building things, architecture and playful learnings

Recently, I've had unfettered interest in building things. Not sure why. Maybe this is to blame, or possibly because I've been mesmerized by this recently. Who knows.

Anyway, I've always been a big proponent of creating cool shit, so this new fascination doesn't seem to be a big surprise. But I'll take it in stride. I think there's something very insightful in store for all of us once we start creating things. Drudging up the creativity inside ourselves helps us understand our voice as people. I really do believe that.

I stumbled upon the book 101 Things I Learned in Archtecture School, by Matthew Frederick. Actually, it seemed to find me -- to be honest. During my Saturday afternoon wanderings in various bookstores around the city, this book was just staring at me. Every time. So, to give it the attention it deserved, I finally broke down and bought the damn thing.

And I'm glad I did. Really, really glad.

First off, it's a delightful coffeetable book. It just has that aura. It's small, has a cardboard cover, and contains one-item-per-page contents.

Secondly, it gives a very clear review of key themes that hold together the study of architecture. Written by a seasoned architect, it was written as a resource for architects and architecture students alike . . . sort of a continuous reflection of the field. After all, the first line of the preface reads: "Certainties for archtecture students are few."

How helpful of him! The architecture community should be pleased that Cliffs Notes finally got around to them.

But, arguably, so should the ad community. Here's why:

Architecture is very much like planning, and creative communication even. It's about understanding the how people are going to interact with something. Whereas engineering is actually being able to build complicated things (sorry to my engineering friends for the convenient oversimplification), architecture is about conceptualizing and designing them so that they better a human experience.

I highly recommend reading the whole thing, but I wanted to share a few of the points with you to give fodder to the discussion over the similarities architecture and advertising share. Here are 17 of the most insightful pages I tagged while I was reading -- again, as you read these, think of how we might be able to extend these truths to the brands we play with every day.

1. Sense of place - Genius loci literally means genius of place. It is used to describe places that are deeply memorable for their architectural and experimental qualities.
2. Parti (the big idea behind a piece of architecture) derives from understandings that are nonarchitectural and must be cultivated before architectural form can be born.
3. Reality may be engaged subjectively, by which one presumes a oneness with the objects of his concern, or objectively, by which a detachment is presumed.
4. "Science works with chunks and bits and pieces of things with the continuity presumed, and [the artist] works only with th continuities of things with the chunks and bits and pieces presumed." (from Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)
5. Being process-oriented, not product-driven, is the most important and difficult skill for a designer to develop.
6. The most effective, most creative problem solvers egage in a process of meta-thinking, or "thinking about the thinking."
7. There are 3 levels of knowing: (1) simplicity, (2) complexity, and (3) informed simplicity.
8. If you can't explain your ideas to your grandmother in terms that she understands, you don't know your subject well enough.
9. Beauty is due more to harmonious relationships among the elements of a composition than to the elements themselves.
10. A good building reveals different things about itself when viewed from different distances.
11. "Less is more." (Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe)
12. Properly gaining control of the design process tends to feel like one is losing control of the design process.
13. All design endeavors express the zeitgeist.
14. Manage your ego - Don't ask what YOU want the building to be; instead ask, "What does the BUILDING want to be?"
15. Limitations encourage creativity.
16. The chinese symbol for crissi is comprised of two characters: one indicating "danger" and the other, "opportunity."
17. Just do something.

Honestly, just reading this list won't do the book credit; there are wonderful sketches that illustrate points so well that sometimes you don't even need to read the text. Really great stuff.

Sorry I couldn't make it to 20, guys. But this even seems to be a bit much to throw out there.

Seriously, buy the book. It's totally worth it. (Remember what I said about the coffeetable-ness) Then let's chat about it.

Cheers.