Imagination in Architecture

In the Chapel of La Tourette (pic. 2), Le Corbusier is inspired by the ancient chapels of France, but instead of imitating architectural elements such as the pointed arches of Gothic churches, he takes the plan and elevation relief (pic. 1); it chooses a main and important feature of chapel architecture—namely, their rectangular plan with atrium portico courtyards, which are the “main” elements in spatial organization. He then transforms these elements, according to his aesthetic rules, into new modern forms.

Giovanni Michelucci, in his famous church, known as the Autostrada (1961), used a Christian symbol, that is the continuous migration of people, like nomads, towards the truth, and was inspired by the form of a marquee. This form has been regenerated in a completely new shape in his work. The only remaining relation with the original marquee form can be seen in concave concrete ceilings and the combination of oblique and vertical columns.

The toric ceiling of the Sydney Opera, designed by Jorn Utzon, a unique innovation in engineering techniques, is an example of the use of invention in architectural design.

In design, imagination is needed equally, if not more than invention. Imagination is the power of man to produce forms, images or ideas. The process of imagining is not a purposeful activity, and at the start, a special benefit is not expected from it. An imagination dampened by practical needs and implications will not lead to creativity. Imagination can be of an illustrative or abstract nature. Abstract imagination, that is the development of an idea, can transform into form. In Carlo Felice Theatre, the work of Aldo Rossi in Genova, the designer had an abstract idea in his mind: a theatre in an indoor space, while the ancient theatres were outdoors and were built in other places. His idea was to create an indoor space giving the impression of an outdoor location.

Imagination is the outcome of the process of illustrative data and memories and rearranging them into new relationships. Imagination in its final steps turns into creativity. Creative imagination, in its deeper sense, means taking distance from contents of the mind and making a new world of forms and meaning embodied in a unique work of art. Imagination has a wide and expanding range, and its duty is to break established molds. Cases described below are examples of known techniques of imagination:

Used in art and creative endeavors: any type of normal or usual product, in which no artistic, cultural, or technical innovation takes place, is not architecture, even if it is stable or even pleasant. Imagination is the product of processing data stored in the brain, and as a consequence the starting point for imagination is pictures and non-illustrative information captured from the environment. Some painters, like Matisse, exchanged natural colours with vivid unnatural colours. Cezanne, in his artistic research, changed the forced structure of natural sight to explore their formal essence; and Salvador Dali painted familiar forms in a completely bizarre and imaginative fashion.

In our illustrative memory, forms are recorded embedded with their materials. The form of sea waves is embedded with water, and the form of a mountain is embedded with soil and stone. The form of a sea wave built with bricks is extremely unfamiliar and triggers the mind. The project of Mario Botta, in his Fourth Centennial Memorial of Borromini in Lugano (Suisse), is in fact half of the San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane, built in wood. This project, designed minutely using computer simulation and measuring, depicts apparently all of the details of the original building. The use of wood turned this project into an outstanding piece of art instead of an ordinary copy.

Concrete was known from the time of ancient Rome, but it was not until after World War II that its full expression was revealed in the TWA Terminal in New York, designed by Eero Saarinen. In this project, concrete is used not as stone but as a simple and flexible plaster that can take up organic three-dimensional complex forms and create construction forms according to curved load-bearing elements of the building. Until recently, plastic was a value-less material, and any object built from plastic was elaborated so as to look like wood or metal. In today's design, plastic is used in a manner so that its characteristics are best shown.

Change of function is a common fact of daily life. With these changes, we revise the obsolete old forms and recognize the new capabilities of objects and architectural elements. In Acropolis we can see the figure of six stone statues functioning as building columns.

Changing of dimensions refers to an increase or decrease in width, length, and height of a known object or prototype to create visual effects.

Transformation occurs when the normal shape of a familiar element or prototype changes. An example of transformation is the renovation of the ceiling of an old building in Verona, designed by Coop Himmelblau. The bizarre geometry and its complexity attracts the attention.

Old mansions are palaces in which adverse and separated and decorated rooms accommodate paintings and statues. Today's museums are technological and neutral spaces. With the Berlin Hebrew Museum, designed by Libeskind, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, the characteristics of a museum lose their neutrality and become a dramatic piece of art. Most turning points of architecture in the world start with the transformation of the characteristics of space.

Known and familiar prototypes have specific orders. Some aspects of the principle of order in buildings are so universal that they pass the simple stylistic aspect and become a cultural feature. These principal changes over a long period of time, in each historical era, the public has predominantly towards architecture, the transformation of which needs imagination. This is one of the techniques of creating a piece of art: breaking the prejudged subjective rules and orders leads to new design concepts and enrichment of a culture.

Ideologies, standards, and dogmas establish limited views. Being the first to look at familiar phenomena from new perspectives, in every historical period, change has led to new architectural achievements. A panoramic vision is necessary; the designer must view concepts from all angles and distances, considering multiple interacting variables.

In every period of imagination, the boundaries and rules can be redefined. Imagination in its final stage transforms into creative imagination. Creative imagination means breaking free from mental reservations and creating a new world of forms and meaning embedded in a unique work of art. Imagination of this type is complex work that does not fit within rules and cliches. What is presented in this article as scientific and logical study concerns a phenomenon whose nature is fundamentally trans-scientific.