9 minute read
Moving Ideas Forward
Moving Ideas Forward
From Thought to Reality
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It has been said that creativity is like LEGOS. If there are only a few of the same brick in a bucket, the outcome is drab and uniform. But, with a bag of colorful bricks of various shapes and sizes, the imaginative is inspiring. “Anyone can optimize their creativity by enriching their mental pool of resources with diverse, eclectic, cross-disciplinary pieces that can be rearranged into new combinations,” suggests Senior Associate, Gabriela Patocchi. “Anyone can be trained to capture the essence of place if they are curious, lift their eyes, open their mind – stay alert and stay engaged. After all, the average design is not the result of little effort, rather the lack of inspiration.”
The Spark
While everyone follows a different path to inspiration, the mechanics are largely the same from one person to the next. At the heart of creativity is connection or the ability to make connections – between items, ideas, people, and places that seem unrelated. Often, the more connections a concept has, the more interesting and intricate it becomes. To achieve this, the brain generates ideas from information it holds related to experience and knowledge. Experience, in this instance, comes from doing things such as traveling, exploring, and engaging while knowledge is gained from research, reading, listening, and learning.
In order to generate original ideas, the amount of information the brain possesses must be continuously increased with an improved ability to recall and repurpose that information when needed. “Everyone gathers inspiration from different mediums and in different ways but knowing how to trigger those creative juices is an important part of being a design professional,” shares Patocchi. “True creativity occurs when existing insights, knowledge, and memories are combined with new material and interpretations to solve design challenges.”
A thorough visioning process can stimulate the generation and development of breakthrough ideas. These sessions are rarely the product of one mind but rather the result of a cross-pollination of people, ideas, and approaches – each influencing and building upon the other. Associate Principal Eric Propes explains, “With base information of a site, we begin the ideation process free of semantics as to why an idea won’t work. We let go of harsh judgements and allow all ideas – brilliant, mediocre, and outrageous – to flow through our minds. This process allows us to explore all potential avenues of a project design and accumulate as many concepts as possible before filtering them by logic. In the end, some ideas are not going to be viable, but others will be astonishing. Only after a solid project narrative has been agreed upon, do we move into the next phase of design which considers what fits, what’s relative, and what’s feasible within the site’s parameters.”
With a culture anchored in creativity and innovation, EDSA has a team of designers who are self-motivated and not afraid to fail. From there, the focus has been on developing a positive environment that is centered on designing projects for successful implementation. “Internal design reviews create opportunities for team members to engage and contribute to the ideation process,” says Propes. “Ideas often build upon each other to formulate a story that has legs and gains traction. It is the contribution of multiple people offering varying perspectives that aides in the generation of new and unique ideas.”
Propes recalls the ideation process for Ruyi Island in China. Extensive research into underwater topography, prevailing winds, wave conditions, and weather patterns informed the shape and configuration of the island – giving way to a recognizable geometry that is not only reliant on water as a connective element but conforms with the currents to protect the island from tidal fluxes and storms.
The 574-hectare island uses themed cultural related districts, lagoons, beaches, and internal water streets to create a unique sense of place that all relate back to the surrounding sea. The aquatic interior network radiates from a central core and seamlessly connects and transitions people between districts. With an initial investment of $250 million, the project is positioned as a high-end tourism destination with a theme park, museums, and malls, as well as villas, commercial, hospitality, wellness, and entertainment offerings.
Turning Up the Heat
An effective vision must not only be inspiring but strategically sound and implementable. “Visioning helps us stay on course, align design thinking, and make decisions more effectively,” explains Associate Principal Derek Gagne. A carefully crafted and properly documented vision keeps everyone engaged and helps all team members understand how their work contributes to the building of a holistic project narrative. “In essence, it becomes the ‘heartbeat’ of the project – forming a storyline that supports the cultural construct of a place, space, and time.”
Once knowledge about the physical characteristics of a site have been assimilated, the ideation process evolves into illuminating the user experience and verifying probability of the design outcome. Actualizing the idea means keeping the ‘big idea’ relevant as a standard of measure while addressing how it will be executed. In addition to site visits and personal experiences, this phase relies on data and research to refine the story of a place. “Everyone likes a ‘big idea’ but if you cannot implement it, it’s useless. That’s where case studies, design inspiration, research, and experience matter. We must continually ask ourselves, ‘why would someone come here?’ and allow that context to influence our design,” says Gagne.
The logistics and planning stage of ideation is important because without it a project can’t succeed. Ideas need to make their way into reality if they are to have a chance at becoming inspirational for others in the future. With that in mind, taking a concept from vision to implementation entails active listening – to the client, the land, and the people. “For a project to be unique, it needs its own story,” says Gagne. It can be as subtle as inlaid tiles that educate guests on Mayan history, or working intricately detailed surfaces that are weathered and worn into site materials in celebration of the local surf culture. “The goal of design is to have a visitor, resident, or guest, understand the story of the landscape from start to finish. Finding the common thread in what the client is passionate about, what is beneficial to the site, and what enhances the user experience – is the point of contact from which ideas flourish.”
Consider the overall concept design for Katara Towers in Doha. The proposed urban project subtly uses water, sun, and light to create a context of what is special to modern Arabic culture. Using traditional forms to organize spaces, the team mediated the site’s expansiveness to ensure an optimal experience at a human scale. Supporting the idea of a ‘desert mirage,’ spaces play with reflections where tilted water basins highlight a palm oasis offset by a feature wall beyond. Fog in recessed plantings creates the illusion of the floating trees. Water ripples and sand dunes, two of the simplest elements making up the Qatari landscape, offer impactful imagery and recall the rich natural resources and wealth that has afforded Qatar its future.
In another example, the team researched the history of the site and its context to ensure the design vision for a new resort in Puerta Vallarta was relatable and unique in a saturated marketplace. “We looked for clues and uncovered the inherent hidden treasure within the site,” shares Patocchi. The theme was formulated around the ‘life of fishermen’, their daily interaction with the sea, and return home to a small coastal town. Guests begin their journey in a village square where the hotel is sited as a welcomed embrace of the ocean. Facing the sea, guests find their rooms within and among three buildings that represent a contemporary interpretation of old ships that appear to be stranded in the sand. Amenities are then concentrated around the boat inspired architecture in the heart of the property. The main pool represents an arm of the sea and connects to the village center. Event spaces, water park, bars, and restaurants are accessed through a recreated beach that emphasizes the theme. “When you have a strong concept, everything goes smoothly, and the detailing feels natural,” shares Patocchi.
Numerous studies have shown that creative teams that work and interact in an open, fluid network significantly increase their chances of these ‘lucky’ moments – where ideas seem to come easily. According to author Steven Johnson, this connection is what happened in the 18th century’s coffeehouses in Europe. Communal spaces allowed different perspectives, experiences, and areas of expertise to be shared – which created a fertile environment for innovation that ultimately led to the period of Enlightenment.
Today, the accessibility of data through technology is shaping the visioning process and how alternatives are evaluated in compelling ways. “For example, Infraworks and other three-dimensional modeling software allows our team to quickly synthesize multiple sources of data to test ideas and visualize things that you would never be able to in a two-dimensional plan. This reduces up-front costs for clients and provides a greater understanding of topography, slopes, viewsheds, and other physical features of a site in relation to the proposed building program. We can then focus on the aesthetics and storyline – bringing everything together. Not only do you see the big picture but with a program like InfraWorks, you can see the right picture,” explains Propes.
Carrying the Torch of Creativity
Generating original ideas requires communication, talent alignment and collaboration. The EDSA team knows this cannot all be accomplished by non-stop work. Instead, everyone makes time for fun as this opens the mind and stimulates the free thought necessary to drive innovation. The Joseph J. Lalli Fellowship, Edward D. Stone Travel Program, an annual retreat, and lunch & learns all help drive this innovation by providing opportunities to gain exposure to new and different touchpoints and view design from different perspectives. With a truly explorative mind, employees can gain a broader orientation of the world and collect inspiration from a wide range of art forms – from fashion, architecture and history to nature, music and beyond.
While at the time, there may be no immediate application to a project’s design, these insights and continuous engagement in design discussions serve as analogies from which to draw from when visioning in the future. Just like Gutenberg in 1450 combined insights from wine-pressing and his profession as a goldsmith to come up with a printing system that led to the first assembly line-style mass production of books. Gagne recalls, “We still cite our Studio trip – finding commonalities of what excited us and how we can apply them to new design challenges.”
“The deliverable in all of this is a visioning book – an accumulation of all the design ideas – an advertisement for the experience we are creating and what will draw people to a place. The process and outcome solidify how all of the pieces of the design unite to tell the story,” states Gagne. Patocchi agrees. “Everyone loves art. Everyone loves nature,” she says. “Great ideas lie at the intersection of these commonalities and that excites us. We are all stakeholders when it comes to seeking inspiration and we are likewise empowered, with our own creativity, to keep the design conversation alive.”
