Abstract
The question for architects is always how to begin. This proposal attempts to illustrate a design methodology that is characterised by its attention to non-traditional generators. The focus of the paper is the definition of an innovative design process characterised by the production of an architectonic language through the observation of the ephemeral and the transitory (the quanta of place), and which pays cognisance to the realization of a three-dimensional narrative, placing value upon the products of investigation as well as the resultant design. As the title suggests the process outlined concerns itself with the examination of the ephemeral, the transitory and the unobserved. The overriding concern is with the recording of fragments of a chosen environment (site) and, the collation and depiction of these findings in an alternative three-dimensional environment (virtual space). This process is only made possible by the advent of computer applications capable of generating the complexity of three-dimensional environments needed to explore the plethora of forms generated by the initial recordings. This process is concerned with the nascence of architectural expression and the formalising of architectural propositions composed from an individual's interpretation of the 'space between', the obvious and the immaterial, and the phenomena that exist there. The generators are the things beyond immediate perception. They are the quanta of place. It is this process of capturing fixed moments in time and space and, translating imperceptible nanomoments and nanoevents, that allows for the development of exploratory diagrams constructed over a backdrop of credible analysis. These make apparent the infinite possibilities for further transition whilst illustrating the conceptual lineage that links each instance to its antecedents. The resultant physical forms embody the essence of something transformed. They possess cultural and emotional syntax. They become mementos in the landscape.
Citation
Gowans, S., and Wright, R. (2004) Architecture in the Space Between., in Redmond, J., Durling, D. and de Bono, A (eds.), Futureground - DRS International Conference 2004, 17-21 November, Melbourne, Australia. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2004/researchpapers/173
Architecture in the Space Between.
The question for architects is always how to begin. This proposal attempts to illustrate a design methodology that is characterised by its attention to non-traditional generators. The focus of the paper is the definition of an innovative design process characterised by the production of an architectonic language through the observation of the ephemeral and the transitory (the quanta of place), and which pays cognisance to the realization of a three-dimensional narrative, placing value upon the products of investigation as well as the resultant design. As the title suggests the process outlined concerns itself with the examination of the ephemeral, the transitory and the unobserved. The overriding concern is with the recording of fragments of a chosen environment (site) and, the collation and depiction of these findings in an alternative three-dimensional environment (virtual space). This process is only made possible by the advent of computer applications capable of generating the complexity of three-dimensional environments needed to explore the plethora of forms generated by the initial recordings. This process is concerned with the nascence of architectural expression and the formalising of architectural propositions composed from an individual's interpretation of the 'space between', the obvious and the immaterial, and the phenomena that exist there. The generators are the things beyond immediate perception. They are the quanta of place. It is this process of capturing fixed moments in time and space and, translating imperceptible nanomoments and nanoevents, that allows for the development of exploratory diagrams constructed over a backdrop of credible analysis. These make apparent the infinite possibilities for further transition whilst illustrating the conceptual lineage that links each instance to its antecedents. The resultant physical forms embody the essence of something transformed. They possess cultural and emotional syntax. They become mementos in the landscape.