The "Death Cube 'K'" excerpt by Anthony Vidler was riddled with well described imagery. As I read it, it was impossible not to picture all of the different descriptions of the environments that he gave. He was able to not only place images into my mind but also certain feelings about what I was visualizing. He talked about how imagination and imagery go hand in hand in architecture. I couldn't agree more.
As he leads us through the different landscapes and building frames, he is able to correctly phrase the objects/environments he is talking about, not only allowing the imagery to form in the readers head but also tying a feeling to each object. As a first example, he described a couple of environments using the word "steel". As I started to imagine the room he was describing full of sharp steel tipped objects, a cold feeling accompanied the images. I immediately realized that this was something I did often, and that I suspect most readers do. When imagining certain words, I subconsciously tie them to certain feelings. As I think about it, there is no reason for steel to give me a cold feeling, in fact, steel could also be a very hot material, or thinking about it a different way, steel doesn't have to be a cold object of horror making me feel trapped and confined, but could be a beautiful warm reflecting image of light. Yet this is not what my imagination jumps to first.
This is a reoccurring theme in Vidler's writing He describes how words and phrases can have such a big impact on one's imagination. The same environment, described in two different ways, can lead to two totally separate images and feelings for people. This becomes important for architects since portraying the initial image of the proposed structure to others on the project team can have a vital impact on how that structure actually turns out. One of the main points I took from the first part of this article is how everyone has a different perspective on something. Even further, the same person, having a totally different perspective could have a different image, feeling, and memory develop in their mind when viewing the same object or structure at different times or from different angles. It becomes important for architects to not only design structures based on what they want people to visually see, but also what feelings they want people to experience when viewing it, since both of these things seem to be inevitably intertwined.
He continues on to describe how the society that we live in tends to form the architecture profession, not only shaping it in good ways as we advance as a race, but also limiting the creative abilities of architects as structures start to be categorized and follow suit. These buildings started to fall into certain "types", as Vidler describes it, making it harder or less likely for the architects to break from the pattern of structures that society was getting used to.
The article then shifts its thought, elaborating about how some architects are going about "morphing the type", the structural rigidity that has limited the creativity of the design process. Three parts of this article had the biggest impacts on me, and the first one comes up here. "The dream of a potentially liberating 'space'" is how Vidler begins his description of the transformation of architecture on page 206|207. This one phrase held many different meanings for me and whether or not all are correct doesn't particularly matter, it just matters that I began to contemplate the meaning of this phrase from different perspectives. First, the word space brought up an image of blackness and stars, of literal space. Not that I have ever been there before but of course I could imagine it. Tied with this is the feeling of freedom, of not having any bounds, of creativity at its peak. Yet at the same time a sort of emptiness was intertwined with the image, a cold feeling of loneliness, wondering if I would be able to fill this space. Could I be creative enough now that the limitations of architectural design had been figuratively lifted from my imagination, or would I fail to fully utilize the potential that lays before me now that my eyes have been opened. As the image began to morph in my mind, a light appeared, perhaps from a nearby sun and my imagination went from empty and cold to bright and warm. Sure I could be creative enough, and if I am not its OK since it is not just up to me, architecture as a whole can evolve and embrace this new dimension, this new freedom of design now that a light has shown us what could be. Just how he managed to phrase these couple of paragraphs had an interesting effect on my imagination and thought process.
Image 3: http://www.picstopin.com/2560/blue-outer-space-stars-hd-wallpaper
The second descriptive phrase of this article that stuck with me was in the middle of the complete thought of how building blocks make up our structures. Vidler is explaining how past and current architecture is made up of "fractured" and "sheared" surfaces, how structures are discontinuous in nature. Examples such as the Great Wall of China, with its millions of separate building blocks, brings images to this description. Then he offers reasons for this, the most thought provoking (and the one I liked the best) is his quotation of the description on page 210|2011 which reads, "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a scientific man to pass through a door. And whether the door be barn door or church door it might be wiser that he should consent to be an ordinary man and walk in rather than wait till all the scientific difficulties involved in a rally scientific ingress are resolved". As engineers, architects, and scientists, we tend to over complicate things very often, getting in our own way instead of moving forward. Not all of the mathematics are worked out yet about complex geometries, new forms, and interesting shapes for structures, but that doesn't mean we have to let it hinder our creative abilities when designing the next inspirational space. It is a reminder to me that every once and a while I need to "take a step back" and see the full picture, contemplate how that current design is coming out, and how my different designs have evolved and come to be over the years.
As he expands on these thoughts he touches on a concept that had stayed with me from last weeks reading. Whether or not it was actually in last weeks reading I can't say for sure, but it was something that the previous reading did make me think about. The explanation on page 241|215 of how vertical walls can morph into horizontal floors, and vice-versa, is the third image provoking phrase that I left with from this reading. I literally imagined a building, with a ribbon like structure of white winding walls curving into and with the floors, very smooth, very calming. Why white? I don't know, maybe it is tied with the thought of creative freedom, or of a change in the imagination. Either way, it was a unique space that I have currently only seen in my imagination, a space that is not "fractured" from its environment, but one that could wave with the flow of the wind or roll with the hills. Yet at the same time this building could be very structurally stable, getting support from the ground itself, or cutting through the wind with ease due to it's soft and curvy structure.
This article effectively brought out my imagination. The way in which Vidler described his explanations and formed his points, allowed my mind to explore different images and tap into the creative side of thinking again. As he went on describing gravity free spaces, flowing structures with curved surfaces, buildings that blended with the environment, my mind was able to form images based off my own memories allowing me to picture how I felt about his thoughts. My mind was able to create images that most of us have seen, yet have different memories of due to our unique perspective; images such as a wall mural of an endless corridor, a cave filled with crystals hanging from the ceiling, or of a home built into the side of a mountain such as the hobbit's from the well known book and movie series. This creative thinking, the ability to see the final structure in its completeness and form, is an ability that architects and engineers must never forget, for it will be this skill that will remove the bounds of our designs and allow our structures to evolve with society.
Image 4: Endless Corridor
