Abstract: “Cognitivism” pursues the design activities’ certainty from scientific studies’ models, but it misses the social orientation. So it is difficult to implement effectively in reality. Design methodology has turned from cognitivism’s paradigm to STS paradigm, which puts the design activities in social studies and reveals design activities’ social factors. The STS paradigm is not to criticize the scientific nature and autonomy of design in essence but to provide a new framework for the sociological analysis of design activities. The design of NanJing Yangtze River Bridge’s “clearance” shows that design and society are mutually constructed. On the one hand, the political and economic factors in society affect the construction and formation of design; on the other hand, design also reacts to the reconstruction of social orders.

摘要： “认知主义”的设计观旨在从科学研究模式中寻找设计活动的确定性以把握设计规律。然而这种进路忽视设计的社会导向，因此在现实中难以有效实施。当设计方法论从认知主义范式转向STS范式时，就能将设计活动放到社会中去考察，从而揭示了设计活动的社会因素。STS研究的初衷并不是想要从本质上批判设计的科学性与自主性，而是为研究设计活动提供一种社会学分析的补充框架。基于对南京长江大桥的“桥净空”设计的反思，可以看到，设计与社会是一种双向建构的过程。一方面社会中的政治经济因素影响设计的建构与形成，同时另一方面设计也反作用于社会秩序的重构。