The Inner Studio - Riverside Architectural Press

PART FIVE | USING THIS LIFE TO BE CREATIVE AND WISE
stuck on the tower and this was blocking every creative impulse.
What had first inspired him had somehow drained the project of
any creative juices. It was a mistake.
Finally some creative sparks began to rise and the role of the
tower began to drop right into its large public base. The project
began to transform as the energy and desire that had been invested
in one gesture started to infuse the entire project. A whirlwind of
creative ideas broke through and the building started to come
alive. In the end, you might say the tower had been necessary–it
had a role to play in the design process–but not the role Frank had
at first imagined. It showed Frank the implications of bringing a
rigid approach to the act of design. It also showed him what a
mistake felt like (it felt draining and depressing), and most importantly
that he could survive his mistakes. He didn’t have to be
afraid of letting them go. It is really helpful to know that you can
learn from a mistake. Mistakes are among our most valuable teachers
and will help move our design work forward if we can learn
from them. The creative process loves paradox and so it is not
unusual to find that you have to let go of what you have to get
what you want.
11. “I don’t have anything”/ “Nothing I try seems to work”
I was sitting around a table with four students. It was a design
seminar at the start of a large project. The students had been working
on the assignment for two days. Each student was asked to
show their work and then participate in a group discussion of their
project. The first student, Marie, began by opening her sketchbook
to a page that had three pencil drawings. The first was an idea for
the spatial organization of the building. The second sketch was an
idea for the vertical relationships showing a section through the
building, and the final drawing was an interior sketch perspective
of the major public space. She began by saying she didn’t have
very much to show, and then she talked about her proposal for
10 minutes, taking us through all of her ideas in considerable
detail. She completed her presentation by apologizing for not
having very much. She sounded indifferent and spoke without
much confidence.
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