Design is a lengthy process.
It requires trial and error and constant questioning. Whatever the product is,
it undergoes a rigorous examination of possibilities that may or may not
improve the product. Lessons are learned and then applied before the final
product is delivered. Products that undergo a weak design process, or no
process at all, are most often either forgotten or failures. Before that process
can occur however, there must be an idea. A process of thought that captures the very essence of Creativity. From
a void emerges an idea, and from that idea, a concept explodes to be explored,
investigated and developed. Without this” Big Bang” of originality there is no
progression of a concept. There is no process of investigation and exploration
of alternate possibilities and the process of design becomes nothing more than a
cycle of digestion and regurgitation of what already exists.
In terms of the architectural design process,
there is no better example of this Big Bang of Originality than the world being
explored by Bryan Cantley and his architectural laboratory Form:uLA. It is a world of architectural thought and
alternate possibilities that exist on a different plane of reality than the one
we are familiar with. It is an architecture that is not for the faint of heart,
or as Cantley himself might say, NSFA ( Not Safe For Architecture (Architects?)).
Our perceptions of
what architecture is, and what it can be, are challenged in his recently published book “MECHUDZU:
New Rhetorics for Architecture”.
*Mechudzu Cover, Copyright Form:uLA*
In order to really appreciate
the work (data?) being explored in the book, one is required to suspend one’s
beliefs and follow the rabbit down the hole into the world being explored by
Cantley. You simply cannot bring your familiar architectural bags with you when
you are trying to understand a project with a title like “Enantiomorphistic Inversions” (...and yes I have checked the spelling at least 10 times!).
To do so, one risks the possibility of one’s
head exploding! The beauty of the ideas (experiments?) being explored by Cantley is not in the
projects themselves. A world populated by the theoretical constructions
presented in the book might be a bit on the uncomfortable side for most people, which is where the suspension of beliefs comes into play. Enjoy the work presented in the book for its purity of origin and unbridled imagination.....That is where the beauty lies. That and the very fact that these ideas came to fruition and are being explored in the first
place!
To continue the Big Bang analogy, the projects and
ideas being investigated are being generated in a primordial soup of
architectural thought that is mix of advanced machine technology, complex layering of informational data and pure unadulterated passion for architectural experimentation. While Cantley may be swimming in the same waters that Lebbeus Woods once swam in (RIP Mr. Woods), he is expanding on that influence with every project, and discovering waters that have not yet been visited. These experiments are most certainly unique in origin and are
fantastic examples of the essence of creativity. There is no better example of this passion for the original and the unique than the project "Mobile Gatherspace".
Mobile Gatherspace, Copyright Form:uLA*
I don’t know what the
parameters were or what the question was that the “Mobile Gatherspace” was in
response to. I can imagine it was in response to something like….”In the year
2150, how will our civic institutions adapt to the ever changing social,
economical, global and physical forces that shape that society?” From that
question, and before anything existed before it, the idea of a floating civic
plaza occurs…..and explodes into the theoretical construct of the “Mobile
Gatherspace”.Yes it’s theoretical, nothing more than a concept. Whether
something like it could be built, not to mention float, from location to
location is actually of little importance.
The true value of this project lies in the inception of the unique and
original idea, and then developing that into a quantifiable project that others
can critique, respond to, and be inspired from. The project, (along with the
other theoretical , graphical, economical and even alchemical projects listed
in the book's contents) displays a purity of thought and a passion for the alternative
possibilities that exist if one is willing to simply discover them.
*Mobile Gatherspace, Copyright Form:uLA*
The other aspect of the
architectural investigations that requires mention is the sheer audacity of the
investigations, and the confidence in which they are developed through the design
process. From somebody grounded in the minutia of everyday architectural production like myself (flashing details, sq. footage costs and the number of risers between floors), it is a refreshing and pleasant visceral experience to see the successful experimental investigations of Bryan Cantley and his architectural laboratory, Form:uLA. They continue to pull back the curtain on an
alternate reality of mind numbing constructs that challenge the everyday
perception of our built environment; what architecture is, and the inherent possibilities
if we allow ourselves, as Cantley puts
it, …..to consider the future of
architecture before we actually get there”.
MECHUDZU: New Rhetorics
for Architecture” by Bryan Cantley……………….Read
it( repeat as necessary), learn from it and become inspired from it!
For a further taste of of the work, please visit
Well
done Mr. Cantley. Well done!
RBP
9/18/13
*all images obtained and used with permission of Form:uLA
