Reflective Journal of Negotiated Design Programme

Reflective Journal ofNegotiated Design ProgrammeMingShum Lo

Chelsea College of Art & Design2010 - 2011

IntroductIon

BegInnIng stage

MIddle stage

FInal stage

conclusIon

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If I ask myself what is the typical design procedures for an interior designer, then my answer is that I believe in the following steps: First, to communicate with the client and to understand the brief. Then, one must analyze the site and the existing prob-lems before going on to the developing of the project with the help of research and the designing stage. Lastly, it is vital to provide the most suitable design solution to the client. In short, we are the problem solver for the space.

But what this project is about? And why we had to start off with model-making, which I thought was not typical?

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How can we start the project without a client and a brief? If the difference between designers and artists is with or without clients, are we becoming artists ourselves?

If I make a model without having any information, the spatial quality becomes most important because there is no functional requirement I need to consider. Starting with model-making allow us to imagine and create spaces without any limitations. We can do almost everything. But it can be a dangerous process at the same time. We may feel uncomfortable if we work without direction, because as a designer, we always interact with others and to get response from the design decision. i.e. to fulfill the cli-ent needs.

If this model-making process is just an exercise for collecting ideas, there are two rules I want to set as a starting point: To use similar size of model-making materials and use no glue for fixing. Base on the rules, I can create and store my models (ideas) easily, but the size of the models should be big enough for me to take pictures.

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How do we justify our design without a brief? Or do I just need to trust my eyes and believe in what I am doing? How to let accident becomes a design process?

I have created a series of models under the same rules with different materials – wa-tercolor paper, foam, wrapping paper and carton paper, etc. Some of the models are interesting and I enjoy capturing the space with a camera. This process is useful for collecting ideas. I focus on the shape, lighting and shadow. Sometime I try to turn the model upside down and capture the space from different angles, the space I captured are unexpected and dramatic, which can never be done if I follow the normal design process.

For me photography is about recognition of a rhythm of surfaces, lines, or shades. The eye cuts out (he means ‘defines’) the subject (space); and the camera simply has to do its job, that is to register upon film the decision of the eye” - Decision of the eye / editd by Tobia Bezzola. / Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Berlin : Scalo ; 2005.

We were asked to keep ourselves with the innocent mind and to trust our own eyes. As an interior designer, we always have to consider a lot of issues, such as functionality, circulation, lighting, materials, etc. But not for this time, as least not at the initial stage. It is an interesting process to me, because I realized that I have the ability to create beautiful objects or spaces even without a brief.

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One of my models is made by carton paper. When I was taking pictures of the model, I realised that the lighting are able to pass through the edge of carton paper if it is thin enough. I start playing with the carton paper and not follow the rules I created. Cutting them to strips and stacking them up - which become a see-through structure wall. The shadow created by the wall is beautiful, which provide a strong sense of space. I believe that is my first positive accident in my project.

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After the beginning stage of the project, I have produced a number of models, includ-ing the see-through structure model which I like the most at that moment. Then I was suggested to create some collages based on the photographs of the models. Making collages are not only to estimate the scale of the each model but also to understand the possibility of forming a new space. It is interesting that the space turned out so differently and out of people’s expectation. I often work with model-making or collage as a stand alone design process, but I never tried to combine two methods together. This suggestion is very useful for me to transform the objects/model to a space, which has more potential for development or to become a project.

One of the collages was made to show the see-through and light-transmitting charac-ters. Thus, one piece of rectangular shaped see through structure “wall” was literally inserted in the middle of the collage. A triangular shaped wrapping paper was applied at the top with similar method. But the inserted see-through “wall” was contradicted to the original image, which looks like floating in the middle since I did not place it in align with the wall inside the image. The collage then become so special visually. It also represents an extraordinary space which I was accidentally created. I was asked to build another model which one of the perspective view should look exactly the same as the collage. But why does it have to be “exactly” the same? I do not know the answer until half of the model was built, which was to keep the spirit and the special element of the collage such as the “floating wall”, the sky light and the model in the front of the collage (which lead me to create the second level in the new model). I later decided to throw away some information from the collage which I think they were not beautiful enough or not useful for the new model.

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I felt like I was really becoming a novice designer once again. But not anymore after all the processes were done. I feel much clearer and I understand the reasons behind all the advises my tutor gave me. It is almost not important what process they are and how they work exactly, because there are plenty of different method which depends on the objects/models/projects. The spirit of this middle stage was to keep looking at the objects and to discover a way which is suitable for transforming the object to something else, until it becomes more interesting or with more potential for further development.

In short, this stage is about “just do something...”“When a design problem is so overwhelming as to be nearly paralyzing, don’t wait for clarity to arrive before beginning to draw (modeling). Drawing (modeling) is not only sim-ply a way of depicting a design solution; it is itself a way of learn about the problem (object) you are trying to solve (develop).” - 101 Things I Learn in Architecture School, Matthew Frederick, 2007

And I believed this method can be useful for different fields of the creative industry.

This is the most important stage and is like a self-searching process or an experiment of discovering my spatial creativity.

I end up with a beautiful model in the middle stage. Supposedly, the next step is going to be easy and smooth but the fact is not. We are looking for a suitable territory for the model. The space have to match with the specific function or a story/narrative so as to complete the meaning of the project. For instance, one of the student, Hisako, end up from middle stage with a model which was inspired by zen garden and Japanese tem-ple. The model gives a sense of serenity yet sophisticated. She was then suggested to have a memorial for the latest earthquake in Japan as her project. We believed the idea of the memorial, because we can really see/feel the connection between the idea and the model. At the meantime, another student, Recy, have been exploring the pos-sibility of the traditional house shape. She tried to recreate the space of shed houses by the method of intersection, displacement, etc. She then decided to work on an architectural office renovation project, but she needs to figure out a narrative/ reason to explain why some of the shed houses looks misplaced.

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I can hardly make people believe in my project with any ordinary function/idea be-cause there is a “floating wall” in my model. I try to associate ideas with the wall. Even though I can say it is the wall structure of the future, I nevertheless cannot explain why it needs to exist in the space. Robert Venturi, at the Art net conference in London in the 1970s said that Modern architecture is composed of “firmness plus commodity equals delight.” There is no “firmness” in the model in terms of structure and idea. Without “firmness” I cannot further develop commodity (function) and there is no way to delight people with the project.

“We are the problem solver for the space,” I wrote at the beginning. While I previously believed in that, I have since learnt that we can actually avoid solving potential prob-lems and overlook them through another perspective. For example, the “floating wall” in the model is only representing an unstable structure which possibly from the past. Subsequently, ideas about the archaeological site was then starting to develop. FI

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NegotiateMy understanding of the term “negotiate” in this project is: we have to persuade our tutor to believe in our ideas with any kind of evidences e.g. researches, drawings, models and narrative (all of them should work well with each other). But more impor-tantly, I negotiate with myself. I do not mean any specific design decision, but the whole territory of the project. I found that I am not so interested in archaeology after a research period and I was influenced by a book and some images about the London Flooding in the future. That was the first moment I negotiate with myself and I go for the topic which interest me more. Although it didn’t work at the end (because of some design problems generated, and I don’t have enough skills to solve that problem in a short time), at least I learnt something new from this two topics.

The second time I negotiate with myself is to make decision on the project territory (art/installation vs interior design). I was encouraged to develop my project as an art-work or installation. I was not sure because it seems not appropriate for an interior design programme. I also feel uncomfortable in this area since art was not my profes-sion. Even the understanding in art was not enough - I used to believe that art is a way of communicate and delivery message, but I was told that artist don’t do message, they show others his/her way of seeing things.

Due to the mentioned “reasons”, I am going to challenge myself - with an art project.

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This is a long journey to figure out what my project is and there are a lot of models and ideas which end up I didn’t use, but I don’t think it is an failure or waste of time. Because I know that:

“a good designer isn’t afraid to throw away good idea...your (my) goal as a designer should be to create an integrated whole, not to incorporate all the best features in your building (my project) whether or not they work together.” - 101 Things I Learn in Architec-ture School, Matthew Frederick, 2007

I am looking forward to take some of the design thinking skill I learnt in this programme to a practical level for a real interior design project.

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