Abstract
This work is an examination of the possibility of formalizing local design problems. A translation is proposed of peculiar design notions into mathematical concepts, with particular reference to Thorn's theory, such as: manifolds, dynamical systems, tangent spaces, attractors. Definitions of neighbourhoods and of topological spaces in design theory represent possible means for reaching such a translation. Physical, geometrical, economical variables must be projected onto mathematical spaces and languages, to build a consistent system. The result is a model which aims at representing the qualitative dynamics of the effects of each design choice, and therefore brings us nearer to obtaining consistent parameters for each design problem.
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