Problem Statement: Architectural design is often incomplete when it fails to account for users' behavioral patterns. Creating human-centered environments requires shifting away from purely functionalist approaches toward qualitative and behavioral frameworks. The absence of an operational model explaining how designers behave and perform during the design process highlights a significant research gap. Therefore, from the perspective of Iranian designers, how can the designer's role in achieving synomorphy be explained? Furthermore, what dimensions and components characterize design actions in the architectural design process based on synomorphy theory?
Research Objectives: Grounded in environment-behavior theories, this study aims to explore the dimensions of architects' actions in the architectural design process through a synomorphic approach.
Research Method: This study adopts a qualitative design. Field data were collected via protocol analysis using purposive sampling, involving a sample size of fifteen architects. The synomorphic design sessions lasted ninety minutes, and the design process was documented through video recordings, audio recordings, and sketching. Data were subsequently analyzed using qualitative content analysis and multi-stage coding methods. To ensure rigor and validity, two independent coders and member checking were employed.
Conclusion: The synomorphic design process unfolded in seven stages, ranging from recognition to post-occupancy evaluation (POE). Stages one through four are derived from designers' protocol data, whereas stages five through seven represent the development of designers and the authors' inferences. The architects' protocols revealed five dimensions: behavioral, perceptual-sensory, environmental-bioclimatic, social-identity, and data-intelligent. Additionally, five operational components, user participation, the integration of divergent-convergent activities, feedback cycles, physical flexibility, and the use of quantitative-qualitative tools played a vital role in shaping synomorphy. Architects' actions in the synomorphic design process exhibited a cyclical nature, wherein designers fine-tuned feedback loops among user behavior, social values, and physical form. Ultimately, the potential outcome of this approach is the creation of self-regulating and adaptable spaces.