PatternRecommended
Document each fact and idea graphically
Peña, Problem Seeking — Ch 4 — Analysis Cards / Brown SheetsDescription
A visual image is more easily retained than a word image. CRS uses 5×7 analysis cards — each one carrying ONE fact, ONE concept, ONE idea — and arranges them on a wall for the team to see. The Statement of the Problem is the textual deliverable, but the supporting program is fundamentally visual.
Why this exists
A wall of analysis cards lets the client and architect see the entire program at once and notice the gaps. A 30-page program document doesn't.
Categories
Adjacency
Source
Caudill Rowlett Scott (via ERIC, US Dept of Education)authoritative
Problem Seeking: New Directions in Architectural Programming (early edition (ERIC ED037930, 1969))
Upgrade path: $75 for Problem Seeking 5th Edition (Wiley). 5th edition (2012, Wiley) is the current authoritative form of Peña's method. The ERIC PDF is the earliest published form — all the core method is present; later editions add case studies and refinements.
Section: Ch 4 — Analysis Cards / Brown Sheets
Published 1969-01-01 · last verified 2026-05-14
Solver enforcement
Browsable only — the solver does not currently enforce this directive (no spec-level data to check against). This entry exists so the architect personas can cite it in conversation and the user can read what the rule says.
Related directives
- Common Areas at the Heart · Pattern 129
- Intimacy Gradient · Pattern 127
- Indoor Sunlight · Pattern 128
- Children's Realm · Pattern 137
- Sequence of Sitting Spaces · Pattern 142
Last reviewed 2026-05-14.