The Cognitive Use of Prior Knowledge

in Design Cognition The Role of Types

and Precedents in Architectural Design
3rd Edition Dr. Zeynep Çi■dem Uysal
Ürey
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 Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs
2019, Volume 3, Number 3, pages 39– 50

The Cognitive Use of Prior Knowledge in Design

Cognition: The Role of Types and Precedents in
Architectural Design
* Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Çankaya University, Ankara, Turkey
1 Email: [email protected]

A R T I C L E I N F O:
ABSTRACT
Article history: This paper examines the cognitive use of prior knowledge in design and evaluates the
Received 15 October 2018
role of types and precedents in architectural design and education from a cognitive
Accepted 5 April 2019
Available online 13 July 2019
perspective. Previous research on design cognition shows that the amount of prior
knowledge possessed by the designer plays a fundamental role in the production and
quality of the creative outcome. Prior knowledge is thought to be held by way of
Keywords: specific cognitive structures that are called cognitive schemas and, the role of our
Prior Knowledge; cognitive schemas (be it personal or cultural schemas) is portrayed as indispensable
Cognition; for the formation of our creative productions. Although significant efforts were made
Cultural Schemas; in the way of studying the use of prior knowledge in design, the correlation of types
Architectural Design; and cultural schemas has yet to be explored. This paper examines this correlation
between cultural schemas, a markedly cognitive concept, and types, an architectural
Architectural Type.
one, culminating in an investigation of the cognitive role of types and precedents
within architectural design and education in the light of the cognitive literature.
Building on that attempt, the study endeavors to conduct an interdisciplinary
theoretical inquiry that respectively studies the role of prior knowledge in design
cognition, the concept of cognitive-cultural schemas, the concept of type and its
relationship with cultural schemas, and finally, the cognitive role of types and
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution
precedents in architectural design and education. In conclusion, this study proposes
- NonCommercial - NoDerivs 4.0. that, in terms of function, types are virtually identical to cultural schemas at the
"CC-BY-NC-ND" cognitive level, and types and precedents have a generative value for architectural
design, by virtue of the fact that they exist as the initial cognitive schemas that are
employed at the beginning of the design process.
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2019), 3(3), 39-50.
https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2019.v3n3-4

www.ijcua.com
Copyright © 2019 Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved.

are portrayed as ‘ill-defined’ due to the fact

1. Introduction that they often lack a clear definition, as their
Empirical research on the cognitive properties
of design has revealed a number of significant *Corresponding Author:
characteristics of the creative design process Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture,
so far. One of such characteristics is about the Çankaya University, Ankara, Turkey
E-mail address: [email protected]
nature of design problems. Design problems
How to Cite this Article:
UYSAL ÜREY, Z.C. (2019). The Cognitive Use of Prior Knowledge in Design Cognition: The Role of Types and Precedents in Architectural
Design. Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 3(3), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2019.v3n3-4
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

initial conditions, operations and goals are, at (Oxman, 1999, pp. 17-28). As McDermott
best, loosely defined and exposed to (1982) put it, given the understanding that
redefinition continuously. Design tasks in design is an ill-structured activity, and that the
general, be it engineering problems or space set of constraints applicable to specific design
planning tasks in architecture, are often problems is often substantial, one can hope to
reckoned as ill-defined due to these surmount these problems only when significant
characteristics. The ill-defined design problems volumes of domain specific knowledge can
are shown to lack certain characteristics of be combined and fused together at every
well-defined problems, such as a well- stage of the problem solving process (p. 36). In
specified language for their representation, this context, ill-defined design problems
the initial knowledge of the generative necessitate nothing but a large base of
manipulations to be applied on them, and a appropriate prior knowledge for the formation
clear formulation of the goal state. These of their solutions.
factors are found to be defined by their As Jansson, Condoor & Brock (1992) study
solvers, in other words, the designers (Cross, shows, at the early phase of design, namely
2001, p. 3). the representation of the problem, the prior
Research has revealed that unlike the ordinary knowledge of designers, in the form of
problem solvers, the designers approach to ill- prototypes, types, or precedents, serves as a
defined design problems with a solution- cognitive point of reference to start the design
focused mindset, by means of constructing a process. At the start of the design process, the
problem ‘frame’ to demarcate the limits of designers are considered to analyze existing
the problem, propose a solution conjecture systems looking for analogies. They then
for it, and understand the problem through proceed to bring up a first solution concept
this solution (Cross, 2001, p. 3). Other than that acts as the starting point from which to
searching for the optimal solution, as would a tackle the design problem they face with. In
problem solver handling a well-defined this process, the designer focuses on the
problem, designers are compelled to smaller parts of the wider problem, by means
conceive a satisfactory solution for solving the of sub problems, using a retrieval system that
ill-defined design problem. Doing so, the continuously recalls prior knowledge from
designers look for a match between the his/her long-term memory. Since ill-defined
problem and the solution, and perceive and design problems require substantial amounts
decipher the problem through these solution of relevant prior knowledge, the retrieval
perspectives. In order to get a working match system employed on them operates as a
in this problem-solution pair, the designers are device to recognize the solution alternatives.
found to employ primarily their prior As the design problems are downsized to a
knowledge. As Nigel Cross (2006) explains it, series of sub problems as such, these smaller
creative design does not always occur in this parts can be handled better as well-defined
sense as the proposition of an unanticipated problems (Fig. 1) (Simon, 1973, pp. 181-201).
and unusual proposal, but often as the Likewise, Bonnardel and Marmeche (2005)
making of a suitable proposal, which contains suggest that the designer’s past experiences,
novel features for a new design product. It is which are stored in terms of his/her prior
believed on this basis that creative design knowledge, are often the sources of
takes place via a ‘creative leap’ from the inspiration in the formation of new ideas (pp.
design constraints to the solution proposal, 422-435). In this sense “designers
which is supported by the prior knowledge of accommodate the known to the new” and
designers (Cross, 2006, p. 3, 44). thus develop the new ideas through
integration with “what they already know”
2. Cognitive Use of Prior Knowledge in (Oxman, 1990, p. 23). To Oxman (1990b),
Architectural Design design occurs in this sense as “a dynamic
As indicated above, the solution-oriented process of adaptation and transformation of
mindset underlying design, builds essentially the knowledge of prior experiences in order to
on the prior knowledge of designers. accommodate them to the contingencies of
Described as “a particular structured the present” (1990b, pp. 17-28).
formulation of underlying types such as In this context creativity in design occurs as
concepts, prototypes and precedents”, prior “the sudden interlocking of two previously
knowledge is widely recognized as an intrinsic unrelated, skills or matrices of thought”
element of any creative design process (Koestler, 1964, p. 121), and emerges as a

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 40

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

cognitive process entailing the “activation the ‘facts’ that we know. Procedural
and recombination of previous knowledge knowledge, on the other hand, involves the
elements in a new way in order to generate procedures used for the processing of the
new properties based on the previous ones” declarative (or the domain-specific)
(Bonnardel & Marmache, 2005, pp. 422-435). knowledge (Goel, 2001, pp. 221-241). In the
Thus, the studies on design creativity show that context of performing a given task, the
people depend mostly on past experiences, declarative knowledge is often believed to go
types and precedents, even when they are through a transformation into a procedural
instructed to be as original and imaginative as form (Chan, 1990, p. 62). As Purcell and Gero
possible. In this perspective, the new ideas (1991) put it, these types of prior knowledge
that are developed are deemed creative are acquired by means of either exposure to
and original to the extent that they move incidental experiences, which characterize
away from their initial sources of inspiration everyday life, or as a result of intentional
(Bonnardel & Marmache, 2005, p. 422-435). learning, in which domain-specific
To quote from Suwa, Purcell & Gero (1998), experiences and the strategies employed for
design can be seen on this basis as “a kind of their transformation are instilled in the subjects
apprenticeship in which skills and expertise are by means of education (p. 82).
acquired after learning basic techniques, Prior knowledge is also categorized as
assimilating domain specific and general personal or cultural in terms of its source. If
knowledge, and inspecting past good prior knowledge emerges exclusively on the
examples” (p. 455). Today, it is widely basis of the specific, personal experiences of
accepted that the design ability grows in the individual who possesses it, it is considered
parallel with the extent of the acquired personal. On the other hand, if it is formed by
domain knowledge and the problem solution a multitude of phenomena shared by the
strategies that are operated on that wider society, or at least a community, it is
knowledge. The obvious implication of this deemed as cultural (Shore, 1996, pp. 56-65).
information is that, if designers or students of Architectural types for instance are the
design are provided with ever growing cultural forms of this prior knowledge.
databases consisting inter- or intra-disciplinary
sources, their success in producing creative 2.2. Prior Knowledge and Cognitive Schemas
designs would only increase (Bonnardel & in Design
Marmache, 2005, pp. 422-435). They would be The cognitive literature states that prior
expected to produce better outcomes with knowledge is held by our minds by way of
the provision of mental cues given in the form those specific cognitive structures that are
of previous designs that show them the use of called cognitive schemas. Described as the
design elements and how they can be conceptual structures that stand for our
combined in individual settings (Malhotraa, knowledge of situations, events, objects and
Thomas, Carroll & Millera, 1980, pp. 119-140). actions (Wertsch, 1985, p. 154), they are
defined as the mental frameworks that we
make use of in the organization of our
knowledge. They are the conceptual
structures that organize and direct our
reception, storage, retrieval and production
of information (D’Andrade, 1992, p. 28).
Operating in long-term memory as organized
structures of knowledge, they guide
perception, enable comprehension and
Figure 1. A model for ill-structured problems (Simon, 1973). direct thinking. By schema theory, what the
cognitive literature demonstrates us is the
2.1. Types of Prior Knowledge importance of our prior knowledge in the
According to the literature, there are understanding of the forthcoming information
essentially two types of prior knowledge that and in the formation of new knowledge
are employed in design: the declarative (or (Bruning, Schraw, Norby & Ronning, 2004, p. 6,
the domain-specific) knowledge, and the 22, 23).
procedural knowledge (Goel, 2001). As the bearers of prior knowledge, cognitive
Declarative knowledge refers to the general schemas are also categorized as personal or
knowledge about the ‘things’ that we learn cultural in terms of their source. Personal
within our lifetime and it essentially consists of

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 41

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

cognitive schemas are formed through types, prototypes or precedents (Lawson,

personal experiences and are specific to 2004, p. 443). These schemas are used in the
individuals. Cultural schemas, on the other design process for recognizing the design
hand, are attained through the individual’s situation, in the same way as the chess
relationship with the cultural context and are masters recognize the situation in a chess
specifically defined as the “patterns of basic board by means of their experience. The
schemas that make up the meaning system of recognition process accelerates and
a cultural group” (Nisbett & Norenzayan, 2002, facilitates the design response, as it enables a
p. 5, 6). They are shared by the members of quicker analysis compared to an in-depth
the society and they regulate their daily analysis, and allows the designer to develop a
experiences and the interpretation of these solution by employing a standard gambit
experiences. As Holland & Quinn (1987) (Lawson, 2004, p. 448). The schemas are used
explain, they are the “presupposed, taken-for- as the ‘cognitive reference points’, which
granted models of the world that are widely provide the first solution concepts that initiate
shared by the members of a society and that the design (Goldschmidt, 1998; Jansson,
play an enormous role in their understanding Condoor & Brock, 1992). By providing the first
of that world and their behavior in it” (p. 4). As solution concepts and supplying the gambits
situated cognition theory states, people carry that are previously developed by the designer
their load of cultural information and operate to solve similar problems, schemas hook up
them through their cognition by way of their the design problem to its solution. The
cultural schemas, which exist as a subset ‘gambits’ that are utilized on the existing
within their bigger collection of cognitive schemas, either to transform them or adapt
schemas (Johnson, 1987, p. 19; Oyserman, them to the cause, are described as the
Sorensen, Reber & Chen, 2009, p. 219). ‘repertoire of tricks’ or the applicable design
Cognitive schemas are believed to strategies, which are used by the
encompass both the knowledge itself designer/architect to solve recognized
(declarative knowledge) and the information problems. They are essentially the techniques
on the actual operationalization of that used for the creation and transformation of
knowledge (procedural knowledge) (Chan, forms, and designers often exhibit variance in
1990, p. 62). In this sense, as means to carry terms of how they employ them (Lawson,
generic information, cognitive schemas 2004, p. 448).
provide the most efficient and most widely Jansson et. al. (1992) defines three cognitive
used type of information in the field of design. processes that are active in this process of
They contain information about objects, their using schemas (or prior knowledge) in
constituents, and the relations between those architectural design: identification, where
constituents (Purcell & Gero, 1991, p. 83). designers use types or prototypes for
Describing schemas in design as “the formal categorizing, understanding and representing
constructs for capturing, acquiring and design problems; synthesis, where they adapt
representing types of knowledge structures in or transform types or prototypes so as to fulfill
design”, Oxman (2004) argues that schemas the requirements associated with the
constitute the essence of conceptual design problem; and evaluation, where they assess
knowledge, which, in turn, is structured around themselves with reference to those types or
a number of conventions including typologies, prototypes. These processes are believed to
rules, or precedents (p. 70). Looking for a work in a consecutive and repetitive manner
relevant schema to organize our prior towards the realization of a complete
knowledge around in line with the cause at architectural design (Jansson, Condoor &
hand is considered as an essential part of the Brock, 1992).
creative design process (Oxman, 1990). In this According to the literature, one needs a
context, design creativity is seen as “the ability certain level of maturity to practice design
to innovatively re-represent the schema or the well, as expertise in design is essentially a
particular structural content of the culmination of design knowledge and
externalized representation” (Oxman, 1996, p. experience in the form of schemas. Lawson
333). (2004) indicates that, the educational period
Therefore, prior knowledge in architecture of the designer helps him/her to develop a
and design, attained through experience or knowledge of design solutions, in the form of
education, is held by way of the cognitive ‘the pool of precedents’ or the ‘domain
schemas of the designer, in forms such as specific knowledge’ (p. 456). The designers

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 42

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

who are considered experts are characterized 1992, p. 117). The section below will provide a
by a vast pool of precedents and prior glance at these two types of domain specific
knowledge, which are stored as solution prior knowledge, so as to evaluate their role in
schemas to be employed at different design architectural design.
projects (Lawson, 2004, p. 456). For expert
designers, the schemas of precedents or types 3.1. Types
do much more than just carrying the visual The formation of types, or the process of
information and geometry. They also convey typification, is an outcome of the process of
all the concepts related to that schema, generalization or categorization. Oxman
including but not limited to the materials, (1990b) describes typification as “the
functions, organization principles, and abstraction and classification of salient
significant instances of that schema (Lawson, aspects of precedents in terms of both
2004, p. 443). The schemas of expert designers situations and solutions” (p. 17-28). One of the
are observed to be greater in number, in most evident applications of this process is
detail and in the extent of information that formal typification, where classes of formal
they hold (Purcell & Gero, 1991, p. 83). Lawson types are produced as based on certain
(2004) defines five stages, which the designer known precedents. Typification also occurs in
has to undergo in his/her journey to gain the perception of the design problem, where
expertise in design: the designer tries to match the problem with a
1. Formation of a developing pool of similar solution type that he/she previously
precedents encountered with. Regarding this process,
2. Attainment of design schemas Oxman (1990b) goes as far as claiming that
3. Development of certain guiding “design knowledge is the knowledge of
principles (e.g. sustainable design) typification through abstraction” (p. 17-28):
4. Development of the skill of recognizing “We assume that all design
the design situation without the need experience undergoes
of an in-depth analysis processes of typification in
5. Formation of design gambits or a order to create indices for the
‘repertoire of tricks’ that are fused storage, and ultimately for the
within the schemas used for retrieval, of design episodes;
recognizing the design situations and that the way in which this
(Lawson, 2004, p. 456-457) occurs is a function of the form
In this context, it is evident that the designers of classification and existing
ought to examine a considerable amount of structure of the designer's
types and precedents in order to grow their memory.” (Oxman, 1990, p.
load of schemas, which would enable them 24)
to “recognize underlying structures in design In this sense, typology operates as a form of
situations” and allow them to “employ and indexing and categorization in design. Oxman
adapt gambits” that they acquired earlier (2001, 2004) describes typological knowledge
(Lawson, 2004). as “a set of generic representations which are
associated with specific problem types”
3. Two Types of Domain Specific Prior (Oxman, 2001, p. 278) and defines types as
Knowledge in Architectural Design: Types and the “conventionalized knowledge structures”
Precedents (Oxman, 2004, p. 70) that occur as an
According to Oxman (1992), the prior important form of knowledge representation
knowledge utilized in architectural design can for the studies of design cognition. Types are
be categorized into two groups: the types and considered as the characteristic forms of
the precedents. In this categorization, types domain specific architectural knowledge that
and precedents are different from each other are attained by the designers through
in terms of the form of reasoning that they education and personal experience (Oxman,
demand from the designer: the former 1996, p. 332). They contain a mass of prior
requires ‘refinement’ while the latter demands knowledge allowing the designer “to extract
‘adaptation’. Employed as two distinct generic schema from specific images”
cognitive approaches to design, they are (Oxman, 2001, p. 280), and consist of both the
related with typological (model based) ‘generic representational schema’, as well as
generic design and precedent-based (case- the knowledge of the strategies to employ
based) adaptive design, respectively (Oxman, when using this schema. In types, Oxman

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 43

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

(1990a) sees the formalizations of a high level operates both in the interpretation of
of design knowledge encoded in generic architectural products, as the preliminary
forms, and does not refrain from calling them schema of reference, and also in their
the general solution schemas, which act as production, as the purveyor of thought
the sources of generic knowledge to be towards creative manipulations for new
manipulated in the process of design (Oxman, designs.
1990, pp. 2-8). According to Oxman (1990b), new designs
In the light of the research on design could be built upon prior design knowledge
cognition, architectural types could be seen and experiences, due to the fact that those
as a part of our store of cultural schemas. experiences are abstracted, encoded and
Being the cultural attributes that are shared by categorized in the form of types in long term
a society, types behave like cultural schemas memory. With their abstract and generic
on the cognitive level, assisting both the formation, types are capable of various new
interpretation of incoming architectural design solutions and in this process, analogical
information and also the production of new thinking stands out among other cognitive
designs (Oxman, 1990 pp. 2-8). Architectural processes with the lead part that it plays
theory refers to type both as an abstract (Oxman, 1990, p. 17-28).
conceptual form, as well as a cognitive Cognitive schemas are used both for the
facility, which provides the background for representation of the typological knowledge
the systemic action of design that nestles that they carry in the mind, and for its
essentially on categorization (Habraken, 1985, processing for the purpose of coming up with
p. 40). As Moneo defines it, type could be a generic design (Oxman, 2001, p. 278). In
seen in this sense as: Oxman’s jargon, the reasoning or processing
“…the concept which style employed in the context of utilizing types
describes a group of objects in design is called as ‘refinement’. ‘Typological
characterized by the same refinement’ basically refers to the distinctive
formal structure. It is neither a thinking style employed in the formal
definite spatial diagram not processing of typological knowledge in
the average of a serial list. It is design. The form of creativity emerging in this
fundamentally based on the process on the other hand, is called as
possibility of grouping objects ‘typological emergence’. Oxman duly
by certain inherent structural provides an example of this notion with an
similarities. It might even be illustration, showcasing type use in chair
said that type means thinking design, as part of the extended process of
in groups.” (Moneo, 1978, p. typological emergence (Fig. 2) (Oxman, 2001,
23) p. 278).
The elimination process that sort out only the In refinement, the original state of a
common elements that belong to the group generalized (generic) schema, which is the
in question makes type “a schema and a architectural ‘type’, is successively
collective product that is shared both by the transformed into a specific design through a
architects and the community they serve to” top-down process. This underlying schema is
(Petruccioli, 1998, p. 11). As Quatremere de called ‘generic’ due to the fact that it consists
Quincy’s definition also shows, type is “neither of only the most significant properties of the
a concrete image of something that can be class of designs it belongs to and the type of
copied directly, nor it is a definite form, but it is design that refines this generic schema of
a schema or the outline of a form, which acts type is called as the generic or the typological
as the abstract structure used for spatial design (Oxman & Oxman, 1992, p. 119).
articulation” (cited in Argan, 1996, p. 240, Oxman accordingly developed a model that
244). In this line of thought, architectural type expresses the cognitive processing of generic
can be understood as a ‘schema of spatial or typological design, entailing the
articulation’, which is shaped, if not relationship between the design issue (the
formulated, as an answer to the ideological specification of the problem), design concept
and practical needs of a society (Argan, 1996, (the type of the solution) and design form (the
p. 246). It functions as a non-linguistic cultural end result). As shown by this model, the design
schema, associated with a specific society, process starts with deciding on a solution class
and provides a visual image or a virtual model (type), followed by developing the first form of
of a culture (Shore, 1996, pp. 56-65). It generic representation of this class (level 1,

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 44

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

which is basically the first modification of the

type), and finally culminating in the realization
of the solution form (Fig. 3-5) (Oxman, 1994,
pp. 141-146) (Oxman, 2001, p. 284). According
to Oxman (1990b), in design, types could
either be refined, by applying consecutive
alterations over them to create new designs
Figure 4. The refinement of a generic schema (type) in
(appropriation), or could be adapted, by design (typological design). (Oxman, 1992, p. 122)
making greater formal or functional
modifications over them to reach to new
designs (analogy). Yet, a third alternative is
also proposed to account for the cases where
the existing types are not suitable for the
situation and when completely new types are
generated by, once again, using existing
knowledge (innovation) (Oxman, 1990, pp. 17-
28). In this process, the design constraints
function as the source of transformations,
modifications or the generation.

Figure 5. An example to the refinement process. (Oxman,

1992, p. 123)

3.2. Precedents
The other significant type of domain specific
knowledge available for the use of designers
in new design contexts is the knowledge of
design precedents (Oxman, 1996, p. 332).
Within the context of creative design,
designers evidently use cases or the
knowledge of applicable prior designs to
solve the recent problems they face with
(Akin, 2002, p. 2). In their quest for new design
ideas, designers look through numerous
precedents to form applicable connections
Figure 2. The process of the creative transformation of
with the problem and this activity is often
type through typological emergence. (Oxman, 2001, p. credited with enabling the appearance of
279) new and previously unforeseen ideas for the
designer (Oxman, 1994, p. 141, 142).
Precedent is described as “the design case
knowledge, which includes the particular
conceptual contribution to design, which
makes a case memorable as a precedent”
(Oxman, 1994, pp. 141-142). To put it another
way, precedents are the “specific designs or
buildings, which are exemplary in some sense
so that what architects and students glean
from these examples, can support their own
Figure 3. The steps of design thinking in generic or designs” (Akin, 2002, p. 3). In simpler terms,
typological design (Oxman, 2001, p. 285) they are the earlier solutions to particular
design problems. They are essentially different
from types due to the fact that they are the
specified design representations, instead of
being the abstract schemas (Fig. 6) (Oxman,
2001, p. 284).

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 45

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

based reasoning’ as embraced by the

designers. Or the reasoner may engage with
the previous cases to explain, interpret and
critique a current case, thus taking the route
of ‘interpretive type of case-based reasoning’,
as lawyers often do (Kolodner, 1992, pp. 3-4).
‘Problem solving type of case based
reasoning’ is employed very frequently in
design. The process of choosing relevant ideas
from prior designs, which can be applied
effectively to the design problems at hand, is
called as precedent-based (or case-based)
Figure 6. Precedents, functional types, high level
design. What the precedents used in case-
typological concepts. (Oxman, 1990b, p. 23) based design do is to provide ‘a vocabulary
of design ideas’ and the process that is used
People are believed to benefit from to transform these ideas to make them
precedents by mining the information they applicable to current cases is called as
contain through analysis and abstraction. ‘adaptation’ (Oxman, 2001, p. 284).
According to Akin, the conceptual According to Oxman (1996), adaptation is
abstractions acquired from precedents essentially the process of “fitting the old
enable the designers to crossover the chasm solution to a new one, or evolving a new
between the conceptual and the physical design by modifying an existing solution
design environment (Akin, 2002). This appears representation” (p. 334). It involves the re-use
as the main reason behind the fact that of the prior representational content of an
solving problems in design requires not only existing design solution after a thought out
the “problem solving skills and strategies” but modification (Oxman, 1996, p. 334). The
also a large “body of knowledge”, which precedents, which are deemed to be stored
allow the application of these skills to specific in the form of cognitive schemas in the mind,
problems (Akin, 2002). Precedents are found are processed through adaptation for the
to be helpful in this sense due to the fact that formation of new design solutions (Fig. 9)
they contain and display both the processes (Oxman, 2001, pp. 269-295).
and the products of design within themselves. As Kolodner (1992) suggests, case-based
In this framework, it is not surprising to see that reasoning in design offers a complete solution
the studies on design education portray the for the design problem at hand and any
knowledge of design precedents, and the pieces of the previous solution which do not fit
concepts that are attained through them, as the current problem can be adapted to it
one of the most important sources of later. Although the amount of adaptation and
knowledge in design education (Oxman, the effort required to tailor the solution to the
2004, p. 71). current problem might be substantial, and at
Precedent knowledge is employed in design times overwhelming, this method is almost
by means of ‘case-based reasoning’. This always preferable to starting from scratch,
reasoning type essentially refers to the use which is often an intimidating task. It facilitates
and application of past experiences and the design by enabling the designer to avoid
examples for the understanding, analysis and numerous constraints and saving her from the
solution of current problems. It is the process of need to compartmentalize the problem into
choosing relevant ideas from prior problems multiple parts just to avoid the inherent
for application to the current ones. According difficulty of handling a larger problem
to Kolodner (1992), in case-based reasoning, (Kolodner, 1992, pp. 5-9). According to
the problem solver recalls a previous case that Kolodner (1992), case-based reasoning occurs
resembles the current one, or that is similar to it in four steps (Fig. 8):
in certain aspects, and utilizes the solution to 1. The accumulation of precedents or
that past case to solve the case at hand (pp. experiences
3-4). In this process, the reasoner may go with 2. Remembering prior experiences that
adapting the old solutions to meet the are similar to the current case at hand,
demands of the new problems in order to and interpreting the new case in the
solve them and this becomes the common light of these prior experiences through
practice of ‘problem solving type of case comparison

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 46

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

3. Adaptation of the prior experiences to they have examined. Even though this
“fix up an old solution to meet the approach is criticized with the claim that it
demands of the new situation” restricts the creative capacity of students, the
4. Evaluation and repair of the outcomes literature offers no concrete evidence to
prove the validity of this claim (Akin, 2002).
By far, the studio based education is currently
the most extensively employed method in
schools of design. This method essentially tries
to simulate the context of a professional
design office and to replicate the actual
phases of the design process, for instance the
esquisse phase or the jury system, that are
experienced in a design office (Oxman, 1999,
pp. 105-106). This education offers an
experience-based learning, where the student
Figure 7. Case-based reasoning cycle (Kolodner, 1992, p. engages in design activity under the
22)
supervision of the instructor (Oxman, 2004, p.
110). The students are not offered a didactic
4. Prior Knowledge in Design Education
education focusing on abstract principles to
The studies on prior knowledge evidently
be applied to problems, but an experiential
affected the design education as well. In
one that depends on the hands on problem
1969, Laxton (1969) developed a model for
solving experience gained by dealing with
design education, which began by the
specific design problems at hand (Akin, 2002,
accumulation of the reservoir of knowledge
p. 2).
and experiences, followed by the
According to Oxman, this system should be
development of the ability to develop ideas,
enhanced methodologically to enable the
and culminated by the acquisition of the skill
students to attain the domain knowledge of
of critically evaluating the developed ideas so
design, by means of cognitive schemas such
as to interpret and transform them to meet the
as types or precedents, and the strategies of
requirements of new contexts. He stated that
design thinking such as analogy, refinement or
design education at schools should entail, first
adaptation, which can then be used to
and foremost, the domain specific knowledge
manipulate these cognitive schemas to
of precedents, as the students cannot be
handle the specifics of the current problem
realistically expected to be creative without
(Oxman, 2004, p. 110):
accumulating a ‘reservoir of knowledge’ first,
“It is our hypothesis that learning in
which would serve them as a pedestal on
design is the acquisition of the
which to rise. According to Laxton (1969), the
cognitive ability to manipulate the
ability to develop new ideas is essentially
representations of design
contingent on this reservoir of knowledge to
knowledge, to acquire basic
be filled well. In Lawson’s (2004) view, this
schema in design thinking, to
model of design education was based
understand knowledge structures
principally on the development of prior
and to be able to manipulate
knowledge and experience, rather than the
characteristic strategies of design
generation of new ideas by way of a tabula
thinking such as generic and
rasa attitude, which was the dominant
typological design, adaptive
perspective towards the design education in
design, analogical thinking and
the 20th century, valuing originality above all
creative exploration. That is, the
(p. 454).
cognitive attributes of design
More recently, Akin called the method of
cognition and learning can
education with a marked emphasis on the
become the content of design
teaching of the precedents as “case-based
education.” (Oxman, 2004, p. 110)
instruction” (Akin, 2002). Based mostly on the
Under the guidance of several cognitive
analysis of precedents, this approach to
studies on design, Oxman identifies the
education is expected to demonstrate the
necessary constituents that a design
students the principles and strategies of
education should support the student with
architectural design by means of cases. The
(Oxman, 2001, p. 280):
students are supposed to learn the design
heuristics with the help of the precedents that

Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem UYSAL ÜREY 47

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 3(3), 39-50/ 2019

1. Cognitive structures: The attainment of precedents. Suggesting that creativity in

the cognitive ability to represent design essentially stems from familiar forms
design knowledge via basic schemas and methods of production, studies reject the
of design thinking, such as types and idea that creativity is the ‘creation of
precedents, and, something out of nothing’. On the contrary,
2. Cognitive strategies: The attainment of they propose that creative production in
strategies, such as refinement or design is about the production of something
adaptation, to transform these basic new through the refinement, adaptation,
schemas in order to produce original recombination and transformation of existing
solutions. knowledge. Within this proposed perspective,
It becomes evident by this point that an the role of the familiar, the known and the
effective design education should be based existing, as embodied by types and
on an amalgamation of two distinct precedents, occurs as important as the novel,
components: the domain knowledge (or the unknown, and the prospective, for the
vocabulary) of design that the students should realization of creative design.
learn by examining types and precedents;
and the strategies to be employed in the Acknowledgement
design process that the students should This work makes partial use of some of the
develop by hands on design exercises theoretical discussions about the use of prior
(Oxman, 2004, p. 65). An educational knowledge in architectural design in my PhD
approach capable of providing these two Dissertation (Uysal, Zeynep Çiğdem, 2012).
components is believed to bestow the student Architectural Type as a Cultural Schema and
with the ability of the ‘designerly way of Its Cognitive Use in Architectural Design: An
thinking’ (Cross, 2006). Analysis of the Aga Khan Award Winning
Dwellings in Turkey (1970-2008), Unpublished
5. Conclusion PhD Dissertation, North Carolina State
The studies discussed so far demonstrate that University, Raleigh. Supervisor: Prof. Kristen
the designers’ prior knowledge has a crucial Schaffer) and on this account I would like to
impact in the initiation of the design process express my sincere gratitude once again to
and in the production of new designs. my advisor Prof. Kristen Schaffer and my
Cognitive schemas that store this prior committee members Prof. Paul Tesar, Prof.
knowledge within our minds appear as the Meredith Davis, and Prof. Ronald Endicott.
main actors in this process and they play a
formative part both in the interpretation of Conflict of interests
incoming design information and also in the The Author declares that there is no conflict of
production of new ones. Through this interests.
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Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bomba the
jungle boy at the giant cataract
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
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Title: Bomba the jungle boy at the giant cataract

Or, Chief Nascanora and his captives

Author: Roy Rockwood

Illustrator: Walter S. Rogers

Release date: November 23, 2023 [eBook #72207]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Cupples & Leon Company, 1926

Credits: David Edwards, David E. Brown, and the Online

Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOMBA THE

JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT ***
THE WATER KEPT RISING HIGHER AND HIGHER.
Bomba at the Giant Cataract. Page 184
 BOMBA
THE JUNGLE BOY
AT THE GIANT
CATARACT
OR

Chief Nascanora and His Captives

BY
ROY ROCKWOOD
Author of “Bomba the Jungle Boy,” “Lost on
the Moon,” “Through Space to Mars,” Etc.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
 BOOKS FOR BOYS
By ROY ROCKWOOD

THE BOMBA BOOKS

12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY
BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN
BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT
GREAT MARVEL SERIES
THROUGH THE AIR TO THE NORTH POLE
UNDER THE OCEAN TO THE SOUTH POLE
FIVE THOUSAND MILES UNDERGROUND
THROUGH SPACE TO MARS
LOST ON THE MOON
ON A TORN-AWAY WORLD
THE CITY BEYOND THE CLOUDS
SPEEDWELL BOYS SERIES
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS ON MOTOR CYCLES
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR RACING AUTO
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR POWER LAUNCH
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS IN A SUBMARINE
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR ICE RACER
DAVE DASHAWAY SERIES
DAVE DASHAWAY, THE YOUNG AVIATOR
DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS HYDROPLANE
DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP
DAVE DASHAWAY AROUND THE WORLD
DAVE DASHAWAY, AIR CHAMPION
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, New York

Copyright, 1926, by
Cupples & Leon Company

Bomba the Jungle Boy at the Giant

Cataract

Printed in U. S. A.
 CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I The Sudden Attack 1
II At Grips with Death 9
III In the Nick of Time 19
IV A Terrific Struggle 26
V Terrible Jaws 35
VI Pursued by an Alligator 42
VII Carried Into Captivity 53
VIII The Man with the Split Nose 62
IX The Savage Raiders 69
X In Deadly Peril 80
XI Ferocious Foes 86
XII The Jaguars Attack 95
XIII The Mad Monkey 102
XIV Beset of Enemies 109
XV Lying in Ambush 116
XVI The Island of Snakes 125
XVII Amid Writhing Serpents 136
XVIII The Mystery Deepens 146
XIX A Startling Interruption 153
XX In the Hands of the Headhunters 161
XXI The Giant Cataract 167
XXII Ruspak Gloats 173
XXIII A Mad Stampede 180
XXIV In the Swirl of the Rapids 186
XXV The Rescue of Sobrinini 192
BOMBA THE JUNGLE
BOY AT THE GIANT
CATARACT
 CHAPTER I
THE SUDDEN ATTACK

Bomba made his way as silently as a panther through the jungle.

For that jungle abounded in enemies, as the boy had had occasion
to know. At any moment a boa constrictor might drop like a flash
from a tree above and seek to enfold him in its crushing coils. A turn
of the trail might bring him face to face with a crouching jaguar. Or a
cooanaradi, deadliest of all venomous snakes, might launch itself
from the underbrush and inject its poison into his veins.
There were human foes, too, against whom Bomba had to be on his
guard. With the natives who dwelt in that part of the jungle he was on
comparatively friendly terms, though he never mingled with them on
a footing of intimacy.
But from time to time the dreaded headhunters from the faraway
region of the Giant Cataract invaded this district in search of the
hideous trophies which their name implied wherewith to adorn their
wigwams.
Their coming was a signal for the native inhabitants to flee, carrying
along with them their children and scanty household belongings. The
headhunters were cruel and ruthless, and death and destruction
followed in their wake.
Bomba had seen signs of them that very morning, and he had no
desire for a closer acquaintance. On two previous occasions, he and
Casson, the aged naturalist with whom he lived, had been sought
out by these dreaded savages and had narrowly escaped with their
lives. A third time they might not be so fortunate.
“And as I have only one head, I am exceedingly anxious to keep it on
my shoulders,” the boy had told Casson.
So it was with extreme caution that Bomba threaded his way through
the jungle, his eyes darting from right to left, plumbing the recesses
of every thicket, piercing the foliage of every tree. With him eternal
vigilance was the price, not only of liberty, but of life itself.
There was a sudden rustling in the leaves of a giant dolado tree.
Bomba halted instantly, drew an arrow from his belt and fitted it to
the string of his bow.
But his tense attitude relaxed as the leaves were thrust aside and
the grinning, friendly face of a monkey framed itself in the opening.
“Doto!” exclaimed Bomba, in accents of relief and pleasure, as he
waved his hand to the newcomer.
Welcome was in the tone and gesture, and the monkey dropped
from branch to branch, finally landing lightly on the ground. Its eyes
gleamed with affection as Bomba caressed its head.
The boy—for he was no more than that, being fourteen years old at
the most—presented a striking picture as he stood there with a ray of
sunlight falling athwart his face. He was taller than the average boy
of his age and far more muscular and more sturdily built.
From constant exposure to sun and storm, his face was as bronzed
as that of an Indian, but his features betrayed the fact that he was of
the white race. His eyes and hair were brown, his nose strong and
aquiline, and his firm jaw denoted courage and resolution.
He wore the mendiyeh, or native tunic, and across his breast was
slung a puma skin—that of Geluk, the puma, that he had come
across and slain when it was trying to kill the friendly parrots, Kiki
and Woowoo. His arms and legs were bare, and showed the
powerful muscles rippling under the brown skin at every movement.
On his feet were home-made sandals.
In his belt he carried a machete, a two-edged knife fully a foot in
length and ground to an almost razor-like sharpness. A pouch at his
waist held his arrows and a five-chambered revolver, the only firearm
he had ever owned, the gift of two white men whose camp he had
saved from a night attack by jaguars.
“So Doto is glad to see Bomba back!” said the boy as he fondled the
animal’s furry head. “And Bomba is glad to meet Doto again. Bomba
has been away for many days and has seen many things. He has
met men whose hearts are black. He has seen mountains break
apart and fire come from the top. Snakes and jaguars have tried to
kill him.”
The monkey uttered sounds that would have been unintelligible to
many, but that Bomba knew were meant to express sympathy. The
boy had an almost uncanny power over animals, and had many
friends among the less savage denizens of the jungle, such as the
monkeys and parrots. He talked to them and they chattered back at
him, and they had arrived at a point where they could understand
each other in simple things. Tone and gesture helped to interpret the
words and sounds, and each knew intuitively whether the other were
sad or glad and they shared emotions in common.
“Bomba’s heart is heavy,” the lad went on, “for he has not done what
he wanted to do. He went to see Jojasta, the medicine man. He
thought the man could tell him about his father and mother. But
Jojasta was killed before he could tell Bomba what Bomba wanted to
know. He told Bomba something, but not enough.”
The lad was speaking more to relieve his own sore heart than
anything else, but Doto seemed to understand, and put his hairy paw
consolingly on the boy’s arm.
“And now before many moons Bomba must go away again,” the lad
resumed, “for Jojasta told Bomba that he must go to Sobrinini of the
Pilati tribe, beyond the Giant Cataract, and that she could tell him
about his father and mother. It is a long way off, and there are many
dangers in the way. Bomba may never come back, may never see
Doto again.”
The monkey uttered a wail and snuggled closer to Bomba as though
in fear of immediate parting. The boy patted the animal’s head
affectionately and roused himself from his musings.
“Bomba must go fast,” he said. “He is on his way home to Casson.
He has been away a long time, and he does not know whether
Casson is alive or dead. So Bomba must hurry.”
As the lad started on in haste, Doto broke out into excited
chatterings and clung to Bomba’s arm as though to hold him back.
Bomba knew at once that the animal was trying to warn him of
threatening danger, and he stopped short in his tracks.
“What is it, Doto?” he asked.
There was another outbreak of sounds that would have been
meaningless to anyone else, but which Bomba had no trouble in
interpreting correctly.
His face grew grave as he listened.
“I know,” he said. “The headhunters, the men with black hearts, are
in the jungle. I have seen their signs this morning. I thought that I
had got past them. But Doto, from the tops of the trees, can see
farther than I can. Where are these men with the bloody hands?”
The monkey pointed in front of them in the very direction Bomba was
taking.
The boy hushed the monkey’s chattering and stood silent as a
statue, listening.
From his long experience in the jungle he had become
preternaturally sharp of hearing. He knew all the sounds of the jungle
and could interpret them accurately.
But strain his ears as he might, he could detect nothing out of the
ordinary. There was the usual hum of insects, the occasional howl of
a monkey or shriek of a parrot. But there was nothing to indicate
that, besides himself, there was any human being in that part of the
jungle.
He glanced at Doto with a look of inquiry, as though to ask if the
animal might not be mistaken. But Doto held to his arm with such a
frenzied clutch that Bomba decided to trust in the creature’s instinct
or knowledge—or both.
There was no help for it. In spite of his eagerness to reach Casson,
about whose condition he was in a ferment of anxiety, he must make
a long circuit to avoid the region in which Doto had indicated that
danger lay.
So he changed his course, left the faint trail that he had been
following, and swung out in a sweeping semicircle, with every nerve
at tension and every sense on the alert. With him went his friend,
Doto.
On the route he was now pursuing there was no trail, and Bomba
had to hack a way through the underbrush. This involved exhausting
work and made his progress slow. But most of all he dreaded it for
fear that the noise he necessarily made should attract the attention
of lurking foes.
At times, when the brush was very thick, Doto would climb to the
lowest branch of a tree and swing from one bough to the other of the
interlacing trees, and Bomba, who was almost as agile as the
monkey himself, followed his companion’s example.
Soon, however, the jungle thinned a little, and they traversed the
forest with redoubled speed in order to make up for lost time.
An hour had passed when Doto suddenly grasped the lad’s arm and
pulled him to the ground. At the same moment, an arrow whizzed
over Bomba’s head. A second later another arrow followed and
buried itself in a tree, where it hung quivering.
Bomba’s enemies were upon him!
 CHAPTER II
AT GRIPS WITH DEATH

Like a flash, Bomba acted.

He knew that if he rose he would be offering himself as a target. At
least two of his foes were near at hand. There might be more.
Not fifty feet away was a fallen tree, a veritable monarch of the
jungle, that he and Doto had made their way over with difficulty. Its
branches and foliage spread over a large area.
Turning in that direction, keeping on hands and knees and motioning
Doto to follow, Bomba made his way through the intervening thickets
with as much speed as possible.
Had his enemies followed at once, Bomba would probably have
been discovered and overtaken. But they were wary, and from
previous experiences of their fellows knew to what deadly effect
Bomba could shoot. So, from their places of concealment, they
waited for the target once more to present itself.
And when, a few minutes later, they were reinforced by some of their
mates and rushed forward in a body to the place where Bomba had
last been seen, their expected prey had vanished.
Bomba had utilized those few precious minutes to the utmost.
Moving noiselessly and yet rapidly, he had reached the vast mass of
branches and ensconced himself in their furthest depths.
His concealment was aided also by the fact that the tree had fallen
across a hollow, so that there was a deep hole directly under the
trunk. Into this Bomba burrowed, crouching low so that his whole
body was hidden even should the branches and foliage be thrust
aside by his pursuers.
He had sent Doto off in another direction, as the monkey could be of
no help to him if it came to a fight, and might by its chattering betray
his hiding place to his enemies.
And now, with his heart beating rapidly but with his courage at the
highest pitch, Bomba waited for the coming of his enemies.
He knew that he was in desperate straits and that, if discovered, he
would be doomed. But before the end came he would do his utmost
to take some of his foes with him.
It was characteristic of the boy that at this supreme moment he
thought more of Casson than of himself. He had so often faced
death that it had lost most of its terrors.
But Casson! Poor, sick, half-demented Casson! What would become
of him if anything should happen to Bomba, who had so long been
his reliance and defender?
In that confined space the lad’s bow and arrows were of no use to
him. But he had his revolver fully loaded, and at such short range it
could be trusted to do deadly execution. And as a last resort, if it
came to a hand to hand fight, there was his machete, in the use of
which he was a master.
Before long he could hear his pursuers beating the bushes in the
vicinity, giving utterance to grunts of rage as their search continued
fruitless.
He held his breath and waited.
Then he heard another sound, faint at first but gradually becoming
more definite, a rustling as of some soft, long body slithering through
the brush.
At intervals there was a sound like a rattle, as though the creature
had encountered some obstacle that had aroused its irritation and
was taking this way of showing it.
Bomba knew that sound, and his heart skipped a beat.
A snake was coming toward him, the deadly jaracara, the South
American rattlesnake, the slightest puncture of whose fangs meant
death!
What should he do? He could not retreat. If he shot the reptile the
noise would bring his human enemies surging down upon him. If he
attempted to use his machete, the snake’s stroke would be quicker
than Bomba’s blow, and the creature’s fangs would be imbedded in
his flesh.
While these thoughts were racing through his mind he saw the
loathsome body and the triangular head of the jaracara come into
view not ten feet away.
At the same moment the reptile caught sight of Bomba. It stopped
short in surprise. Then its eyes snapped with malignant fury. Like a
flash it threw its body into a coil and upreared its head to strike.
But in that short moment an inspiration had come to Bomba. He
grasped a long stick and prodded its coils. Instantly the snake struck
at the stick. Before it could recover, Bomba had pounced upon it and
his sinewy hands had closed upon its throat.
Then ensued a terrific struggle, with the death of one or perhaps
both of the combatants as the only possible outcome—a struggle all
the more terrible for Bomba, because it had to be carried on in
silence.
And while he holds that slippery throat with the clutch of desperation,
as the snake twists and writhes and tries to bite, it may be well, for
the benefit of those who have not read the preceding volumes of this
series, to tell who Bomba was and what had been his adventures up
to the time at which this story opens.
From his earliest childhood, as far as his memory went, Bomba had
lived with Cody Casson in the jungle. The latter was a naturalist, who
had withdrawn from civilization and settled in a little cabin in the
remotest part of the Amazonian region. He was moody and
abstracted, and often went for days at a time without speaking
except in monosyllables.
But he was kind to Bomba, and a warm attachment existed between
them. He had started to give the boy the rudiments of an education.
But one day, when Casson fired at an anaconda that was darting at