Creativity vs. Design
I stumbled on this article by Andy Rutledge over at “A List Apart,” who has some very interesting thoughts on creativity’s roll in design. Are they the same thing? Although Andy Rutledge is writing about web design, the role of creativity - especially in a professional context - has direct implications for architecture. I really appreciate:
Creativity is an inborn capacity for thinking differently than most, seeing differently, and making connections and perceiving relationships others miss. But most importantly, it is the ability to then extrapolate contextually useful ways of employing that data: to create something that meets a specific challenge.
An M.Arch is a professional degree, and I really believe it should be treated as such. That does not imply that every school project has to be “realistic” (whatever that is), but that each project should explore at least one challenge critically. As Rutledge says, design begins with DATA (and no not Filemaker). Data means research. It means a deep understanding of the problem at hand, that is researching information that will drive a design (see the paragraph on constraints). This is not taking a goddamn Mondrian painting, using it as an architectural plan and justifying it by reminding people that Mondrian painted it and that he was talented. This (bs) is (very bad) formalism. Art can be formal. Architecture should not - unless its not about a context or building. Then I would argue its art. This is a very fine line, especially in architecture.
And there is definitely a place for formalism - it can be provocative, abstract, inspirational. But it is different. As Rutledge says:
Creativity is technical and analytical, not expressive (as in self-expression). It is a filter through which perception and output pass, not a receptor or an infusion (as in the case of inspiration). Creativity may require or be enhanced by inspiration, but the two are distinct forces.
Creativity then is not self-serving, inherently contextual - and therefore a perfect model for responsible architecture. The way designers train this filter (the synthesizer) is by critique.
Or perhaps as an equation?
July 31st, 2008 at 4:03 am
[...] begin, here is a definition of creativity by Andy Rutledge: Creativity is an inborn capacity for thinking differently than most, seeing differently, and [...]