Find Architectural Design Ideas

Architectural Design Ideas, where can you find them? 

For Architects and Architectural Students may find this a very challenging task. Every time you are starting with a new project, Design ideas does not come immediately. There are times you are facing a blank paper you cannot do anything but just stare at the paper. All white, no ideas and don't know where to start.

In this blogpost, i would like to share some thoughts on where to find your Design Ideas and how to start the Design process. 

I find this video by Eric Reinholdt very helpful in exploring our minds and come up with a design solution to a new project or any project that you might be starting.

How to find Architectural Design Ideas

In his design approach, he listed 7 different ways you can get your ideas from, these are;

• Bisociation

• Trusting the Design Process

• Embracing Constraints

• Inventing deadlines

• Doing the Opposite

• Subtracting to solve

• Stealing

These words seem very different but as you watch the video, you will get the better understanding of how you can generate your own ideas. I have discussed some of these in the design process in one of my previous blog on How to generate design concepts . 
Today, let us get more knowledge and understanding so that you can have practically more ways to get your design done. Let us learn from this video.
What does it mean to get your design ideas through Bisociation?

1. Bisociation means the linking of two completely separate, unrelated ideas. How does that work?

2. Trust the Design Process - There are 4 Stages of the design process:

• Preparation - fill the mind with information. This is the research process where you need to get all the information required that will influence your design solutions. It is where you determine the problems to solve. 

• Incubation - is the generation of design ideas from the subconscious mind. Discovering and forging connections leads to solving multiple problems. This is the most maddening experience where you have to unconsciously investigate several briefs at one time. 

• Illumination- This is the idea generation based on the problems you determine from those two process of preparation and incubation. somehow come up with the solution. Test and refine it as you develop your ideas.

• Verification - finally coming up with the design solution led to the conceptualization of the project you are doing.

These are the process that allows us to produce creative work.
3. Embracing Constraints - Constraints are opportunities for us to innovate and boundaries push against.There are far more deeper reasons that needs to be well taken care of. its not just solving a particular need but more so considering technical issues that may influence your design.
Eg.
Roofing syles, height of buildings, size of rooms, setbacks and building codes.
4. Inventing Deadlines- Set aside a time to accomplish something. It is rather a discipline to work within a time frame and accomplish something. Become an Observer -Profound Architecture interprets the world for us! By observation, you can find a lot of ideas. How can observing what's already existing will help us make better buildings?
5. Doing the Opposite- What's the one thing that if removed will lead everything pointless? What would it be like to have a theater without a screen?
6. Subtracting to Solve- Often the best solutions are the simplest
7. Stealing (like an artist) - There is nothing really new in this world. understanding this would free you from looking at the solutions others have developed before you. 

Useful references related to our topic,
These are the recommended books that will help you explore more design ideas by Francis D.K Ching
Architecture: Form, Space, & Order




It is my hope that you will benefit from this blog and hope you can share your thoughts on this by giving your comments below.