Looking Back on WK 1...

Overall, I found this week somewhat enlightening. I came across some intriguing and thought provoking articles that really helped me to reconsider the process of idea generation. It prompted me to research new topics that I had not previously come across. In particularly I found the Archigram group really resonated with me. I liked and appreciated the way they designed without restriction which in turn, enabled them to produce ideas that were so out of the ordinary.  Although mainly un-built designs, their extreme way of thinking has inspired me. I find their way of approaching architecture particularly relevant for this subject as we are also required to imagine futuristic scenarios for an existing site.

 I like the way the following image shows a juxtaposition between the existing city and their ‘new’ imagined city adaption.  I appreciate that they are not afraid to push the boundaries and take a risk.

Archigram’s fictitious Walking City (The Unique Creatures 2012).

The following image is another creation from the Archigram group that has inspired me.  Although not a built-form per se, this photomontage of an instant city portrays to me a sense of freedom through trial and error.  The image has a sense of energy and actively creates interest.  The thought that a city could appear in an instance makes me question the reality of my current surrounding built environment which is static/ fixed.  Although two-dimensional, the image feels alive and portrays a sense of immediacy. Again the juxtaposition of elements being brought together in a planned but seemingly un-restricted way helps to captivate me as a viewer.  The composition subconsciously makes me question elements and blurs the line between socially accepted function and fictitious application.

 

Archigram’s Instant City (The Unique Creatures 2012).

During this week’s readings I came across a few reoccurring terms that which I was not certain of.  This spurred me to find out their definitions.

 

Avant-garde was a term I had heard many times but was unsure exactly what it meant. It can be described as, “A group active in the invention and application of new techniques in a given field, especially in the arts (Farlex, Inc. 2012).” In context the Archigram group had avant-garde ideals in which they pushed the boundaries of the norm and tried to establish a new way of thinking about the built environment.  The Archigram group acted ‘new age’ and even established new words into the English discourse. For instance the word indeterminacy was invented by them and means, “Not of fixed extent or character, vague, left doubtful” and is used often throughout their design descriptions (Sadler 2005).

I have taken many ideas and thoughts away with me this week. None as much as the invigorated idea generation that was so aptly used in the Archigram group. I hope to implement this type of enlightened design development into my assignments.

Reflection on WK 1 Reading: Innovation that will change your tomorrow.

This article was indeed fun to read and encouraged me to keep trying, to keep pushing the envelope of creativity.  I like the honesty in this article as it clearly explains that ideas/ inventions are not always initially successful. Sometimes ideas need to be massaged and developed and often take a great deal of time to perfect.  Even the light bulb was not created overnight.  Patience and determination are key attitudes that resonated with me after reading about the many intriguing inventions that are already in development.  Compared to the last reading, Revell’s 88.7: Stories from the First Transnational Traders, where an extreme scenario existed, this reading showed creative inventions that have either come about or will do in the near future.  This proves to me that imagination, coupled with alternative technological applications, can actually make ideas a reality!  The truth that inventions and idea generation is messy, also appeals to me.  It provides a somewhat less-restrictive platform for development.  The trial and error and re-evaluation that is a necessary process of innovation allows a product/ to naturally evolve and change.  I agree that in fact, innovation has no end as “what we want and what we need keeps changing.”  This open-end adaption reminds me of the earlier reading of the Archigram group which believed Architecture should be open to change (Sadler 2005).  Is it this ‘open-ended’ approach that is still the missing link in the longevity of our built environment?  In our rush to ‘complete’ buildings have we actually confined living?  How can we stop and re-evaluate the process of an industry that has been ingrained in accepted social and cultural contexts for so long?

Reflection on WK 1 Reading: 88.7: Stories from the First Transnational Traders

This reading provides a glimpse into an imaginary world scenario.  Revealed as a story in blog-like style it cleverly tries to blur fiction with reality.  Although this reading is not architecturally focused, it shows how an imagined future developed from an actual current issue (in this case, the need for global financial stability).  The story was made more believable with its description of the impacts the scenario had on humans.  This imaginative story showed how a current issue could result in an extreme change in context or situation.  I can see a ‘charette-like’ development in how the author came to the cause and effects of their chosen scenario.  Perhaps this would be a good way to tackle all the possible ideas for the assignment?  This story has also opened my eyes to how I could imagine a future scenario for the first assignment and has also encouraged me to become less restrictive in my idea generation.  As such, I believe that only when ideas are un-restricted can imagination come to life.

Reflection on WK 1 Reading: Beyond Architecture by S.Sadler

This insightful reading describes the view of the Archigram group that existed during the 1960’s – 1970’s. This avant-garde group of Architect’s pushed the ideals of Architecture into a grey area that blurred the built-environment with futuristic technology, energy and indeterminacy.

This reading made me think out of the box and made me questions the limits of the environments we create. “What is a room?... The ‘container’ was a central defining device in the game of architecture.” Perhaps I have been looking at Architecture wrong? Instead of trying to define it as solid entity perhaps it is just a game of space function? Have we as Architects become too rigid in its application and too quick to control the imagined metaphysical into the applied reality?  As a group Archigram believed that architecture was only completed with, “the active involvement of the observer.” In retrospect, architecture would not exist without its users.  However, the revolutionary future view of Archigram also believed that, “in a fully functioning cybernetic environment, in fact, the architecture could become the observer of its human subject.”  This would have to be one of the most resonating Architectural quotes that I had come across to date.  Archigram cleverly personifies Architecture and gives it human characteristics. Could Architecture actually be seen as a person with needs and emotions?  I had never once thought that our surrounding Architecture could actively observe us and respond directly to our moods.  Could advancements in technology allow architecture to observe us and respond in real-time to our needs without wires or electricity? Could we become so in-tuned with our built environment that it knows what we are thinking without us saying or doing anything? It makes me realise that the ideas are endless but are unfortunately limited to the currently accepted technology.

Archigram also turned the ideals of the Architecture profession on its head by saying that, “Architecture is probably a hoax, a fantasy world brought about through a desire to locate, absorb and integrate into an overall obsession a self-interpretation of the everyday world around us.”(Sadler 2005). Have we just made something out of nothing? Has Architecture just become another thing we Humans are obsessed to control.  In a climate where reality renovation shows are popular and everyone thinks they are designers, have we completely lost the true essence of what Architecture really is?  I believe the industry needs to get back to basic and agree that an architect, ‘performs no specifically ‘artistic’ acts, since he is merely the medium through which the technique becomes substantiated.”

In essence,  Archigram designs centred around the human users, the playful re-composition of built-entities that were not locked in a finished state but were open to the inhibitor’s desire to continually change their surrounds. This flexibily represents to me the freedom that is missing in today’s architecture. Architecture must be able to change in order to stay ‘real.’ Therefore, perhaps the true question we as future Architects should be asking ourselves is, how can we create a liveable entity that is ‘alive’ and adaptable not for just for now or tomorrow but is still modern in 20 years?

 

Reflections on Lecture 1

Lecture 1 enabled me to get a better understanding of what was required for the semester ahead. Yasu emphasised the need to keep exploring, to try something different and experiment with my ideas/ designs.  The need to always question myself about what I think the contemporary and future roles of architects should be, will help to stimulate growth in my future career. I agree that Architects are not just drafters anymore and that the Architect’s role is currently changing.  I believe they are becoming more of an overseer of work in which they co-ordinate the many consultants to the point that project management has become a central role for current Architects.  I find that currently Architects are out-source a lot of specific tasks to consultants such as; structural engineers. Perhaps this out-sourcing will continue into the future which may result in Architects out-sourcing all drafting works to a new ‘drafting profession’ and become purely project management focused.  In this instance, this could ultimately lead to the demise of the profession.  Especially in a drained financial climate where people are avoiding the ‘middle man’ to cut costs, perhaps Architects may become the next casualty in this war to maintain profit? If this is the case, then action must be made now to ensure our profession is still needed in the future.

This lecture also explained the important connection that every architectural proposition should have with its context, (see diagram below).

 

A key quote from lecture that resonated with me showed the need to constanly look ahead;

“Envisioning, rather than simply responding to what you see today, is essential to be able to prepare and respond to future needs (Santo 2012).”

Architecture is like a play which has a plot (scenario), stage (context) with characters and scenes (how users utilise spaces).  This analogy also connects with my earlier thoughts about the definition of ‘Architectural Fiction’ and reiterates the direction of focus for the semester.  To which we are required to design and architectural entity that provides critical scenes and responds to my future scenario. This proposal will be then presented as Architectural Fiction.

For the first assignment (Project One: Future Scenarios and Architectural Opportunities) we, in groups of four,  must define the context of our site, identify certain issues and identify certain strategies in response to possible scenarios. These will in turn, lead into Project Two.

Considering future scenarios should always show a relation between four main topics to be believable (see diagram below);

Theme Groups:

There will be four site options to choose from within four differenct site contexts. I can select one site which I will eventually need to propose a future Architecture entity for. The site options exist within the following Theme groups;

·         Urban Theme – CBD

·         Suburban Theme – Paddington

·         Regional Theme – Woodford

·         Virtual Theme – The World.

At this stage I would like to look into the Regional Site as I have not had an opportunity to design projects in regional areas before and am interested in the specific brief for this site. However, I will have to wait till the end of next week (Wk 2) to place a selection for my first and second site preferences.

 As Project One mainly consists of master planning my group’s future scenario/s within a specific site, Project Two will allow me as an individual, to lead straight into designing an entity and presenting it through its Architectural Fictitious scenario.

Initial Contemplations for the Semester Ahead...

When I Initially enrolled in DAB810 I was apprehensive yet intrigued about what ‘Architecture Fiction’ meant and how this topic would be integrated into our design work for the semester.  I started to think about fiction and what my earliest memories of fiction were to me.  The pretend lands and characters of storybook fantasies came to mind.  Tales of childhood favourites such as Cinderella and Mary Poppins were envisaged and brought to life so clearly not only by word but through movies and subsequently resonated strongly with me during my youth.  In this sense, I portray Fiction as; a made-up story/ a world of pretend that enables the imagination to cast away from any fixed reality and in which anything can exist. With this thought process I realised that this subject may require us to incorporate a contextual story to our design.  My memory was then cast back to the subject; DEB601 - Collaborative Design from Semester 2, 2011 in which our group had to come up with a pretend context which came about from a ripple effect of a particular event.  Perhaps this imagery producing scheme is also what is required of us in DAB810?

With my initial ideas on the subject starting to develop, I waited for the current outline to be uploaded to the DAB810 Blackboard (Bb) page.  Upon opening the DAB810 page, I was immediately struck by the header image.  Shown below, this image caught my imagination and further spurred my curiosity into what ‘Architecture Fiction’ could entail.

  DAB810’s Bb Header Image (Santo 2012).

The image vividly shows a play being conducted on a stage which is surrounded completely by a large audience.  In context of ‘Architectural Fiction,’ this portrays to me that perhaps we are being asked to imagine a future scenario to which we will act out and produce a suitable development.  As such perhaps those actors featured in the image are a metaphor for our building and that the audience is the future public that we have to design for and whom must be happy with our future entities. I also found it interesting that both the actors and the audience are wearing noticeable casual attire.  Perhaps this means that we need to focus on producing buildings that interact and perform at higher levels on a daily basis with the average person.

I believe that this image portrays a thousand words and was carefully selected to provoke thought and stimulate ideas. In conjunction with my initial ideals of fiction, this image has prompted me to realise that I will need to think outside the box and think more 3-dimensionally to produce a more creative and believable context/ outcome.