Architecture in Dialogue with an Activated Ground

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Urs Bette explores the role of "unreasonable" thought and behavior in architectural design, focusing on the dynamic relationship between architectural objects and the site they inhabit

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Institution: University of Adelaide

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Urs Bette explores the role of “unreasonable” thought and behavior in architectural design, focusing on the dynamic relationship between architectural objects and the site they inhabit

Image courtesy of interviewee. October 17, 2024

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This video discusses the author's architectural practice and philosophy, highlighting the significance of dialogue between architectural objects and their sites. Following their experiences at the University of Adelaide and University College London, the author identified a gap in publications about design practitioners' reflective practices. They reject the notion that artistic research is inherently subjective and aim to demonstrate that design can create new knowledge through various processes.

The author emphasizes the importance of play and experimentation in the design process, fostering environments that encourage innovative ideas. They advocate for a balance between subjective creativity and objective justification, asserting that successful architectural projects emerge from a dialogue that includes consideration of site characteristics, user engagement, and emotional resonance.

Through case studies, including a residential project in the Adelaide Hills and the River Torrens footbridge, the author describes processes of bringing objects onto sites to observe reactions and cultivate a meaningful interaction. They argue that architecture must integrate with its context, facilitating a symbiotic relationship between built forms and their environments.

Additionally, the text outlines the challenges posed by conventional architectural practices, emphasizing the need for risk-taking and creative exploration to generate authentic and sustainable designs. By viewing architectural elements as characters with personalities that resonate with users, the author strives to create unique buildings that foster identification, engagement, and emotional connections. Ultimately, the aim is to develop structures that are not merely functional but rich with meaning and capable of ongoing dialogue with their surroundings. The author concludes by underscoring the importance of questioning design norms and advocating for innovative approaches that respond to contemporary challenges in urban environments.

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Here are five key points extracted from the video:

1. **Integration of Artistic Research and Design Practice**: The author emphasizes the importance of integrating artistic research into the field of architectural design, arguing that this process is often seen as subjective and not regarded as rigorous scientific inquiry. They believe that designers create new knowledge through reflective practice and that it's crucial to acknowledge and share these processes.

2. **Dialogic Engagement with the Site**: The author describes a method where they actively engage with the site by introducing objects and observing how the site reacts. This interaction fosters a dialogue between the design object and the site, offering insights into how the two can coexist and influence each other in the development of a project.

3. **Challenging Conventional Approaches**: The video highlights a deliberate challenge to conventional architectural practices and evaluation methods. By embracing 'unreasonable' thoughts and behaviors, the author seeks to expand creative possibilities and encourages designers to explore new forms of innovation that emerge through misappropriation and reinterpretation.

4. **Morphological Development and Assessment**: The author outlines a threefold choreography in their design process, moving from field to figure to character. They describe a dual mode of assessment that combines emotional cognition with analytical synthesis, which allows for a deeper exploration of ideas and the incorporation of diverse perspectives into architectural projects.

5. **Cultural and Emotional Connection in Architecture**: The author believes that successful architecture should foster a connection between buildings and their occupants. They advocate for designs that possess a sense of personality and that engage users on multiple levels, allowing for ongoing discoveries and interactions, thus creating a liveable and sustainable architectural environment.

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This video contains a wealth of insights and reflections on architecture, design, and the creative process. Here are some key quotes extracted from the video, highlighting the main themes and ideas presented:

1. **On the gap in design research**:
- "I just thought there's a gap in publications that could serve as an example for design practitioners to engage in this model of reflective practice."

2. **On the nature of artistic research**:
- "Artistic research is regarded as something rather subjective, idiosyncratic, unsuitable for proper scientific research or inquiry."

3. **On the role of designers in generating knowledge**:
- "I disagree that as designers, we are creating new knowledge and there are process and methods involved in this."

4. **On the emergence of ideas**:
- "What really counts are kind of the types of environments that foster the emergence of ideas."

5. **On integrating play with serious inquiry**:
- "I'm interested in how serious play can become the fertile ground for its transition into a factual product."

6. **On the interaction between object and ground**:
- "The aim is to provoke a reaction from the site, which through my readings character of the location."

7. **On the responsive nature of design**:
- "It's about developing empathy with all the protagonists and kind of trying to extract their individual characteristics and then translate those into form and space."

8. **On the transformative nature of architecture**:
- "I just genuinely believe that architecture needs to communicate with its ground."

9. **On challenging conventional design processes**:
- "Unreasonable thought and action challenges definitely challenges the standard decision making."

10. **On the importance of exploring new functions for forms**:
- "The critical part of creativity is of seeing things in new that they were not originally designed for and putting them into new convideo."

11. **On architecture as a performative relationship**:
- "It’s actually about creating a performing relationship, performative relationship between object and ground, where both of them in a way worked together to create the project."

12. **On sustainability in architecture**:
- "I believe that true sustainable architecture is actually created by unique buildings, unique buildings that are... a character of some sorts."

13. **On the interplay of personal and external agendas in design**:
- "The aim of this is to kind of counter my own kind of maybe superficial predisposition."

14. **On the essence of successful buildings**:
- "Successful for me, successful buildings are ones that are based on ideas, ideas that trigger a response or repercussions in the people's kind of minds and souls."

15. **On the evolving nature of design**:
- "There always needs to be a question, a question that does not really have an answer yet really looking at something new."

These quotes encapsulate the author's thoughts on the process of design, the relationships between objects and their environments, the interplay between rational and creative practices, and the quest for meaningful and responsive architecture.

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Shortly after I went through the PhD,

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we started a similar program at the University of Adelaide,

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and similarly there, so

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that was then called the Design Research Colloquium.

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And during this time, kind of, we were constantly talking

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to candidates and we are speaking about kind of

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what is this new program and what's it all about?

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And in this process, I just thought there's a gap in

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publications that could serve as an example

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for design practitioners to engage in this model

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of reflective practice.

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So that led me to design research

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and architecture series at the University College of London.

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And then I made contact and kind of, we developed a project

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or a book out of that at the same time.

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While we talk now about kind of, let's say the process of

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how knowledge is generated through practice, yes,

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I'm also interested in sharing the content

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that actually sits in my work.

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So what I'm doing. So that's

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what is challenging or was challenging there.

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Or let's say what interested me was that in my parts

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of academia, but also the profession

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and of artistic research is regarded as something rather

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subjective, idiosyncratic, unsuitable

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for proper scientific research or inquiry.

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There's a widespread view

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that artistic creativity is unreliable, irrational,

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and in a way, in some ways not part of the real world.

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So, and I disagree with that, right?

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I disagree that as designers, we are creating new knowledge

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through in the medium itself through design,

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and there are process and methods involved in this.

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And, and I just wanted to yeah, to make that clear

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and acknowledged and acknowledged and,

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and talk about what are those processes we all searching

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for ideas and what really counts are kind of the types

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of environments that foster the emergence of ideas.

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And it doesn't really matter whether that is now text-based

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or project-based.

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And so, particularly now, let's say in the context of ai,

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where there is a high heightened interest in the nature

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of human creativity

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and whether there are consistent processes at play in this.

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So I'm interested in

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how serious play can become the fertile ground

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for its transition into a factual product.

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So on one side, kind of relinquishing control

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and engaging in seemingly unreasonable actions,

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and wondering how

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these operations can be tools in fostering the emergence

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of new ideas and solutions.

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So, and I'm using, in this publication,

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I'm using my own architectural practice to illustrate

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how an artistic context of discovery

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can be productively linked with a consensus based approach

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of justification.

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So maybe in short, I'm interested in where ideas come from

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and kind of exploring that in the context

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of architectural work.

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Integrating the side is a core question of my practice.

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Um, in architecture, there are many ways

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to respect local conditions.

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There are some people that believe touching the ground

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lightly is the right approach, while others try

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to emulate kind of local appearances.

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Um, my approach, relies on the seemingly

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brutal move of confronting

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or staging a confront confrontation

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between an introduced object and the ground or the site.

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The aim is to provoke a reaction from the site, which

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through my readings

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and interpretation acknowledges the

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character of the location.

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So it's a bit like bringing something in onto a,

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into a location, then observing how that location reacts

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to the incoming object,

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and then moderating a dialogue between the two

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that then in the next phase actually then emerges into a

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project that, works between the two object and ground.

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So I'm staging a conversation then immersing myself,

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empathizing with both object and ground,

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and then observe what is happening in the way.

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So it's an unfolding dialogue.

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Um, and that marks for me the activation of the ground.

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And yes, on one side you could say this is highly rational

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and, and kind of there's lots of projection, involved.

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However, it serves the purpose of me actively engaging

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with the site and listening to it.

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It then becomes an exchange that's mediated by the designer,

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whose yes own projections

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and interpretations could become part of the process.

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So I'm not kind of taking myself out of this,

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I'm also involved, there is not just object and grout,

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but there's also the author, architect part of it.

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And this is kind of a, a kind of a triptych of, of the,

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the three together kind of developing a project.

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It's about developing empathy with all the protagonists

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and kind of trying to extract their individual

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characteristics and then translate those

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into form and space.

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So the first time I did this,

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was when I was engaging in a,

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well reside residential project here in the Adelaide Hills.

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So this is when I first kind

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of consciously engaged in the dialogue

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with the ground or the site.

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My aim was to listen to the site

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and acknowledge its perspectives

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and wanted to start a conversation.

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And in a way, how do you do that?

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You need some sort of topic. So, so I decided

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to present the site with an initial object,

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and that in this case, clients were in Europe,

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they came over, they shipped their stuff in a container.

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And I saw that as a sort of a metaphor to bring

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that container to the site

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and then just see how would the site react.

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And then, so this was kind of the initial design object.

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I brought it to the site, and then I looked at,

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or I asked, what would the site do?

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How would it react? And I imagined it's not going

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to immediately accept that intruding object.

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There might be a rejection, there might be a negotiation,

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there might be a agreement, hopefully in the end.

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So, and that was then me kind of

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first bringing an object in, but then trying to switch roles

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and now immersing myself into the ground

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and imagining, okay,

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if I were the ground, how would I react?

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And then started to design from the ground up.

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So then there was a move from above

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and there was a move from below.

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And I kind of iteratively switching between those two roles

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and imagining how either would react

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and then gradually, yeah, the site pushed back,

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but then in between the two spaces were created,

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object changed, the in incoming object changed,

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then the site altered its reaction,

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and eventually the sort of a balance was reached.

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And kind of, that's kind of what I'm trying to,

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achieve in that relationship.

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And then working on another part project

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that was the River Torrance footbridge, here next

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to the Adelaide Oval, I realized particularly

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that I'm not pursuing, let's say a visual,

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that this is not a visual style

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or a kind of a pursuing a certain idea of,

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emulating a context or a relationship

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of something being above the other.

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It's actually about creating a performing relationship,

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performative relationship between object

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and ground, where both of them in a way worked

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together to create the project.

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So there I actually started to, yes, I I started the project

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with kind of a whole lot of elements from previous projects,

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and they got distilled

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and narrowed down to smaller elements,

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and eventually an object emerged.

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And this object then sat in the river not connecting

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both sides at all.

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So it wasn't working at all

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as a bridge in some form, in some form.

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So, but then the, the site itself started

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to react and grow towards this object.

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And then the two together started

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to create the bridge work together.

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And then I realized, hey, well now

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what in the past happened in a kind

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of a vertical vertical relationship.

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Now here happens horizontally.

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So it's clearly not about a certain hierarchy or,

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or visual appeal,

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but it's about how can two elements, one, that one

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that's brought to the site

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and the other one that's coming from the site,

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how can they create something

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together and create the project?

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And yes, immersing myself could be considered

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irrational and unreasonable.

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Um, and yes, there is a level of projection involved

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by myself,

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but it definitely serves as the purpose of

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actively engaging with the location.

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And I also believe that eliminating subjectivity, ambiguity

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or irrationality, forecloses whole areas from

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where discoveries can come.

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So that just kind of being this kind of, this kind of play

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of imagining taking on different roles is I

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think an important part.

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And this also this dual approach, object

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and ground then allows me to acknowledge different roles

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and thus kind of create a project

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that incorporates different positions

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within a single project.

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Then kind of a hybrid,

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an object orientated architecture mixture with landscape.

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And the premise is

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that the site is not considered a plain canvas,

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but a character in its own right.

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One with whom a project is negotiated.

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And the architecture in a way is a seismograph for the size,

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kind of a plotter in the interpreter.

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I just genuinely believe that architecture needs

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to communicate with its ground.

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Um, you can't just pluck something onto a site

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and drop it there and ignore its context in surroundings.

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So it, I think it's, it's, it's about kind of, that is

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for me, a a basic, understanding

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because architecture, I mean,

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it connects the building connects to, to the street,

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the street to the neighborhood,

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the neighborhood becomes part of the city.

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So you can't isolate architecture from its context.

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It's always because we as people, as

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as all humans are all beings on this earth, we can nega,

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we kind of negotiate our built environment constantly.

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We're moving different parts.

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And I think having them integrated with another, working

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with each other instead of having them

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isolated silos is just, I don't know, for me, a natural way

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of, operating as an architect emphasizing the role

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of the unreasonable in the design process.

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I mean, how does it challenge evaluation? Yes.

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Well, it depends on which parts of a design you look at.

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Um, so it's yes and no.

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It depends on, so if you're looking at the process, yes,

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we are challenging the unreasonable, does challenge,

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local conventions if we look at the end

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product, no, it doesn't.

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So a design process is packed with constant evaluations.

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Um, here unreasonable thought

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and action challenges definitely challenges the

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standard decision making.

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But it also creates a benefit of opening up a range

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of possibilities, allowing the designer to see things

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and you, and recognize the affordance of form

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or unrecognized forms and behaviors.

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But at the same time, a project needs to make sense.

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No one doubts that, but it only needs

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to make sense at the end of the process

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and at the end, yes, I think their

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conventional event innovation criteria are applied.

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So I'm interested in how different instances of

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unreasonable sort thoughts

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and behavior can contribute to the formation

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of intentional work.

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The rational

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or reasonable aspects of architecture like purpose, meaning

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structure and material are not abandoned,

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but they're introduced as a second step.

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So on one side there is an artistic context of discovery,

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let's say unreasonable.

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And on the other side, there is a consensus based approach

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of justification, the rational part.

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And the question is how to link the two of them together

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aiming for sense and reason in every step of a design.

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Um, I think that keeps us within solutions

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that we already know

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because we are just afraid to make mistakes.

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So if I'm in every step of a design need to make sense

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of it, then I, I can only do things that I have done before.

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I can only follow either my own steps, footsteps in the,

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in the sand before,

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or I have to see what other people have done

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before that has also been recognized as good and correct.

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And then I just do that.

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Um, but to get to something new, I think I have

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to allow accidents to happen, right?

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And or misappropriate things.

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And the children are, for instance, they are naturally,

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they're naturally misappropriate items when they play.

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Uh, and we as adults, we often have lost that ability

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to see things differently from what they are supposed

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to be doing or what they are supposed to be, right?

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And this goes hand in hand with the establishment

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of professional bodies where,

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and institutions where they protect their modes

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of best practice,

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but also the area of their expertise that they have.

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On one side, yes, this is good

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because yes, it's, it's establishes minimum protocols

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or standards, quality standards and best practice.

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However, it definitely kind of, happens at the cost

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of leaps in evolution.

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Uh, if we wanna look at progress

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and evolution, one has to ask what would happen if, so,

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there always needs to be a question, a question

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that does not really have an answer

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yet really looking at something new

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and go, what if we use this for something entirely?

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Something entirely else?

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And that really, that's an interesting question because,

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or, or what I found then is that

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many innovations they develop,

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they emerge from crossing the boundaries from one

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area to another.

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So in one area of expertise into another one,

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when a particular trade or virtu is kind of served

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or used for something,

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or serves a purpose for something that it was not designed

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for in the first place.

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Um, and the evolutionary biologist, Stephen Gold

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and ber, they coined the term acceptation for this.

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So this process of kind of, you putting some,

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using something in one area

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and for something it wasn't really designed for,

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and an example of this is, for instance, feathers.

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Feathers were, originally developed, as

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temperature control.

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They were, they were covering bodies of earth dwelling

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creatures, animals, and only later

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they became also useful for flight.

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And, and that's an, I think a really important point

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because it exemplifies that in evolution.

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Um, in evolution, kind of the,

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it's the, the Sullivan's dictum

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of form follows function is turned around, it exemplifies

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that function actually follows form.

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Form is first there and,

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and then it gets appropriated, and,

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and put to use for something.

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And I think that's really important

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and that's something that designers need

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to be entirely aware of, that that is the critical part

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of creativity, is of seeing things in new

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and using them in a way

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that they were not originally designed for

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and putting them into new context.

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So evolution acknowledges the potency of form

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accidental form sure, at one point as a start

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and crystallization point of ideas.

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And so what interests me in my practice is how

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human creativity

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or the how the nature of human creativity, how

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how in it kind of evolutionary processes can be integrated

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and for design.

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And that does not really only happen on the side, let's say,

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of of mechanical use of objects.

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It's also this mis operation also happens in

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cultural behaviors.

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For instance, I don't know, I dunno if you,

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you may remember this, but there was this kind

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of famous fight between Mohammed Ali

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and George Foreman, where I think in the seventies,

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Ali successfully misappropriated expectations,

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and transposed behaviors from one discipline into another

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and won the fight by not initially fighting a fist fight,

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but I think jogging, jogging around foreman

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and dancing around him

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and rejecting to go into a fist fight.

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And he was constantly jogging around him until foreman

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or making foreman kind of follow his moves.

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And until he was so exhausted, lost his cover

355
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and was dealt in decisive blow,

356
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and Ali was won, Ali won that against all the odds.

357
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So it's about kind of, in a way,

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it's about somehow not playing to the rules,

359
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but in the end still with the purpose of, with the intent

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of the overall aim, that a certain project,

361
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has the blueprint of my design process that's characterized

362
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by a threefold choreography.

363
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There's a central sequence of events they move from field

364
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to figure to character to project.

365
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And so this is kind of a morphological development.

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And then these, this kind of central sequence,

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this is subject to different modes of assessment.

368
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Um, one is based on intuitive

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and emotive cognition, giving voice to the author

370
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and assessing form as space.

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And then the other engages in an intellectual synthesis of

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that morphological genesis and assessing form as meaning.

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So in this, in this kind of setting

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or choreography,

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unreasonable behaviors are present in different ways.

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On one side, in the first instance, they act as a catalyst,

377
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a catalyst for the design process.

378
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And they're introduced, for instance,

379
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as a three dimensional field of information

380
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or a found object or even a collaboration with,

381
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with another person where kind of input

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that is not anticipated is presented to the,

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to the design or the architect.

384
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Um, the aim of this is to kind of counter my own kind

385
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of maybe superficial predisposition, just the ways

386
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how I do things right.

387
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I may have certain preferences, preferences,

388
00:19:02.695 --> 00:19:04.195
the way I like to do things.

389
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And working with these irrational outer inputs for myself,

390
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helps me in a way to

391
00:19:13.955 --> 00:19:17.315
strengthen my strength, my strength, sorry, my own position

392
00:19:17.315 --> 00:19:19.315
by having, working through that different material

393
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and constantly reflecting on what is it that I'm doing

394
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and what I'm really aiming for.

395
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So I have to take a position,

396
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otherwise again, I would just be repeating myself.

397
00:19:31.525 --> 00:19:35.425
And then there's a second instance, of rash,

398
00:19:36.025 --> 00:19:40.875
unreasonable behavior or let's say emotive cognition,

399
00:19:41.185 --> 00:19:44.435
that allows hunches to settle and materialize

400
00:19:44.455 --> 00:19:46.635
before a conscious judgment is made.

401
00:19:46.735 --> 00:19:50.155
So I'm now judging the material that's been presented

402
00:19:50.895 --> 00:19:53.905
and looking at it and,

403
00:19:54.085 --> 00:19:56.105
and just work on hunches about what,

404
00:19:56.105 --> 00:19:57.505
what are we doing with them, right?

405
00:19:57.605 --> 00:19:59.545
How I would be operating, what, what kind

406
00:19:59.545 --> 00:20:02.825
of strategic moves, which formal moves I'll be making.

407
00:20:03.725 --> 00:20:07.305
And once a figure has been found in this initial field

408
00:20:07.365 --> 00:20:10.105
of material, I try to emphasize

409
00:20:10.285 --> 00:20:13.345
or with this, with this material, with this object,

410
00:20:13.805 --> 00:20:18.025
and then start this process of bringing this to the side

411
00:20:18.485 --> 00:20:21.785
and then start that conversation of immersing myself

412
00:20:22.535 --> 00:20:24.585
into an object or the ground

413
00:20:25.045 --> 00:20:27.945
and then initiating the conversation

414
00:20:27.945 --> 00:20:30.735
between them in this process.

415
00:20:30.965 --> 00:20:34.175
Sensing a lead affects me, let's say, as a, as a feeling

416
00:20:34.175 --> 00:20:35.215
of joy in the process.

417
00:20:35.315 --> 00:20:39.815
So in a way I judge if something is a good move in a way

418
00:20:39.815 --> 00:20:42.735
that affects me really as a, as a, as a movement,

419
00:20:42.795 --> 00:20:44.255
as a joyful feeling in me.

420
00:20:44.455 --> 00:20:46.575
I just take that as a sort of a litmus test of

421
00:20:47.345 --> 00:20:50.405
the project direction, direct direction and success.

422
00:20:50.865 --> 00:20:53.565
Um, at this stage, I'm really not, I'm not judging,

423
00:20:53.705 --> 00:20:55.205
I'm just going, does it feel right?

424
00:20:55.225 --> 00:20:56.765
Is that good? And I go, yes.

425
00:20:57.225 --> 00:21:00.185
And then I switch process, right?

426
00:21:00.185 --> 00:21:02.745
Then I'm looking at the parallel,

427
00:21:03.445 --> 00:21:05.625
and analytical mode of assessment.

428
00:21:06.315 --> 00:21:08.145
There. I'm now concerned with

429
00:21:09.005 --> 00:21:13.295
testing the conceptual feasibility of what I've done before.

430
00:21:13.715 --> 00:21:16.845
I'm trying to determine purpose

431
00:21:16.945 --> 00:21:19.125
and meaning that is beyond

432
00:21:19.225 --> 00:21:21.645
or valid beyond my own personal agendas.

433
00:21:21.825 --> 00:21:26.165
And, and I'm doing this by kind of creating a frame

434
00:21:26.165 --> 00:21:28.765
of reference, looking at the project from different

435
00:21:28.765 --> 00:21:30.605
perspectives and I, and angles

436
00:21:31.025 --> 00:21:34.765
and, kind of imagining an outside observer looking at

437
00:21:34.765 --> 00:21:38.285
that and imagining how would they make sense of it, right?

438
00:21:38.545 --> 00:21:41.245
And, and I do this through the production of

439
00:21:41.885 --> 00:21:42.965
graphic representations.

440
00:21:43.215 --> 00:21:47.045
Let's say a story book, for instance

441
00:21:47.745 --> 00:21:51.885
is used to validate the previous poetic proposal,

442
00:21:52.225 --> 00:21:55.125
adding it through a different lens, creating an argument,

443
00:21:55.185 --> 00:21:57.405
or you could say creating a thesis of it.

444
00:21:57.745 --> 00:22:01.925
And in this process, gonna, I transfer parameters from

445
00:22:02.445 --> 00:22:04.605
graphic design and film and photography.

446
00:22:04.975 --> 00:22:06.965
These were all areas that I worked in

447
00:22:06.965 --> 00:22:10.245
before I did architecture, in order kind of

448
00:22:10.245 --> 00:22:15.085
to make sense of things that happened per, before.

449
00:22:16.385 --> 00:22:19.805
So in this instance, now I'm trying to kind of establish

450
00:22:20.435 --> 00:22:22.205
form as a signifier of meaning.

451
00:22:24.555 --> 00:22:28.635
So I'm consciously now then iterating

452
00:22:29.985 --> 00:22:33.035
between my own interests in the process, sorry, yes.

453
00:22:33.035 --> 00:22:36.555
In the project and those of other audiences.

454
00:22:36.935 --> 00:22:40.155
And then set up a narrative along which are like the

455
00:22:40.155 --> 00:22:41.515
project to be rolled.

456
00:22:42.335 --> 00:22:46.625
So alternating between these kind of two ways

457
00:22:46.765 --> 00:22:51.265
of assessment, emotive cognition, analytic synthesis kind

458
00:22:51.265 --> 00:22:54.145
of allows me to, let's say incorporate

459
00:22:54.725 --> 00:22:56.905
and assess the entire ontological

460
00:22:56.905 --> 00:22:58.465
bandwidth of design, right?

461
00:22:58.565 --> 00:23:02.685
And also coalesce personal interest

462
00:23:02.755 --> 00:23:06.285
with external agendas, all that within a single project.

463
00:23:07.175 --> 00:23:10.115
And the project continuously oscillates

464
00:23:10.115 --> 00:23:11.875
between these original advancements

465
00:23:11.935 --> 00:23:16.175
and rational steps of justification, trying to make sense

466
00:23:16.355 --> 00:23:18.455
of those different ways of looking at it.

467
00:23:18.995 --> 00:23:22.255
Um, and the ultimate aim of this is

468
00:23:23.545 --> 00:23:26.965
to achieve projects that are based on an idea, projects

469
00:23:26.965 --> 00:23:30.605
that have a cultural and emotional surplus that is embedded

470
00:23:31.305 --> 00:23:34.005
in the form and the space that they create.

471
00:23:34.625 --> 00:23:37.845
For me, the stage opposition between object and ground,

472
00:23:38.345 --> 00:23:40.965
and also that process of iteratively switching

473
00:23:40.965 --> 00:23:42.565
between those two modes of assessment.

474
00:23:43.425 --> 00:23:47.325
Um, I think this endows the object, the ground

475
00:23:47.835 --> 00:23:50.125
with a particular presence or atmosphere.

476
00:23:50.825 --> 00:23:52.165
And, and for me,

477
00:23:54.385 --> 00:23:56.045
I'm interested in author architecture

478
00:23:56.045 --> 00:23:59.365
where personal idio idiosyncrasies translate into buildings

479
00:23:59.595 --> 00:24:01.885
that have a sense of personality and character.

480
00:24:02.185 --> 00:24:06.885
And I believe that this allows for identification,

481
00:24:07.105 --> 00:24:10.045
and enables an active relationship between building

482
00:24:10.225 --> 00:24:12.085
and occupants buildings and users.

483
00:24:13.825 --> 00:24:16.905
I say that truly sustainable architecture

484
00:24:17.565 --> 00:24:21.745
is actually created by unique buildings, unique buildings

485
00:24:21.745 --> 00:24:25.375
that are, that people can identify with and,

486
00:24:25.915 --> 00:24:28.215
and then that are loved for what they are

487
00:24:28.215 --> 00:24:30.335
because they are, let's say, a mate,

488
00:24:30.415 --> 00:24:31.855
a character of some sorts, right?

489
00:24:31.915 --> 00:24:36.415
And then subsequently they are, they are taken care of and

490
00:24:36.755 --> 00:24:39.545
and are not just seen as thing.

491
00:24:40.085 --> 00:24:42.745
And that's kind of in a way I'm really trying to

492
00:24:44.235 --> 00:24:47.425
endow architectural projects with some sort of life.

493
00:24:47.885 --> 00:24:52.085
And if that is, and,

494
00:24:52.225 --> 00:24:55.005
and in some parts, yes, this is kind of part of my kind

495
00:24:55.005 --> 00:24:56.605
of serious play, so to say,

496
00:24:56.605 --> 00:24:59.525
this helps me develop projects and, and go forward.

497
00:25:00.425 --> 00:25:04.285
And so successful for me, successful buildings are ones

498
00:25:04.285 --> 00:25:08.125
that are based on ideas, ideas that trigger

499
00:25:08.885 --> 00:25:11.845
a response or repercussions in the people's kind

500
00:25:11.845 --> 00:25:12.925
of minds and souls.

501
00:25:14.165 --> 00:25:16.335
They propose, they propose an insight

502
00:25:17.375 --> 00:25:20.995
and they engage the user in imagination

503
00:25:21.775 --> 00:25:25.115
and also they also have a sense of discovery to them.

504
00:25:25.295 --> 00:25:26.955
So in a, in a way, similar

505
00:25:27.095 --> 00:25:30.715
to when you venture into the outdoors in a way things are,

506
00:25:31.505 --> 00:25:34.195
sure, generally things are similar.

507
00:25:34.335 --> 00:25:36.075
We know what we encounter in the outdoors,

508
00:25:36.075 --> 00:25:38.555
but they're all slightly different and they change.

509
00:25:38.935 --> 00:25:42.075
And, and in a similar way, I like buildings to be,

510
00:25:42.855 --> 00:25:45.195
to be experienced on multiple levels

511
00:25:45.335 --> 00:25:46.555
and perspective so

512
00:25:46.785 --> 00:25:50.355
that they are not immediately understandable from one view

513
00:25:50.375 --> 00:25:51.555
and from one direction,

514
00:25:51.655 --> 00:25:54.235
but there are kind of have multiple layers to them

515
00:25:54.255 --> 00:25:56.115
and can be read in those multiple layers.

516
00:25:56.375 --> 00:25:57.515
And, and,

517
00:25:58.375 --> 00:26:00.755
and that keeps a certain level of mystery

518
00:26:01.095 --> 00:26:02.395
to them and, and wonder.

519
00:26:02.615 --> 00:26:05.795
And then also allowing, discoveries

520
00:26:05.795 --> 00:26:07.155
to be made again and again.

521
00:26:07.155 --> 00:26:09.395
And that I think keeps the project alive.

522
00:26:10.375 --> 00:26:11.655
I think it shows or is about

523
00:26:11.725 --> 00:26:14.215
that architectural governing institutions,

524
00:26:14.355 --> 00:26:17.255
are either interested in a, in a performative solution

525
00:26:17.835 --> 00:26:20.775
or often merely in visual representations.

526
00:26:21.755 --> 00:26:25.935
And I think yes, we, we need to counter urban sprawl

527
00:26:26.115 --> 00:26:28.615
and the growth of our cities at the fringes

528
00:26:28.615 --> 00:26:29.775
because that goes kind

529
00:26:29.775 --> 00:26:33.135
of eats into natural habitats of other creatures.

530
00:26:33.315 --> 00:26:38.265
And, and instead we need to find

531
00:26:38.285 --> 00:26:41.025
or develop ways or sensitive ways of

532
00:26:42.085 --> 00:26:43.565
inner city densification.

533
00:26:43.865 --> 00:26:46.525
And that needs a discussion

534
00:26:46.625 --> 00:26:48.685
or an understanding of the ground

535
00:26:48.985 --> 00:26:52.405
or the existing fabrics as a ground to work with,

536
00:26:52.515 --> 00:26:53.845
that needs to be acknowledged.

537
00:26:54.665 --> 00:26:58.205
Um, there's a, I dunno, a project, I I worked on

538
00:26:58.235 --> 00:27:01.525
with my colleagues, architects some

539
00:27:03.185 --> 00:27:06.875
or in or the progra,

540
00:27:07.615 --> 00:27:09.275
in, in Austria.

541
00:27:09.455 --> 00:27:12.835
And it shows how urban consolidation policies are

542
00:27:13.835 --> 00:27:17.115
increasingly challenged by kind of the multiple,

543
00:27:18.035 --> 00:27:20.235
custodians that are part of a project.

544
00:27:20.735 --> 00:27:23.155
Um, but that is nothing to avoid.

545
00:27:23.355 --> 00:27:25.515
I mean, it's, it's a beautiful, it's a beautiful thing.

546
00:27:25.655 --> 00:27:29.155
And in this instance, we, it was a competition

547
00:27:29.215 --> 00:27:31.115
and it was kind of aimed to

548
00:27:32.085 --> 00:27:36.675
bring about 4,000 square meters next to a heritage site,

549
00:27:37.065 --> 00:27:38.475
next to the state Opera house

550
00:27:38.495 --> 00:27:41.995
and also next to the kind of UNESCO World Heritage site,

551
00:27:41.995 --> 00:27:44.075
which is the kind of old city center of grants.

552
00:27:44.465 --> 00:27:47.795
Kind of, instead of accepting the initial location, kind of,

553
00:27:47.935 --> 00:27:51.195
we, we kind of spread our design

554
00:27:51.775 --> 00:27:53.755
across four existing buildings.

555
00:27:54.295 --> 00:27:58.355
We realized that kind of the benefit of ignoring the rules

556
00:27:58.695 --> 00:28:02.115
and developed a conceptual approach where the roofs

557
00:28:02.175 --> 00:28:05.595
and of the neighboring buildings were considered ground.

558
00:28:06.135 --> 00:28:09.235
And interestingly kind of,

559
00:28:09.455 --> 00:28:12.595
and that's really to the great val, kind of great,

560
00:28:13.285 --> 00:28:14.435
value to the jury,

561
00:28:14.535 --> 00:28:16.995
but also kind of the, the heritage commission in,

562
00:28:17.155 --> 00:28:20.395
in grants Austria, is that they understood that,

563
00:28:20.865 --> 00:28:23.715
that here it's not about kind of emulating the look

564
00:28:23.715 --> 00:28:24.715
of neighboring buildings,

565
00:28:24.715 --> 00:28:28.395
but really work on a performative relationship between,

566
00:28:30.265 --> 00:28:31.945
a new, a new kind of volume,

567
00:28:32.045 --> 00:28:33.585
new density and what's already there.

568
00:28:33.925 --> 00:28:37.425
And, and kind of spreading a building across those four

569
00:28:39.265 --> 00:28:41.665
existing ones, kind of allowed

570
00:28:41.805 --> 00:28:44.385
to keep the perceived volume for smaller.

571
00:28:45.125 --> 00:28:49.465
It enabled us to keep relevant lines of sight

572
00:28:49.495 --> 00:28:51.225
that could be maintained because we are pushing,

573
00:28:51.275 --> 00:28:54.225
we're pushing our volume into all nooks and crannies between

574
00:28:54.925 --> 00:28:56.825
and on existing buildings.

575
00:28:57.365 --> 00:28:59.545
And interestingly, it also gave the whole

576
00:29:00.335 --> 00:29:01.785
area a new identity.

577
00:29:01.885 --> 00:29:02.905
And I think this is kind of

578
00:29:02.905 --> 00:29:04.905
what also then one won the jury over

579
00:29:04.905 --> 00:29:08.105
because there was a little bit of, bit of a, sorry,

580
00:29:08.105 --> 00:29:11.105
there was a bit of a kind of Dogg breakfast there of kind

581
00:29:11.105 --> 00:29:12.465
of buildings from different areas

582
00:29:12.645 --> 00:29:14.545
and child styles, et cetera.

583
00:29:14.645 --> 00:29:18.145
And, and now the new design operated like a bracket

584
00:29:18.605 --> 00:29:20.875
and pulling them all together

585
00:29:20.935 --> 00:29:23.675
and creating like an overall identity for the place

586
00:29:24.665 --> 00:29:27.735
while at the same time yes, allowing the streetscape still

587
00:29:27.755 --> 00:29:29.495
to kind of allow views up to the sky

588
00:29:29.495 --> 00:29:32.935
and kind of that new connections being not being, being kind

589
00:29:32.935 --> 00:29:35.055
of a, kind of abstracted

590
00:29:35.995 --> 00:29:40.725
and kind of, that is kind of the,

591
00:29:41.005 --> 00:29:42.585
the, let's say a move

592
00:29:42.615 --> 00:29:45.705
that sure happens when you, you take a risk.

593
00:29:45.765 --> 00:29:47.865
And in this instance it, it played out.

594
00:29:48.645 --> 00:29:53.135
Um, it also links, I think, again to the term acceptation

595
00:29:53.135 --> 00:29:55.815
of I meant before where a particular virtue is used

596
00:29:55.835 --> 00:30:00.525
for something it wasn't originally designed for,

597
00:30:02.445 --> 00:30:06.065
in a way using yes, full stop using something,

598
00:30:06.205 --> 00:30:08.465
in a different way or let's say engaging

599
00:30:09.285 --> 00:30:11.745
or interpreting the rules in a different way.

600
00:30:11.765 --> 00:30:15.265
And a similar project, that also illustrate that is the,

601
00:30:15.605 --> 00:30:18.785
my, my extension for the Experimental art foundation

602
00:30:18.785 --> 00:30:19.825
here in Adelaide.

603
00:30:20.045 --> 00:30:22.345
Um, here the brief was for an artist

604
00:30:22.405 --> 00:30:24.945
and residence studio that was an addition

605
00:30:24.945 --> 00:30:26.145
to insisting facility.

606
00:30:26.485 --> 00:30:31.345
And here I noticed the air conditioning units on

607
00:30:31.585 --> 00:30:36.005
neighboring buildings as a prevailing typology.

608
00:30:36.185 --> 00:30:39.085
And I saw these as an opportunity kind of

609
00:30:39.245 --> 00:30:41.685
to satisfy the Adelaide City Council guidelines

610
00:30:41.685 --> 00:30:42.685
for local character.

611
00:30:43.265 --> 00:30:45.285
And so I kind of hardcore acknowledged

612
00:30:45.285 --> 00:30:47.205
that this is a local character.

613
00:30:48.305 --> 00:30:50.645
Um, and I spun thenar the narrative

614
00:30:50.645 --> 00:30:53.285
of an aged air conditioning unit,

615
00:30:53.965 --> 00:30:57.735
approaching the architect and asking for a cosmetic

616
00:30:58.335 --> 00:31:01.015
structural makeover, some sort of structural surgery,

617
00:31:01.795 --> 00:31:05.855
and then drawing on its, let's say utilitarian genes,

618
00:31:06.295 --> 00:31:09.455
existing structures and dissected and alternative figures.

619
00:31:09.595 --> 00:31:12.855
And organizations are projected volumes that initially

620
00:31:13.485 --> 00:31:15.015
were used for condensation

621
00:31:15.075 --> 00:31:17.895
and evaporation now facilitates studio

622
00:31:17.895 --> 00:31:19.295
bedroom and storage space.

623
00:31:20.455 --> 00:31:25.195
And the architecture draws on a tactical deceit, right,

624
00:31:25.555 --> 00:31:27.955
allowing it to be read as either infrastructure

625
00:31:28.095 --> 00:31:31.195
or dwelling depending on the viewer's, perspective.

626
00:31:32.015 --> 00:31:35.355
And in the process of gaining planning approval,

627
00:31:35.855 --> 00:31:39.075
the object disguises itself on one side as a local topology,

628
00:31:39.795 --> 00:31:43.115
allowing it to subvert the local character guidelines at the

629
00:31:43.115 --> 00:31:46.355
same time, allows kind of for human habitation

630
00:31:46.575 --> 00:31:49.235
inside the overall form materiality

631
00:31:49.695 --> 00:31:52.475
and location of the object that denotes infrastructure,

632
00:31:52.925 --> 00:31:55.115
while single elements of it windows

633
00:31:55.415 --> 00:31:57.635
and basrai signify a human measure

634
00:31:58.355 --> 00:32:01.275
creating a dialectical movement between the two readings.

635
00:32:01.495 --> 00:32:04.155
So the final design then amalgamate those two

636
00:32:04.935 --> 00:32:06.155
and provides an identity

637
00:32:06.775 --> 00:32:08.715
for the cultural offerings of the EAF.

638
00:32:09.015 --> 00:32:10.475
So on one side, yes, the project,

639
00:32:11.905 --> 00:32:15.055
let's say the key aspects was identifying air conditioning

640
00:32:15.055 --> 00:32:19.055
units as a prevalent rooftop typology in the Adelaide CBD,

641
00:32:19.585 --> 00:32:22.875
acknowledging the building code by overlay the two

642
00:32:22.975 --> 00:32:25.555
to justify the transformational of a piece of infrastructure

643
00:32:26.105 --> 00:32:27.995
into kind of human habitation.

644
00:32:28.215 --> 00:32:32.515
So, and in terms of now what it says yes, it,

645
00:32:32.695 --> 00:32:36.355
the project engages the public in a dialogue about kind

646
00:32:36.355 --> 00:32:38.915
of in which, in which ways design policies shape

647
00:32:38.985 --> 00:32:39.985
Our cities. And,

648
00:32:39.985 --> 00:32:43.565
by identifying the existing infrastructure

649
00:32:44.225 --> 00:32:45.325
as a local topology,

650
00:32:45.825 --> 00:32:48.285
the project discusses the council guidelines

651
00:32:48.505 --> 00:32:51.405
for design approval processes,

652
00:32:51.865 --> 00:32:55.205
and effectively questions their desire to context,

653
00:32:55.465 --> 00:32:58.285
to contextualize just as a means to steer

654
00:32:58.905 --> 00:33:01.005
an expression rather than a,

655
00:33:01.005 --> 00:33:03.365
per a performance performative relationship.

Bridging Design Research and Reflective Practice

00:00:00 - Shortly after I went through the PhD, we started a similar program at the University of Adelaide, and similarly there, so that was then called the Design Research Colloquium. And during this time, kind of, we were constantly talking to candidates and we are speaking about kind of what is this new program and what's it all about? And in this process, I just thought there's a gap in publications that could serve as an example for design practitioners to engage in this model of reflective practice. So that led me to design research

00:00:37 - And then I made contact and kind of, we developed a project or a book out of that at the same time. While we talk now about kind of, let's say the process of how knowledge is generated through practice, yes, I'm also interested in sharing the content that actually sits in my work. So what I'm doing. So that's what is challenging or was challenging there. Or let's say what interested me was that in my parts

00:01:08 - and of artistic research is regarded as something rather subjective, idiosyncratic, unsuitable for proper scientific research or inquiry. There's a widespread view that artistic creativity is unreliable, irrational, and in a way, in some ways not part of the real world. So, and I disagree with that, right? I disagree that as designers, we are creating new knowledge

Fostering Creativity Through Process and Play

00:01:41 - and there are process and methods involved in this. And, and I just wanted to yeah, to make that clear and acknowledged and acknowledged and, and talk about what are those processes we all searching for ideas and what really counts are kind of the types of environments that foster the emergence of ideas. And it doesn't really matter whether that is now text-based or project-based. And so, particularly now, let's say in the context of ai,

00:02:14 - of human creativity and whether there are consistent processes at play in this. So I'm interested in how serious play can become the fertile ground for its transition into a factual product. So on one side, kind of relinquishing control and engaging in seemingly unreasonable actions, and wondering how these operations can be tools in fostering the emergence

00:02:46 - So, and I'm using, in this publication, I'm using my own architectural practice to illustrate how an artistic context of discovery can be productively linked with a consensus based approach of justification. So maybe in short, I'm interested in where ideas come from and kind of exploring that in the context of architectural work. Integrating the side is a core question of my practice.

Engaging Dialogue Between Object and Site

00:03:16 - to respect local conditions. There are some people that believe touching the ground lightly is the right approach, while others try to emulate kind of local appearances. my approach, relies on the seemingly brutal move of confronting or staging a confront confrontation between an introduced object and the ground or the site. The aim is to provoke a reaction from the site, which through my readings

00:03:48 - character of the location. So it's a bit like bringing something in onto a, into a location, then observing how that location reacts to the incoming object, and then moderating a dialogue between the two that then in the next phase actually then emerges into a project that, works between the two object and ground. So I'm staging a conversation then immersing myself, empathizing with both object and ground,

00:04:22 - So it's an unfolding dialogue. and that marks for me the activation of the ground. And yes, on one side you could say this is highly rational and, and kind of there's lots of projection, involved. However, it serves the purpose of me actively engaging with the site and listening to it. It then becomes an exchange that's mediated by the designer, whose yes own projections

Empathy and Dialogue in Architectural Design

00:04:53 - So I'm not kind of taking myself out of this, I'm also involved, there is not just object and grout, but there's also the author, architect part of it. And this is kind of a, a kind of a triptych of, of the, the three together kind of developing a project. It's about developing empathy with all the protagonists and kind of trying to extract their individual characteristics and then translate those into form and space.

00:05:24 - was when I was engaging in a, well reside residential project here in the Adelaide Hills. So this is when I first kind of consciously engaged in the dialogue with the ground or the site. My aim was to listen to the site and acknowledge its perspectives and wanted to start a conversation. And in a way, how do you do that? You need some sort of topic. So, so I decided to present the site with an initial object, and that in this case, clients were in Europe,

00:05:55 - And I saw that as a sort of a metaphor to bring that container to the site and then just see how would the site react. And then, so this was kind of the initial design object. I brought it to the site, and then I looked at, or I asked, what would the site do? How would it react? And I imagined it's not going to immediately accept that intruding object. There might be a rejection, there might be a negotiation, there might be a agreement, hopefully in the end.

Designing Through Role Reversal: A Dialogue Between Object and Ground

00:06:28 - first bringing an object in, but then trying to switch roles and now immersing myself into the ground and imagining, okay, if I were the ground, how would I react? And then started to design from the ground up. So then there was a move from above and there was a move from below. And I kind of iteratively switching between those two roles and imagining how either would react and then gradually, yeah, the site pushed back, but then in between the two spaces were created,

00:07:01 - then the site altered its reaction, and eventually the sort of a balance was reached. And kind of, that's kind of what I'm trying to, achieve in that relationship. And then working on another part project that was the River Torrance footbridge, here next to the Adelaide Oval, I realized particularly that I'm not pursuing, let's say a visual, that this is not a visual style

00:07:33 - emulating a context or a relationship of something being above the other. It's actually about creating a performing relationship, performative relationship between object and ground, where both of them in a way worked together to create the project. So there I actually started to, yes, I I started the project with kind of a whole lot of elements from previous projects, and they got distilled and narrowed down to smaller elements, and eventually an object emerged.

Creating Harmony: The Dynamic Interaction Between Object and Site

00:08:04 - both sides at all. So it wasn't working at all as a bridge in some form, in some form. So, but then the, the site itself started to react and grow towards this object. And then the two together started to create the bridge work together. And then I realized, hey, well now what in the past happened in a kind of a vertical vertical relationship. Now here happens horizontally. So it's clearly not about a certain hierarchy or,

00:08:31 - but it's about how can two elements, one, that one that's brought to the site and the other one that's coming from the site, how can they create something together and create the project? And yes, immersing myself could be considered irrational and unreasonable. and yes, there is a level of projection involved by myself, but it definitely serves as the purpose of actively engaging with the location. And I also believe that eliminating subjectivity, ambiguity

00:09:07 - where discoveries can come. So that just kind of being this kind of, this kind of play of imagining taking on different roles is I think an important part. And this also this dual approach, object and ground then allows me to acknowledge different roles and thus kind of create a project that incorporates different positions within a single project. Then kind of a hybrid, an object orientated architecture mixture with landscape.

Architecture as Dialogue with Context

00:09:40 - that the site is not considered a plain canvas, but a character in its own right. One with whom a project is negotiated. And the architecture in a way is a seismograph for the size, kind of a plotter in the interpreter. I just genuinely believe that architecture needs to communicate with its ground. you can't just pluck something onto a site and drop it there and ignore its context in surroundings. So it, I think it's, it's, it's about kind of, that is

00:10:14 - because architecture, I mean, it connects the building connects to, to the street, the street to the neighborhood, the neighborhood becomes part of the city. So you can't isolate architecture from its context. It's always because we as people, as as all humans are all beings on this earth, we can nega, we kind of negotiate our built environment constantly. We're moving different parts. And I think having them integrated with another, working

00:10:44 - isolated silos is just, I don't know, for me, a natural way of, operating as an architect emphasizing the role of the unreasonable in the design process. I mean, how does it challenge evaluation? Yes. Well, it depends on which parts of a design you look at. so it's yes and no. It depends on, so if you're looking at the process, yes, we are challenging the unreasonable, does challenge, local conventions if we look at the end product, no, it doesn't.

Balancing Unreason and Reason in Design

00:11:16 - here unreasonable thought and action challenges definitely challenges the standard decision making. But it also creates a benefit of opening up a range of possibilities, allowing the designer to see things and you, and recognize the affordance of form or unrecognized forms and behaviors. But at the same time, a project needs to make sense. No one doubts that, but it only needs

00:11:45 - and at the end, yes, I think their conventional event innovation criteria are applied. So I'm interested in how different instances of unreasonable sort thoughts and behavior can contribute to the formation of intentional work. The rational or reasonable aspects of architecture like purpose, meaning structure and material are not abandoned, but they're introduced as a second step.

00:12:16 - let's say unreasonable. And on the other side, there is a consensus based approach of justification, the rational part. And the question is how to link the two of them together aiming for sense and reason in every step of a design. I think that keeps us within solutions that we already know because we are just afraid to make mistakes. So if I'm in every step of a design need to make sense of it, then I, I can only do things that I have done before.

Embracing Uncertainty: The Role of Play and Misappropriation in Innovation

00:12:48 - in the sand before, or I have to see what other people have done before that has also been recognized as good and correct. And then I just do that. but to get to something new, I think I have to allow accidents to happen, right? And or misappropriate things. And the children are, for instance, they are naturally, they're naturally misappropriate items when they play. and we as adults, we often have lost that ability

00:13:17 - to be doing or what they are supposed to be, right? And this goes hand in hand with the establishment of professional bodies where, and institutions where they protect their modes of best practice, but also the area of their expertise that they have. On one side, yes, this is good because yes, it's, it's establishes minimum protocols or standards, quality standards and best practice. However, it definitely kind of, happens at the cost

00:13:50 - if we wanna look at progress and evolution, one has to ask what would happen if, so, there always needs to be a question, a question that does not really have an answer yet really looking at something new and go, what if we use this for something entirely? Something entirely else? And that really, that's an interesting question because, or, or what I found then is that many innovations they develop,

Acceptation: The Evolution of Purpose and Form

00:14:20 - area to another. So in one area of expertise into another one, when a particular trade or virtu is kind of served or used for something, or serves a purpose for something that it was not designed for in the first place. and the evolutionary biologist, Stephen Gold and ber, they coined the term acceptation for this. So this process of kind of, you putting some,

00:14:52 - and for something it wasn't really designed for, and an example of this is, for instance, feathers. Feathers were, originally developed, as temperature control. They were, they were covering bodies of earth dwelling creatures, animals, and only later they became also useful for flight. And, and that's an, I think a really important point because it exemplifies that in evolution.

00:15:29 - it's the, the Sullivan's dictum of form follows function is turned around, it exemplifies that function actually follows form. Form is first there and, and then it gets appropriated, and, and put to use for something. And I think that's really important and that's something that designers need to be entirely aware of, that that is the critical part of creativity, is of seeing things in new

Redefining Context Through Creativity and Unconventional Strategies

00:15:58 - that they were not originally designed for and putting them into new context. So evolution acknowledges the potency of form accidental form sure, at one point as a start and crystallization point of ideas. And so what interests me in my practice is how human creativity or the how the nature of human creativity, how how in it kind of evolutionary processes can be integrated

00:16:30 - And that does not really only happen on the side, let's say, of of mechanical use of objects. It's also this mis operation also happens in cultural behaviors. For instance, I don't know, I dunno if you, you may remember this, but there was this kind of famous fight between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman, where I think in the seventies, Ali successfully misappropriated expectations, and transposed behaviors from one discipline into another

00:17:03 - but I think jogging, jogging around foreman and dancing around him and rejecting to go into a fist fight. And he was constantly jogging around him until foreman or making foreman kind of follow his moves. And until he was so exhausted, lost his cover and was dealt in decisive blow, and Ali was won, Ali won that against all the odds. So it's about kind of, in a way, it's about somehow not playing to the rules,

Threefold Choreography in Design Processes

00:17:36 - of the overall aim, that a certain project, has the blueprint of my design process that's characterized by a threefold choreography. There's a central sequence of events they move from field to figure to character to project. And so this is kind of a morphological development. And then these, this kind of central sequence, this is subject to different modes of assessment.

00:18:05 - and emotive cognition, giving voice to the author and assessing form as space. And then the other engages in an intellectual synthesis of that morphological genesis and assessing form as meaning. So in this, in this kind of setting or choreography, unreasonable behaviors are present in different ways. On one side, in the first instance, they act as a catalyst,

00:18:36 - And they're introduced, for instance, as a three dimensional field of information or a found object or even a collaboration with, with another person where kind of input that is not anticipated is presented to the, to the design or the architect. the aim of this is to kind of counter my own kind of maybe superficial predisposition, just the ways how I do things right. I may have certain preferences, preferences, the way I like to do things.

Reflections on Creative Process and Judgment

00:19:09 - helps me in a way to strengthen my strength, my strength, sorry, my own position by having, working through that different material and constantly reflecting on what is it that I'm doing and what I'm really aiming for. So I have to take a position, otherwise again, I would just be repeating myself. And then there's a second instance, of rash,

00:19:41 - that allows hunches to settle and materialize before a conscious judgment is made. So I'm now judging the material that's been presented and looking at it and, and just work on hunches about what, what are we doing with them, right? How I would be operating, what, what kind of strategic moves, which formal moves I'll be making. And once a figure has been found in this initial field

00:20:10 - or with this, with this material, with this object, and then start this process of bringing this to the side and then start that conversation of immersing myself into an object or the ground and then initiating the conversation between them in this process. Sensing a lead affects me, let's say, as a, as a feeling of joy in the process. So in a way I judge if something is a good move in a way

Evaluating Project Success through Intuition and Analytical Perspectives

00:20:42 - as a joyful feeling in me. I just take that as a sort of a litmus test of the project direction, direct direction and success. at this stage, I'm really not, I'm not judging, I'm just going, does it feel right? Is that good? And I go, yes. And then I switch process, right? Then I'm looking at the parallel, and analytical mode of assessment. There. I'm now concerned with testing the conceptual feasibility of what I've done before.

00:21:16 - and meaning that is beyond or valid beyond my own personal agendas. And, and I'm doing this by kind of creating a frame of reference, looking at the project from different perspectives and I, and angles and, kind of imagining an outside observer looking at that and imagining how would they make sense of it, right? And, and I do this through the production of graphic representations. Let's say a story book, for instance

00:21:52 - adding it through a different lens, creating an argument, or you could say creating a thesis of it. And in this process, gonna, I transfer parameters from graphic design and film and photography. These were all areas that I worked in before I did architecture, in order kind of to make sense of things that happened per, before. So in this instance, now I'm trying to kind of establish

Balancing Personal Interests and Audience Engagement in Design

00:22:24 - So I'm consciously now then iterating between my own interests in the process, sorry, yes. In the project and those of other audiences. And then set up a narrative along which are like the project to be rolled. So alternating between these kind of two ways of assessment, emotive cognition, analytic synthesis kind

00:22:54 - and assess the entire ontological bandwidth of design, right? And also coalesce personal interest with external agendas, all that within a single project. And the project continuously oscillates between these original advancements and rational steps of justification, trying to make sense of those different ways of looking at it. and the ultimate aim of this is

00:23:26 - that have a cultural and emotional surplus that is embedded in the form and the space that they create. For me, the stage opposition between object and ground, and also that process of iteratively switching between those two modes of assessment. I think this endows the object, the ground with a particular presence or atmosphere. And, and for me,

Architecture with Character: Fostering Connection and Sustainability

00:23:56 - where personal idio idiosyncrasies translate into buildings that have a sense of personality and character. And I believe that this allows for identification, and enables an active relationship between building and occupants buildings and users. I say that truly sustainable architecture is actually created by unique buildings, unique buildings that are, that people can identify with and,

00:24:28 - because they are, let's say, a mate, a character of some sorts, right? And then subsequently they are, they are taken care of and and are not just seen as thing. And that's kind of in a way I'm really trying to endow architectural projects with some sort of life. And if that is, and, and in some parts, yes, this is kind of part of my kind of serious play, so to say,

00:25:00 - And so successful for me, successful buildings are ones that are based on ideas, ideas that trigger a response or repercussions in the people's kind of minds and souls. They propose, they propose an insight and they engage the user in imagination and also they also have a sense of discovery to them. So in a, in a way, similar

Architectural Layers: Engaging Perspectives and Environmental Sensitivity

00:25:31 - sure, generally things are similar. We know what we encounter in the outdoors, but they're all slightly different and they change. And, and in a similar way, I like buildings to be, to be experienced on multiple levels and perspective so that they are not immediately understandable from one view and from one direction, but there are kind of have multiple layers to them and can be read in those multiple layers. And, and,

00:26:01 - to them and, and wonder. And then also allowing, discoveries to be made again and again. And that I think keeps the project alive. I think it shows or is about that architectural governing institutions, are either interested in a, in a performative solution or often merely in visual representations. And I think yes, we, we need to counter urban sprawl and the growth of our cities at the fringes

00:26:29 - of eats into natural habitats of other creatures. And, and instead we need to find or develop ways or sensitive ways of inner city densification. And that needs a discussion or an understanding of the ground or the existing fabrics as a ground to work with, that needs to be acknowledged. there's a, I dunno, a project, I I worked on with my colleagues, architects some

Innovative Urban Consolidation in Austria

00:27:07 - in, in Austria. And it shows how urban consolidation policies are increasingly challenged by kind of the multiple, custodians that are part of a project. but that is nothing to avoid. I mean, it's, it's a beautiful, it's a beautiful thing. And in this instance, we, it was a competition and it was kind of aimed to bring about 4,000 square meters next to a heritage site,

00:27:38 - and also next to the kind of UNESCO World Heritage site, which is the kind of old city center of grants. Kind of, instead of accepting the initial location, kind of, we, we kind of spread our design across four existing buildings. We realized that kind of the benefit of ignoring the rules and developed a conceptual approach where the roofs and of the neighboring buildings were considered ground. And interestingly kind of,

00:28:13 - value to the jury, but also kind of the, the heritage commission in, in grants Austria, is that they understood that, that here it's not about kind of emulating the look of neighboring buildings, but really work on a performative relationship between, a new, a new kind of volume, new density and what's already there. And, and kind of spreading a building across those four existing ones, kind of allowed

Redefining Architectural Identity Through Innovative Design

00:28:45 - It enabled us to keep relevant lines of sight that could be maintained because we are pushing, we're pushing our volume into all nooks and crannies between and on existing buildings. And interestingly, it also gave the whole area a new identity. And I think this is kind of what also then one won the jury over because there was a little bit of, bit of a, sorry, there was a bit of a kind of Dogg breakfast there of kind of buildings from different areas

00:29:14 - And, and now the new design operated like a bracket and pulling them all together and creating like an overall identity for the place while at the same time yes, allowing the streetscape still to kind of allow views up to the sky and kind of that new connections being not being, being kind of a, kind of abstracted and kind of, that is kind of the, the, let's say a move that sure happens when you, you take a risk.

00:29:48 - it also links, I think, again to the term acceptation of I meant before where a particular virtue is used for something it wasn't originally designed for, in a way using yes, full stop using something, in a different way or let's say engaging or interpreting the rules in a different way. And a similar project, that also illustrate that is the, my, my extension for the Experimental art foundation

Reimagining Urban Spaces: Transforming Infrastructure into Artistry

00:30:20 - here the brief was for an artist and residence studio that was an addition to insisting facility. And here I noticed the air conditioning units on neighboring buildings as a prevailing typology. And I saw these as an opportunity kind of to satisfy the Adelaide City Council guidelines for local character. And so I kind of hardcore acknowledged that this is a local character. and I spun thenar the narrative

00:30:53 - approaching the architect and asking for a cosmetic structural makeover, some sort of structural surgery, and then drawing on its, let's say utilitarian genes, existing structures and dissected and alternative figures. And organizations are projected volumes that initially were used for condensation and evaporation now facilitates studio bedroom and storage space. And the architecture draws on a tactical deceit, right,

00:31:28 - or dwelling depending on the viewer's, perspective. And in the process of gaining planning approval, the object disguises itself on one side as a local topology, allowing it to subvert the local character guidelines at the same time, allows kind of for human habitation inside the overall form materiality and location of the object that denotes infrastructure, while single elements of it windows and basrai signify a human measure

Transforming Infrastructure: A Cultural Identity in Design

00:32:01 - So the final design then amalgamate those two and provides an identity for the cultural offerings of the EAF. So on one side, yes, the project, let's say the key aspects was identifying air conditioning units as a prevalent rooftop typology in the Adelaide CBD, acknowledging the building code by overlay the two to justify the transformational of a piece of infrastructure into kind of human habitation. So, and in terms of now what it says yes, it,

00:33:01 - of in which, in which ways design policies shape Our cities. And, by identifying the existing infrastructure as a local topology, the project discusses the council guidelines for design approval processes, and effectively questions their desire to context, to contextualize just as a means to steer an expression rather than a, per a performance performative relationship.

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