Lecture 01 Reflection: Investigations and Objectives

Future Scenarios and Architectural Fiction

My first crude response to the lecture is that a lot of contextual research needs to take place before architecture can begin. I am slowly getting an idea of the breadth and depth of research that is required before the design process can progress and am attempting to distinguish the contextually appropriate architecture from the contextually awkward.

What are the contextual questions that need to be asked before a project brief can be developed?
(climatic, cultural, social, economical, ecological, geographical, political and technological)

It seems that some of these contexts are harder to prepare for and navigate than others, in particular, social, cultural and political.

How does on gain a deep insight into the rich nuances of a certain culture and apply this to an architectural response?

On reflection of the first lecture and the ideas presented by Yasu I started to considered the role of the architect and the architectural thinking that facilitates the design process. An architect is in a unique position to envision and visually represent future physical realities that require a thorough understanding of how the architectural outcome will be used and the context it will reside in. The act of creating a permanent and highly resolved architectural entity that doesn't yet exist is a very challenging task by nature and it seems that an architecture student must first develop thinking tools/skills that facilitate the envisioning of architectural experience. This may seem like an obvious statement, however, it is easy to focus on other areas of the design process, essentially overlooking the need to think about and test future scenarios.

In order to paint a picture of future interactions an architect must envision scenarios that test the architectural concepts at hand. These scenarios represent 'real' social events and human experience of the architectural entity. When thinking about these future scenarios one can adopt analogous themes that evoke images of human experience that may have been otherwise muted. Thinking of a project as a fictional narrative is one such approach that tells a detailed story of a central character. A stage is envisioned along with a plot devolving into a series of scenes that follow the central character's experience of the architectural entity and its context.