ABSTRACT
Design artistry I Architectural design is often discussed as a form of personal expression, almost inthe sense that art is similarly valued. One recent book on the management ofbuilding design even drew a parallel with portrait painting (8). This misreads the
motivations and vocational commitments that inform the architect's work, and misunderstands the nature of design. A more cogent description of how designers work, the nature of their form of rationality and its relation to other forms (for example, that characterising project management), comes from Donald Schon, who has written two books centred around the concept of what he calls the 'reflective practitioner' (Schon, 1983, 1987).
