The application of formal perception of gestalt in architectural education

It's well known that, architectural design is a problem solving process which has the purpose of reaching a synthesis through analytic approaches, involving activities which try to find out appropriate combinations of physical (location, topography, pattern, climate, etc.), cultural (social, economical, political, historical, aesthetics, etc.) and technological (science, technology, etc.) components, for creating functional - sustainable built - environment. All these features make definition of target design solution harder and reveals the complexity of reality as a process that requires creativity. In Gestalt school of thought, students are not limited with simple logic approaches or simple reasoning strategies. They are encouraged to effective, productive and functional way of thinking by learning creative thinking. Gestalt school aims to teach students a way of discovering the principles in solving problems and adopting this experience throughout their life. In this paper, Gestalt perception of the formal approach into architectural design education and its contribution to problem solving will be discussed during the planning process. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.