In the previous issue we looked into creativity and its different aspects. The most important point to be considered from the very beginning of our discussion was that creativity, in spite of it’s innovative aspect and despite the fact that it results in things that never existed before is a process and like any other process it has it’s own techniques. Moreover, we looked into the conceptual framework of the process more than anything else and showed that creativity is a kind of a complex mental activity produced by imagination and invention each of them having their own specific factors and process. In this article we would investigate the last stage of creativity, which is generation of form. Of course I don’t consider form as being irrelevant to structure and to the construction logic, rather form in its broad meaning which covers the space, structure, material and the texture. Form in the architectural terms is a set of geometrical relations that gain objectivity through construction materials and it is natural that potentially the possibility of creating new forms is unlimited. Let alone the apparent variations of the forms, the techniques, which produce new forms, are not multifarious. In the history of architecture, very rarely, such techniques come into existence that basically change the method of approach to the forms. Today, the architects are after exploring the petentials of complicated geometrical disciplines like Fractals, Mobius, Topology, etc. The new geometry has so effectively shown that form is not just a container but also it deals with the organization of space and is a system of movement and perception of the space. It is for this reason that the techniques of creativity are mainly related to the discussion of form. Of course form itself is a vast and complex issue that cannot fit in one article. Just as complicated mathematical formulas at the most are basically constructed of simple mathematical relations, the architectural forms, in spite of complexity, make use of relatively simple principles, which in other words are manners of designing. The problem is, finding a kind of balance. This can be compared to walking on a rope. When we bend more on one side, the mind gives order to the organs of the body to move to the other side so that the center of gravity remains on the axis of the plumb line of the rope. My intention in mentioning the balance is not pointing out the old topic of balanced forms, but to discuss the techniques, which are in fact kinds of human reaction to pre-existing principles. Creativity also is a human reaction to the problems, which often have pre-existing and non-creative solutions.
Techniques of Creation
Carry out the value
Human being from the distant past had come to know that natural phenomenas have opposites that the existence of which was necessary for maintaining the balance of environment and continuation of life. Thus at the time of thinking on a special subject to imagine its opposite is a part of a search for perfection and balance. The natural reaction of human being to the environment has not always been a search for harmony with the environment. The architectural products in specific, show a certain contradiction with nature, particularly those of the past when the behavior of human being was closer to his natural temperament. Ziggurats of Mesopotamia are artificial mountains on a land, which is completely flat. In the same way the minarets of central cities of Iran challenge the horizontal lines of the salty desert. The thick and shining colors of the tiles, carpets and the local dresses of the people of these areas are a search for compensating the colorless environment. Contrast, for example contrast in color, is nothing separate from nature. If we look at the flowers and fruits we would come to know that making use of color contrast is one of the rules of nature. Living creatures convey important messages to each other through the color contrasts. From the point of view of aesthetic, the value of each perceptional element is appreciated on the background of the opposite. The grey color on a grey texture loses its value. Constrast causes increase in the value. The mosques of our cities with their very regular geometical structure, spacious dimensions, bright colors, perpendicular expansion, … are in contrast with their surrounding environment and this contrast is the cause of increase in the value. The search for contrast is not merely limited to the reaction of human being to natural environment, but it is a rule, which can also be observed in the relationships between the man-made forms. Every architectural form, if made up of different elements, can embody contrast and this contrast, besides producing a total balance increases the value of each element. There are many types of contrast used in architecture among which I would refer to a few.
1 — Order and disorder
Today, the dominant point of view is that there is no phenomena as disorder and it is the complexity of order which seems to us as disorder. Anyway, in comparison with a bright and simple order, it is possible that a complicated system might look disordinance. Complete disorder itself produces order. In the cinerm, before the commencement of the film, when almost everybody talks to the person next to monotonous tumult is produced. On the other hand, an accurate and simple but tiresome order seems even worthless in certain cases. Search for order is a search for perfection, but perfection without contrast tends towards abstraction and does not touch the human life. A Japanese proverb says, “Perfection is beautiful but also foolish. One should try to know perfection, make use of it, but then should break it.” Sometimes order and disorder may be of the same value such as geometrical patterns and floral designs of a carpet but in most cases their relationship is that of rule and exception. The modern aesthetic, has often utilized this method of importing a kind of disorder in an ordered context. For example, in the extension of the Berlin museum Libeskind has utilized the contrast between linear and zigzag organization.
2 — Void and mass
Void and mass is one of the oldest method of producing contrast. Regardless to our need to ventilation and light which necessitates the existense of openings in the outer crust of the building, there are also important delicate aesthetic considerations which should be taken into account. The volume that has no opening on the outside gives the impression of a monument or a statues. Such forms drive the people away. But openings that provide views of the inside, absorb people inward. This explains why buildings like Gonbad-e-Qabus, which are mainly monuments have very few and limited openings while buildings like mosques that are intended to invite people inside have vast openings (eyvan) which overshadow the facade.
In the contrasting combination of void and mass, if the area of one is noticeably more than the other, then the relationship is that of object and context or rule and exception. Therefore in accordance with design strategies the prevailing order may be defined by the form of the openings or the mass.
Le Corbusier, in his Ronchamp chapel, has investigated all kinds of openings. These are either too big or small in an exaggerated way. In this project Corbusier avoids the ordinary. Because the ordinary is presupposed and fulfills the expectations of the eye, therefore is less attractive.
3 — Heavy and light
Transparent material like glass, and polycarbonates, suggest the lightness. Opaque materials like stone, brick and cement-concrete, suggest the heaviness. Monolith simple geometrical volumes imply heaviness while broken and fragmented volumes seem to be light. The contrast of lightness and heaviness has always been used from the Gothic period when the utilization of vast glazings was common. Today lightness has taken precedence over heaviness and has come out in the form of an aesthetic strategy. Building with transparent skin, have an ever changing aesthetic during day and night. During the day they reflect the outside scenery and during the night, they exhibit the inside.
4 — Natural and artificial
Some of the construction materials like wood and stone can be utilized in a nearly natural way. In such condition the shape of the components and their texture is very complex. In contrast to the natural materials, materials like cement-concrete, metal and glass can be used in simple and specific forms. Making use of these contrasting materials increases the value of the forms and puts emphasis on the building materials.
A stone wall in a village house is less attractive than in a modern building. In the classic architecture, the architects tried to overshadow the natural characteristics of materials and surpass their limits. The Islamic plasterwork has an elegance, which apparently cannot be undertaken by a crisp material like plaster. In the European Neoclassic architecture stone has nearly lost its identity and has turned into a device for formal expression. The modern aesthetic looks for the tension between the independent identities of the materials and the form designed by the architect. Even material like cement-concrete which come out in any shape, in most cases are used in such a way that exhibits their generic status.
5 — New and old
Considering the increasing number of buildings, the problem of restoration and renovation of the buildings has gained special importance. Most experts are of the opinion that in repairing the historical monuments, if it is necessary to add accessories or certain parts which did not exist before or did exist but now there is no sign of them, what ever is added, should have a technologic appearance and should completely be in contrast with the historical form.
In combining the old and new, the contemporary architecture has obtained brilliant results. The technique of placing new against the old is not merely applied to historical buildings. James Sterling has placed the modern aesthetic against the forms presumed from the Romanesque architecture, in the Staatsgalerie in the city of Stuttgart.
Ambiguity
The antonym of “Carrying out the value” is ambiguity. Till now we have studied the different forms of contrast and noticed that by utilizing contrasting values in architectural design, we can emphasize on different features of the building. By use of contrast, the distinctions become transparent and ambiguity dies away. Ambiguity is a delicate technique through which distinction decreases to an unnoticeable degree, particular perceptional condition comes into being. Naturally, the fields in which ambiguity may be produced are innumerable. For instance, one can point out to the cultural complex of New Caledonia, by Renzo Piano. The substance of the wooden and metal cottages of this complex, which resemble the sails of a ship, gradually diminishes towards the sky and they become a part of the sky. In these structures, the silhouete which commonly is the most important feature of the form, becomes vague and changes into a secondary element. In contrast with the context of the local buildings around, the sky and the jungle turns to a kind of ambiguity.
Ambiguity also comes into being when two identical materials with little difference are put next to each other or when the contrast between the outer and the inner design vanishes out. Ambiguity stands on the border separating contrast and similarity and for this reason doubles the value of the elements of the building. Sometimes, ambiguity is presented in the form of a kind of illusion. Some of Vasarelli’s paintings, are such that they can be perceived in two different ways.
Tension
Tension is produced when a form disturbs the norms the eye is used to. Buildings constructed by complicated methods and advanced technology like cable structures or intervening spatial trusses (works of Calatrava) sometimes imply that they are miraculously standing in spite of the law of gravitation. The hanging structure of Muqarnas which apparently suggests a solid and heavy form, although hollow and light, also creates tension.
As one can imagine this subject, the techniques of creativity, subject of creative technology is far more detailed than what is said in this article. It is hoped that this discussion will continue in the next issue.
