Design-use relations are complex: architects influence social outcomes through design without having control over them. Making this complexity explicit during design is important, but difficult. Promising is work on human-technology relations in science and technology studies (STS) and philosophy of technology. With an eye to connecting this theoretical work to design practice, we study what architects already do: how design-use complexities figure during design processes and how architects deal with them. Based on a case study of the design competition for a new media building, we show two lines of reasoning in architects’ anticipation of use: specificity and openness. In doing so, we aim to provide insight into when, where and why they can benefit from STS and philosophical theory.

设计与使用之间的关系很复杂：架构师会通过设计影响社会成果，而无法对其进行控制。在设计过程中明确这种复杂性很重要，但很困难。有前途的是关于科学技术研究（STS）中的人与技术关系和技术哲学的工作。为了将理论工作与设计实践联系起来，我们研究了建筑师已经做过的事情：设计过程中如何使用设计复杂性以及建筑师如何处理它们。基于对一个新媒体建筑的设计竞赛的案例研究，我们展示了建筑师预期使用中的两道推理：特异性和开放性。在此过程中，我们旨在提供有关何时，何地以及为什么他们可以从STS和哲学理论中受益的见解。