The importance of out-of-the-box thinking in future design

The theme of architectural fiction for the final semester of design was initially an intriguing yet confusing concept. Although the overall concept of each design semester begins with an air of ambiguity, this one has certainly topped the rest. After reading “Beyond Architecture. Archigram: Architecture without Architecture” by S. Sadler, the intended approach to the unit became clearer while making it obvious that this “design” assignment would be quite unlike any prior. It seemingly aims to broaden everyone’s minds as to what is considered architecture, and how it constantly evolves in relation to happenings of the world.

The article was written as a summarization of a series of magazines published by Archigram, all of which were produced in the 1960’s. Because of its coinciding with an emergence of new computer technology, the writers of Archigram used the newly found technology to significantly influence their opinions on the future of architecture (which ties in strongly to the semester’s theme of architecture fiction).  

As the issues of Archigram progressed, their ideas evolved from discussions on modular structures to more abstracted forms of what is considered traditional architecture. Although I disagree with the practicality of many of the proposed designs and concepts, the general notion that architecture has the potential to change so drastically is a very fascinating idea that requires extensive of out-of-the-box thinking. Rather than a shift in style, it is a shift in the overall meaning of design. This can be seen in the image below.

Evolution of Design (Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture, 2005)

However, towards the end, the Archigram writers seemed to take some of their ideas to the extreme causing many readers of their work to criticise it with quotes such as, "The pill and the plastic liver have ended the concern that we are all part of some wonderful inevitable natural process”, hinting at the creation of cyborgs where design overtakes human function. This shows that any single idea or concept regarding architecture or any other form of innovation must be critically analyzed during its entire lifecycle and process or the developer may become enveloped in a reclusive state where new opinions fail to be heard. When a particular idea such as this becomes so linear, narrow-mindedness often ensues. This reiterates the importance of regarding all aspects of an issue and its solution from an objectified perspective. This is especially important in a society where values and needs are constantly changing as new situations arise, and new information must constantly be processed when addressing these needs.  

Article Reference:

Sadler, S., 2005. Beyond Architecture. In. Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. pp 90-138.