   process that includes jotting down of observations , ideas and drawing creative sketches . So , I   selected this tool as it could help me to look for patterns in our present building designs and their   relation to possible future trends . 

 Application 

 Initiating the process from " what is " phase , I gathered data in form of surveys of our regional   buildings , getting reviews from inhabitants about their house qualities and what features they   wanted to have in their future houses . After preliminary observations , I put mind mapping process   into action , by initially drawing a mind map for " what is " phase , thus focusing on our present   buildings , to uncover hidden needs of our building residents . This helped me to put myself in   client 's shoes and understanding that in a building , despite its beauty , there are other factors too   that users cherish more . These factors are user comfort , affordability and easy maintenance of   the building . I also developed a questionnaire for our regional architects to get confirming &   disconfirming data on what are local construction materials , are they enough environment friendly   and easily maintainable or not . 

 Figure 1 . Mind map drawn for design thinking 

 As I continued to draw mind map , I mentioned useful data of what - is phase as " extract " . Then ,   under the umbrella of computational designing , which was a part of my design challenge , I thought   of possible ways in which these software could make use of our local construction materials to 

 design a building . By doing so , I interpreted that one of the most common digital technique i.e.   parametric modeling could be a solution since it involves repetition of only a single module in a   building which could be clay bricks in my case as these are locally available and cheap here . The   software works by taking dimensions of module as input and then generating various design   options . So , when we input dimensions of brick , then not only software will give these design   options but also give instructions for joining bricks in this new way . This will help our local   craftsmen to adapt this new technology as they were previously familiar with only traditional   brickwork . Furthermore , buildings made with local material like clay bricks will endure the weather   conditions better and will prove to more sustainable and affordable . 

 Figure 2 . Clay brick - wall forms generated by software 

 Insight 

 Drawing mind map allowed me to have a clearer picture in mind of what to focus on , as putting   your thoughts on paper helps to develop deeper understanding for the problem and it ’s solution   because it leads you systematically through a series of steps from “ what is ” to “ what if ” phase .   Thus , I started from data collection through surveys and clients , mind mapping different   observations and patterns in our building designs , then deducing meaningful insights from it . And   lastly by relating those insights to possible outcomes . And throughout the process I kept on   referring back to the previous patterns thus merging all into one . 

 Approach 

 I think from now on , my approach towards any design - thinking challenge would be mind mapping   as I find it impactful , because it leads you through a proper channel from beginning to the end of   process by establishing a design criteria which becomes foundation of possible solutions .
### Output: 