Never Design in CAD

I sent an email today to all students in the school. It is actually the tip of the iceberg. The precursor of things to come. The new deal for UM Architecture School.

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When I was in my early twenties, I had two passions – design and teaching. But it took me another 15 years before I decided to be a lecturer. One thing that helped me in becoming a designer at that time, was that I loved to draw people. By drawing people, I learned about proportions. But drawing architecture was not really that interesting at first. It was only through design theory and history that I really learned to like architecture more. Also, I did not like to draw perspectives, but after I repeated my third year in UTM, I vowed to tackle that and corrected that mistake plus my poor construction details and eventually mastered drawing perspectives and did proper details.

I do not draw much nowadays or design much for that matter as other job functions are pulling me away from that endeavour. But after being around as a lecturer for 3 years (UTM)  plus 13 years (UM), I know that without proper manual drawing skills, you will be handicapped to be a good designer.

Every student in UM Architecture School in the past and now, you, in the present will need to learn and eventually have the proper skills on manual graphic presentation, and most essential to that, will be able to draw well manually using technical pens, pencils, markers (0.6 Artline) and other hand-drawn medium. Being able to quickly represent well your ideas is very important to be a good designer. Quick perspective sketches, sections and plans using the scale rule are essential to get you moving quickly in keeping with your thought process.

A designer should be able to verbalize, but architects communicate most with their drawings, as bread and butter of their profession. If their drawings could say so much, they need to say little to justify their ideas and concepts.

All the years from first year to fifth year, it is important for you to know that we are not really looking at your CAD drawings, but more of your key diagrams and drawings that are done manually. These are essential to your thought process, which can articulate the nuances and poetics of your design.

Please make it a priority for you to be able to draw very well using manual drawing techniques. And do not design in CAD, as it will work against you. Make sure you design manually from start to finish (developing the design) and when you are really sure of the scheme, only then you can produce it in CAD. But never design in CAD, because you will never be a good designer that way.

What is a UM Architect Graduate

This is entirely how I feel about what it takes to be a UM Architect Graduate.

At the end of the 5th year, all the skills are there.

First, the DESIGNER. If I give the graduate a problem, he or she (I will use she after this) will turn the problem around, inside out and 180 degrees. It will never be linear thinking. It will never be enough, just one solution or even two or three. She will probe the problem as deeply as she can. She will ascertain what the problem is. She will never be satisfied until she is certain. Then, she moves in the next step.

Meaning, the DESIGNER finds out all she is to know about the problem. Here, the problem could be anything. A toilet or a set of stairs even. The thing is the DESIGNER knows that it is not about pleasing her boss, that she is delivering the work. It is about the right idea for the design. It could be a combination of ideas. But the only way for her to get it right is by TESTING the ideas, again and again.

First, she will put her idea/s against the Client’s Brief. Often she neglects this in the past. She has heard her tutor mentioned about program and brief, but after her experience in the 5th year, she now knows better. The Client’s Brief is so important, even if there is no brief, she’s got to make it up or build it up based on whatever she has got.

Secondly, she will test her idea/s against the Function of the problem. Everything thing useful in life has a function, so she must find out the function. There could be multiple functions.She has gone through this before. The complexity of the problem often rooted in the function of the problem. One small thing can be so many things or it can be just one thing.

Thirdly, she will test her idea/s against the Context, be it site or area of the place. Apart from a proto-typical project, her testing will always be on the context of the site or area.

Lastly, she will have to test her idea/s against the User’s needs. This is the special study. Because the design will be habitable by humans, we design it. Of course we have projects habitable by animals, such as zoo, but humans are involved.  So we always forget about this, but it is the most crucial thing. Designing for the User.

To be a UM Architect Graduate, you must be a DESIGNER.

All those 5 years of becoming a designer, you had all sorts of input: environmental science, history, structures, material science, construction. The know-how of design, you learned in the studios. You learned how to draw properly and how to present your work and talk about your work.

After 3 years, you should have all the skills to be an Assistant Architect. You must be able to DESIGN, albeit in a very technical way. What do  mean by this? You must earn that paper qualification – BSc Architecture. Earn it, not given to you for free.

That means you must be able to draw well and have correct graphic representation. You can produce a set of working drawings. Detail out construction properly. Draw a section of roof gutter correctly. Draw with a technical pen or pencil. Draw a freehand perspective using a 0.6 artline pen of a spatial idea correctly.

Yes, these are my thoughts. Each student must have basic skills and that they can expand on these skills. And explore what they feel.

Flash and Bling-bling

I just cannot shrug off this feeling that my students are seduced more by flash and bling-bling rather than go for content and relevance.

At the 5th year level you’d expect certain skills to be second nature but for a majority of them, you have to teach them again, things that I would expect to be learned in the 2nd year.

Of course, I am not blaming students entirely on this. Those set of skills, why is it not there?

I don’t go blaming this and that without research. I have to do some research on this.

The level of concentration that these set of students compared to say our first and second batch in terms of learning architecture history is also of a concern. I will not discount the possibility of my quality of teaching, but I taught the same way and the same things the previous batches as I did with the recent 2nd year batch, and I found that the quality had gone down.

I am beginning to finger-point to too much “flash and bling-bling”… Too much unwarranted distractions and not knowing what is more relevant and not prioritising or knowing how to prioritise.

Why? Is it common among students of architecture or students in general nowadays?

Or our curriculum and the execution is poor?

I need to find out more….

Design School

In my opinion, we should not lessen our commitment to create a Design School.

A lot of people are afraid of the word – DESIGN. Engineers who do design give set parameters and criteria to achieve a design. Similar with Industrial Designers.

Artist are at the other side of the spectrum because their art is for themselves. When they design for others or make work of art for others to consume, then they set out criteria and parameters although it could be with a bit more freedom.

Architects are in the middle. There is an argument that architects are not needed sometimes. Just use the previous working drawings and you will get a building.

So why the need to be critical?

The reason is one and one alone.

INNOVATION

Humans need to innovate, to find the best solutions, the best design, to improve and make better products.

If we do not strengthen our Design skills, we will be left behind.

Design is subjective but that is when there is innovation.

The risk of not knowing and the finding out.

Design is not formulaic, so for students of architecture, you need to give yourself the chance to be designers.

Design school is first and sustainability just happens to be one of the other concerns.

Design skills are basic skills.

Learning from Amsterdam

We are recovering from jet lagged. But memories of the trip to Amsterdam is still really fresh and new. At the end of the trip everyone took turns to describe what they learned most from the trip. I wanted to say more, but I would have said too much. So I am saying it here.

I wish it would have been longer. We could have seen so much more. The canals froze a day later we left. It would have been much colder too.

I found the students were really good at organising and running the itinerary.

I felt the pain of walking in the cold which the students took in their stride.

I talked with certain individuals and collectively about the design thesis. I wished I could have spoken to all personally. However there was not much time,

I dont know if it was intentional or coincidentally, but Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Delft were perfect for the design thesis studio. The Dutch Amsterdam School, De Stijl and the Forum group all based on the Dutch importance on community and family values played right up to the social agenda of most projects. If only the students would see.

Minimum Effort

The answer to my students in the design thesis studio is simply – I, too, can choose to do ‘minimum’.

The ‘play safe’ culture is prevalent in UM. And it’s so ripe and growing in the 5th year design thesis studio. It is a disease because you are never challenged and you just love to ’stay safe’ in your comfort zone.

You do not want to complain, less of all, provoke or cause any unwarranted attention, but this is what happens when all you think is not to ‘rock the boat’ and stay under the radar. Sure, why not?

 

Play safe then. It’s your choice, isn’t it.

Wanting it too badly

Trying too hard.

Wanting it too badly.

Feeling as though each every day thing you have done the last 24 hours somehow has some bearing on the outcome of tomorrow’s game. Of course it doesn’t. Still we do it though – now is time to be calm, take a deep breath and take stock.

Reading the Paul Tomkins meeting with Rafa this week has just reinforced what I already knew. We have a top man, a genuine and good-hearted man, at the helm of this club. He lives and breathes it and deserves, commands and gets (in most parts) our respect.

Second in line is a more local figure head, but no more passionate than Rafa in terms of Liverpool and the city. Sammy Lee is the lungs and pulse, keeping the players from the edge of failure.

Thirdly we have Kenny, the King, the arms and legs of this club now reaching out, taking us to new places and meeting new friends, extending the hand and greeting old ones.

With these three we cannot fail. Let’s not get too hung up about tomorrow, or the next game. Relax, keep the faith, have the belief, and inhale and consume all the calmness that Tomkins returned with him on Wednesday. We are in good hands and sometimes we need reminding.

Yesterday, whilst interviewing supporters in the city centre, a local man simply said that ‘every true Liverpool fan is behind Rafa…. he has been good for Liverpool and the city and knows us’.

And there you have it. 50 years ago a sure of himself man from a Scottish mining village came in to Liverpool and had to spend the early years transforming the out of touch club. The man we have now does know us – he has been here before.

(Taken entirely from a post by a poster named Rafas3leggedtable from the Red and White Kop Forum.)

Believe in yourself.

What is design thesis?

The design thesis is about the program.

The program is everything in Architecture.

Is Architecture about buildings?

No, Architecture is not about buildings alone.

Architecture is art and science. Architecture is about the act of organising, structuring and visualising space for people. Architecture is about space first and form second.

Process is master to product.

When the ‘art’ in architecture becomes important and the ’science’ in architecture takes its course, then the process also takes its course.

Hence the reason why the program is important.

The program is not just the brief of accommodation and the site analysis. The program is the architecture.

Design thesis is about getting a program to be explored and often tested.

That’s what a design thesis is for.

Design Thesis Process Diagram – 2nd Edition

UPDATE on the Design Thesis Process Diagram:

I posted this earlier on June 9th 2009. Please note that with regards to the Question in the beginning, it is the same as the Hypothesis. And very closely after that the Objectives. Which people often quote as the Design Problem.

The bottom line is: If you are stuck and cannot actually say what is your Thesis, then you just need to identify the Design Problem / Statement. Its the same as the question/hypothesis/objectives… Don’t get confused.

I write these things in my blog to explore what Design Thesis is. It is meant to be helpful and not to confuse.

So if you are stuck now – State your Design Problem / Statement.

If your Design Problem / Statement lack issues or just one thing only at a superficial level, you are in trouble. You really have got to sit down and really think hard. Go back to all the comments and criticism and really find out what is it that is lacking. There is still time left to create a viable thesis for the 5th year level. If only you just take time to think properly…

I was having a discussion with some of the students yesterday, when I realised the “question” needed to be stressed again and again, as the students were mumbling more about the “what” and the “how to”.

The “what” and the “how to” is more to do with the “hypothesis” and is further down the design thesis road. You need to know where the starting point is if not you go down the “merry path of no where” and that would be wasting your time, so back to the “question” which has to be the right question as you will need to answer it further down the road when you finally summarise all that you had gathered and start with the concept.

If you look at this diagram and the co-relation with semester’s duration of time, this is the optimum or predicted time to be taken along the road.

So there have been cases where the time taken was really long to get to the concept.

We want to avoid that, but if it happens and you are pulling your hair being static and motionless suddenly in the course of the journey, take a look at the diagram and see where you are. Perhaps you may need to retrace your steps even right back to the “question”.

So when we say “process”, we really mean a step-by-step journey rather than a jump or a leap to the unknown. Well, sometimes the process do feel like a leaping off a cliff but its more a feeling of dread doing something you have never done before rather than the process itself.

Fighting for Art

If I may choose a phrase to describe why the Design Thesis exists, it is to “Fight for Art”.

We have heard before : Architecture is both Science and Art.

Well, what does that mean? Apparently, you have to use or work or live in architecture. There are users involved. The Science of Building -  making it buildable, livable, usable, safe etc is part of Science. So, science have a big say in it.

But then who’s big idea is it to say its also Art. Why does Architecture need to be beautiful?

If we want to approach the argument via Vitruvius’s often quoted phrase of: Utilitas, Firmitas, Venustas (Commodity, Strength, Beauty), we can, of course. But not today.

Today, I am approaching it with Jeannette Winterson in mind, referring to her book – Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery (1995) where she says:

Art does not imitate life. Art anticipates life.

Surely as a designer, we need to appreciate and understand Art. We can learn from other disciplines – writers, artist, designers of fashion and products, etc.

Another quote from Winterson (1995):

We seemed to have returned to a place where play, pose and experiment are unwelcome and where the idea of art is debased. At the same time, there are a growing number of people (possibly even a representative number of people), who want to find something genuine in the literature of their own time and who are unconvinced by the glories of reproduction furniture.

In Winterson’s quotes, I want to find the grounds of argument for Art in Architecture. At first, when I talked about Aesthetics, it is more to do with the skin or surface, ornamentation or proportions in form and so on. In traditional arts, my post-graduate students had reviewed that Aesthetics and Function go together. Ancient people do not view beauty as separate from utility, and strength is expected. To build to last. That is why we just could not ignore historical buildings of the old.

What is Art?

Why must Art imitate Life? (Reproduction furniture…)

Why must Art anticipate Life? (Originality…)

In Architecture, we have got to anticipate Life. Aesthetics and Function are one and not separated. Through the design process, we explore Life, anticipate all the numerous possibilities that can emerge from our study on Life, and all the ideas that comes with it, flowing freely and then the form will emerge. Rather than being form-driven, to find originality, we need to be driven by the process.