We have been lying to ourselves; architects, urbanists, designers, all pretending
as though the process to conceive and create ideas and projects, is a well measured
well reasoned method, that when presented with a problem, One can simply go
from point A to B; from idea to solution.
The truth is there is no such thing as a road from point A to point B, not in design at least.
Sure, there are guide lines, ways to look at a certain problem and to look for a solution, but methodologies do not offer or promise solutions to a problem, they offer a tool for you to come up with the answer.
It goes a little like this; someone asked you to build a chair; as professionals we delude ourselves thinking:
- "I understand all the theory of chairs, and the historical context of chairs, so I shall make a chair appear from thin air -Voila! "
When in reality the situation is more like:
- "I understand all the theory of chairs, and the historical context of chairs, so I have a hammer to build ... a chair... and that's about it"
Conceiving an thought and working it like play-do, until you have a cohesive viable plan and then creating something based on that plan, is a messy, messy job.
I've heard the saying that goes "Inspiration must find you working" and I think it's an understatement, Inspiration would much prefer to find you getting down and dirty, with your work that is.
It is important to realize that creative processes are a more of a weaving than a straight line, you have come back from different angles many times to and revisit points you thought you already had covered. In the professional world I have seen architects ranging from the very fresh (like myself) to the very seasoned, but regardless of experience or volume of work under their belts and I've come to notice that the people who are truly brilliant at it, are the one that allow the process to take it's very swirly course; people who understand that a messy process is sometimes necessary for a spectacular result.
The truth is there is no such thing as a road from point A to point B, not in design at least.
Sure, there are guide lines, ways to look at a certain problem and to look for a solution, but methodologies do not offer or promise solutions to a problem, they offer a tool for you to come up with the answer.
It goes a little like this; someone asked you to build a chair; as professionals we delude ourselves thinking:
- "I understand all the theory of chairs, and the historical context of chairs, so I shall make a chair appear from thin air -Voila! "
When in reality the situation is more like:
- "I understand all the theory of chairs, and the historical context of chairs, so I have a hammer to build ... a chair... and that's about it"
Conceiving an thought and working it like play-do, until you have a cohesive viable plan and then creating something based on that plan, is a messy, messy job.
I've heard the saying that goes "Inspiration must find you working" and I think it's an understatement, Inspiration would much prefer to find you getting down and dirty, with your work that is.
It is important to realize that creative processes are a more of a weaving than a straight line, you have come back from different angles many times to and revisit points you thought you already had covered. In the professional world I have seen architects ranging from the very fresh (like myself) to the very seasoned, but regardless of experience or volume of work under their belts and I've come to notice that the people who are truly brilliant at it, are the one that allow the process to take it's very swirly course; people who understand that a messy process is sometimes necessary for a spectacular result.
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