Divergent Thinking in the Construction of Architectural Models

Abstract

The article examines one little understood but ubiquitous form of divergent thinking achieved intermittently during the act of drawing or modeling. It is argued that this phenomenon, here called intermittent divergence, is rooted in a special kind of interaction between perception and imagination, and that this interaction has specific experiential requirements.Three requirements are defined.The resulting new theory then provides a framework for the critical analysis of conventional digital modeling and parametric modeling. Conventional modeling methods are shown to satisfy the requirements for intermittent divergence, while parametric modeling methods are shown to undermine them.The article concludes that parametric systems, as currently developed, could inhibit rather than augment this important route to creativity. Additionally, the article questions prevailing beliefs about the computer support of creativity, including the premise that sketching is an ideal creative medium and the premise that ambiguity in graphical depictions is key to the support of creativity.The theory offers an alternative view on these issues.

Teaching Digital Design Exploration: Form Follows…

“…We found no contradiction to the 'seeing-as' and the 'reflective conversation with the situation' processes. Furthermore, we noticed that they occurred much more frequently when working with parametric models and when continuous explorations were done.This contradicts some hypotheses that continuous exploration obstructs creative leaps because of the lack of intermittent processes [36]. In fact, we were able to identify some kind of rhythm in the digital exploration process: first, students generate a conceptual idea -they decide which attribute or force to take into consideration; then, they digitally explore the conceptual idea, when unexpected forms can be created and new 'ideas' generated; an evaluation process determines whether to continue the design process or not.The 'control' of the architecturally meaningful aspect is in the hands of the architect, while the form can be surprising, as generated by computer.The process of 'seeing-as' can then occur, and give rise to new ideasconceptual or formal ones.We consider this as a good level of humancomputer symbiosis achieved thanks to teaching CG methods for design exploration.…”

Creatividad y estrategias didácticas para la práctica académica del ejercicio proyectual

“…Por su parte, Talbott (2004) reflexiona sobre cómo es alcanzado el pensamiento divergente durante el dibujo y modelado, entendiéndolo como una interacción entre percepción e imaginación, aunque con la intención de hacer una crítica a los métodos de modelado paramétrico, concluyendo que como están actualmente desarrollados tales modelos podrían inhibir más que aumentar la ruta de la creatividad. Talbott reconoce que las etapas tempranas del diseño están caracterizadas por la búsqueda de nuevas posibilidades que pueden ser detonadas por procesos de pensamiento divergente, que involucran estímulos perceptuales y respuestas subconscientes a esos estímulos propiciando nuevas conexiones reconocidas por su valor en el diseño.…”