Summary of approved PhD theses

The use of new technologies in presentations of art and design in museums and galleries
Mgr. art. Paulína Ebringerová, ArtD.

Dissertation entitled The Use of New Technologies in Presentations of Art and Design in Museums and Galleries (original theme: Presentation of Art and Design in Contemporary Architecture) identifies the common features of certain phenomena and facts in the area of the Arts and Crafts Department.The work was developed during the years 2015-2018 at the Faculty of Architecture of the STU in Bratislava, and it deals with the presentation of works through modern technologies. The aim of the thesis is to establish research in the world institutions, which actively solves the given problem, and to apply research in Slovakia in the form of gallery presentation activities. During her PhD studies, she graduated from the International Metropolitan Museum of Art New York and Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Today’s technological sophistication allows for the originality of artistic phenomena and creates new processes in connection with overflowing art and design departments that can change the use of presentation activities in galleries and museums.

Ergonomics laboratory: Simulation method as an improvement tool for design process
Mgr. art. Mária Šimková, ArtD.

The aim of dissertation thesis Ergonomics Laboratory. Simulation method as an improvement tool for design process was to emphasize and document the importance of simulation method in learning process of designers. The use of the simulation method can significantly contribute to the improvement of the design process and consequently to the improvement of product design in terms of ergonomics and the principles of human-centred design. The paper is focused on preferred learning styles of design students in relation to the effective receiving of information. Research was based on the Empathic Experience Design methodology which included the implementation of simulation and empathic exercises. The exercises were focused on two types of disabilities: visual impairment and movement disorders with the aim of enhancement on designing products for people with particular disability. Subsequently the design ideas were compared before and after the completion of the exercises. The theme of the ergonomics laboratory was conceived as a study and scientific research workplace for educational process, research and application of its results in practice. Part of the dissertation was a design of a simulation device that simulates health impairment, specifically tremor. It is a dyskinetic movement disorder, the main symptom that occurs by Parkinson’s disease and Essential tremor. The device is designed as a basis of a prospective ergonomics
laboratory.

The meaning of pure architecture: White
Mgr. art. Ing. arch. Liana Rosinová, PhD.

The aim of the thesis is to analyze the historical and ideological development of white buildings and reflections on white in terms of civilization changes and discussion on the development of architecture. Especially through the modernity and character of Le Corbusier, the thesis effort is to analyze the perception of whiteness and purity, interpret them critically, and demolish traditionalized meanings. The thesis deals with an effort to deconstruct new perspectives and raise new questions through cultural-historical-social interdisciplinary mapping. Four symbolic insights of Water, Milk, Bread and Bones examine beliefs through hygiene, race, gender, politics, regularity and death. The work reveals two possible gazes: assertoric, narrow, excluding blackness, rooted in our culture from Plato’s time, which is currently facing great criticism. Its opposite is an aletheic gaze, embedding and ambiguous, which the last chapter deals with. An effort is to combine and reinterpret all the insights, explain how Critical  Whiteness Studies can be put in architecture, how to allow colour relativity and provide tools for its understanding and deconstruction of our own experience for the proposed “cleaned” image of the milky-white architecture.

Public spaces as the reflection of society
Ing. arch. Ivan Siláči, PhD.

The thesis deals with the issue of public space that reflects the social development of the settlement and reflects the state of the society and the individuals who use it. The aim of our work is to build on the current research on the issue and to develop it in a new direction. It focuses on relation between public space and society that are  interconnected and interact with each other. The work presents the importance of the public space, describes the various mechanisms and tools for its development. At the forefront is the importance of key actors in the public space and the potential of society in ongoing processes. These are divided according to their character, way of solution to the public space and the kind of the initiator of ongoing changes. This knowledge seeks to refer to the principles of adaptive planning using an integrated approach. This method presupposes mutual and equal cooperation of actors involved in the process. On the concrete example of rescuing the artwork “Stone Flowers” in Lučenec, she points to the potential of such a way of planning in the public space.

The potential of generative design in automotive design
Mgr. art. Matej Dubiš, ArtD.

This thesis is focused on generative methods of designing and their potential for a specific discipline: automotive design. Generative design in the most widespread form means the use of functionally autonomous digital systems in design creation, and is currently one of the major areas of design technology development. Its benefits include optimization, automation of 3D modeling, data processing, and simulation of natural processes such as evolutionary development. The main research focus is on the methodology of generative design, specifically the role of the designer and the process of generative design, divided into four blocks: concept, algorithm, parameters, results. Based on these, the possibilities of applying generative methods and their impact on the way the designer works, how he thinks and what tools he / she uses, are worked out. There is also a connection between the unique visuality of generative design and its basic principles. The possibilities for contribution to design aesthetics are identified. These are shown, for example, in data visualization or in combining generative and conventional design methods. Automotive design is a separate design discipline with specific procedures, techniques and design requirements. The paper describes a typical process of car design as well as the use of digital technologies in it. Examples of generative methods used in car design are studied. Main trends, challenges and opportunities for further  meaningful development are identified. The second part is devoted to the practical application of acquired knowledge. The methodological focus of this work means that emphasis is on the design process. The aim of practical research was to demonstrate the possibilities of using generative methods in car design and their subsequent evaluation. The method used in this section is research through design. Use of 3D printing was essential, not only in the development of prototypes, but also hypothetically in mass production. Use of generative methods at various phases of steering design was explored. The result consists of several generative systems and design parts combining the use of generative and conventional design methods. Each sub-process is described and analyzed.

Keywords: research, design, PhD study, doctoral theses, urban design, architecture