Design/Entwurf: Observations

Extract

Translating the German expressions Entwurf or Entwerfen into English seems to be an easy task: ‘design’ or ‘designing’ are the common choices recommended by dictionaries whenever a translation of Entwerfen or Entwurf is intended. The mutual translatability is evident since both ‘designing’ and Entwerfen refer to the same phase of an architectural process. Similarly, Entwurf and ‘design’ refer to the outcome of the architectural process as well. This confirms their exchangeability. It is notable that there are no similarly convincing alternative translations available, at least not in the form of single words or short expressions.

‘both “designing” and Entwerfen refer to the same phase of an architectural process [and…] to the outcome of the architectural process‘

But there is no doubt that the expressions ‘design’ and Entwurf refer to different practices and media. They stress different aspects of the process of developing new concepts, ideas or objects, and different aspects of the result. This is why the common translation becomes dubious. Translating proves to be a challenge. The term ‘design’ offers characteristic and conceptually important qualities, as does the German word Entwurf, and the implications of each are so different that there is some doubt that ‘design(ing)’ can function as the adequate translation of Entwerfen.