ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the role and use of case studies in design education following a systematic audit of 223 'cases' in the design research literature by type, subject and field of research. The findings suggest that there are multiple descriptions and interpretations of the term 'case study'. Although there are more traditional approaches to case-based reasoning in architecture, overall a more innovative and dynamic discourse appears to be emerging. This is explored further with an example of innovative pedagogy being employed within a studio-based design-learning environment which develops the concept of case-based designing. Case studies are increasingly being used to illustrate, demonstrate and provide evidence for issues in design research. There are two different traditions in research and that they can be labelled the physics approach and the biological approach. Case studies are in the latter domain and are therefore not understood by people whose world view belongs to the physics domain.