Imagination
Part I
Big Deal
Imagination; not revit, not Adobe, not vellum, not copics, not Ching books, Imagination is your biggest instrument in architecture (and in life, but for focus). And for something thats so central to the DIsCiPLiNe, I personally haven't heard much explicit talk about imagination as the magic that architects rely on. It's certainly implied, but I guess it's too silly to say among professional people. A big mistake, I feel.
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But I also feel like its not really a mistake at all.
Architects hate her for this (click to see why)
What architects are more likely to talk about in explicit terms is "reality". "This is all very beautiful but in reality..." or "Your design ignores certain unavoidable realities..." or "Lets be realistic here, you can't actually..." and millions of other variations on the theme of myth-busting, fact based, reality.
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But in philosophical circles, the basis of reality is still a matter of intense debate, so don't let anyone fool you into thinking anything is set in stone. Even our current reality, was a product of some people's imagination. We can just as easily imagine a different reality and live by its rules instead.
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Here's the thing.
Here's the thing
The people who created this reality have benefitted quite excessively from its byproducts (just at the cost of their souls, conspiracy crew what), and they have worked very hard to banish imagination to the realm of monsters and unicorns - interesting, but ultimately not a part of our "reality."
But they can't actually do that
Imagination is a force in every part of our world. Forgetting it's there and that its powerful doesn't eliminate it; it only weakens our ability to wield it. Reality is the big rowdy bossy kid on the playground who insists on making everyone play a game by their rules; imagination is a kid deciding to take back their time and joy, and play a different game.
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"But in reality, that little kid would be forced to play with the other kids cause they would be bullied into it, or else left isolated."
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That's what we call violence, and you're right, it is exactly the backbone of "reality."
Choosing Violence
Violence is the favoured tool of the stupid. Or of the unimaginative. When you can force people to do what you want, you don't need to waste time using your creative powers to empathise with them and imagine their point of view so you can persuade them to willingly do things your way. This is the appeal of having a lot of money. This is the reward of being privileged; whether because you are a man, or white, or cis gendered and able bodied - when you embody these things, you benefit from being closer to the inner circle of the big rowdy bossy kid on the playground. You might not beat up the little kid who wants to play a different game, but the big kid will.
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And to the little kid, there isn't much difference between you and the big kid anyway - you both get your way through violence. And so freedom, and imagination, and creativity are the little kid's only way out.
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Architects imagine a solution to real problems every day, but sometimes their designs continue systems of violence instead of creating paths out of them. Be an accomplice to the little kid.
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Choose Imagination
