The Inner Studio - Riverside Architectural Press

P A R T F O U R
Inner Know-How
This chapter explores many of the tools that are already used by
designers and architects. What makes them significant for the
inner studio is that while most of them are well known, they are
usually self-taught or developed through self-exploration and they
are very rarely discussed. By becoming more aware of the way these
practices work and how they can help us, I hope to be able to
enhance the creative abilities of designers.
Visualization
Designers walk through the buildings they design long before they
are built, crossing bridges, standing on streets, enjoying rooms and
gardens long before clients give their approval for construction to
begin. And all of this happens effortlessly without them ever having
to leave the comfort of their favorite chairs.
The designer’s capacity to create and manipulate pictures in the
mind’s eye is developed through the practice of visualization. It is
a very useful design tool because it provides a completely frictionfree
environment in which we can directly interact with our imagination.
What is most remarkable about visualization is not what
it allows us to do, but that it remains largely self-taught. Although
most designers are aware of visualization and use it regularly, we
are rarely given an opportunity to develop this skill consciously.
A more mindful enhancement of visualization can become a
cornerstone of the design development process. After exploring
visualization, we will move into the practice of active imagination,
which allows us to extend the depth and breadth of visualization
by increasing the role of the unconscious in imagination.
Many designers are visually oriented and find visualization a
very natural thing to do. Ask designers a question about the built
109