DESIGN CONCEPTS
Anil Chotmarada
Born in the depths of the mind are abstractions which form the premise for a creative reality. Generally addressed as concepts, these are manifestations of personal philosophies and convictions nurtured over time through experience and thought. Basis of tangible creations, the intangible background commonly called concepts are essential for giving meaning to the creations. Design, as is simply understood, is the process for creating anything useful efficiently and effectively. This process generates a systematic organisation of some raw materials or thoughts and is done on the premise that through this mistakes will be avoided. Design, thus as a creative act is based on some concept. The two terms brought together would indicate the background ideas of the creative process on which is based the nature of the final product or event.
Concepts are a product of deep thought and a clear understanding of the area under study and are formulated in the form of cerebral ideas. Ideas, in their turn, are not created in a vacuum but are a result of the serious probe and analysis done about a sphere of a profession in particular and about life in general. Mental activity besides being influenced by the current thinking process is also affected by the associations which are existing in the mind of the thinker. As associations are created by the social, political, economic, geographical and cultural milieu, concepts are thus, related to external peripheral issues in which the designer has lived and worked. While being an outcome of an ethos, concepts are nevertheless very personal and vary from designer to designer from the same background and are representative of the personal philosophies of an individual. Philosophy as a metaphysical reasoned doctrine cannot but be a well thought out personal statement about issues which are of a serious concern to the thinker and in the area of design take the form of concepts. This reasoned thinking is the real basis for any good design.
Design concepts are abstractions of the highest order. The design process which culminates in the creation of a functional and beautiful object is initiated in the mind of the designer. The designer generally by training and often by inherent talent probes over the issues effecting the design of the object and then based on a personal philosophy produces a design which on execution generates an useful, aesthetic object. While the latter activity of executing the design is a physical process governed by engineering skills or craft, the former part of the procedure is purely theoretical, mental, philosophical and often intuitive. There are many a factor which need to be considered for producing an efficacious design but the one which makes the product carry the personal stamp of the designer is the concept formulated for the design of the product. This personal statement can be a very specific, contextual thought or a theory of a very general nature not directly concerned with a specific design issue but a statement on the very fundaments of existence or matter. It is based on this concept that a spirit is introduced in the physical structure of the designed object. This fact can also be seen from the view point that if a design were to be made without a concept, it will be a victim of circumstances, that is, produced by only extraneous pressures instead of a holistic, coherent theoretical idea.
In the domain of creativity besides the well reasoned thought process there is an intuitive input which helps the designer create a beautiful design. Until a design is fully executed it is only a notion generated by the sensibilities of the designer. A designers sensibilities besides reasoned thought are also inherent clairvoyant capabilities which assist him in the designing process. In the effort to introduce aesthetics in the final product, the designer while having the physical and abstract tools at his disposal still has to depend on his own envisioning strengths to be successful. In this process of infusing beauty in the object being designed the designer has to generally fall back on his inherent intuitive capabilities to meet the objectives of design. This happens also because the design till it is executed is a figment of the imagination of the designer.
Architectural design or its allied design forms - urban design, landscape design, interior design are bound by many a constraint. For the same situation and context there are numerous solutions, implying that the authors thinking process is of paramount importance. Each designer will be designing according to his own attitudes and value systems, very often leaving a distinct personal stamp if the designers personality and thinking is strong. It is generally this personalised value added to the design that makes the designing process a unique and special process.
Architecture is related to Man, Space, Place and Time. Architectural design is consequently an arrangement of spatial orders using the current technology suitable to a context for the happiness of the users. The design process will thence incorporate inputs from various sources and of a varied nature. All these inputs will have to be however compiled and co-ordinated under a basic underlying theme which will be generally personal to the designer. It is this underlying thought that we can address as an architectural concept. These concepts in architecture would cross the barriers of mere technology or other individual factors of concern but delve into the more esoteric or deeper abstractions of Life and Nature to encompass all the factors of influence in an area as complex as architecture.
Architecture besides catering to the physical facets of actual building is more deeply concerned with the intangibles of culture and sociology, human aspirations and expectations, the myriad manifestations of Nature and the extremely complex character and nature of Man. The background theoretical process needed for the creation of a solution for a problem as complex as this then requires an approach which is all-encompassing and spiritual in nature. Resolving human spatial problems calls for a strong personal philosophy of the designer transcending the perimeters of physicality and touching upon the domain of ethereal esotericism.
Space is the basic raw material of architecture. Architects modulate and organise space to make it useful for an envisaged activity. Architectural design concepts thus need to be respect the essential spirit and meaning of space used by man for all his activities. Design concepts related to architecture are lucid statements on both the quality and quantity of space used by man. Quantitatively spatial requirements are resolved using the human being and his activities as a module. From the Michelangelo and Bernini’s human circle to Corbusier’s modular spiral to the Vastu Purusha Mandala square, designers are developing concepts to quantify the spatial requirements of man. Qualitatively the feelings generated by space on the user or viewer matter. Experienced through the process of perception these experiences are an outcome of a complex procedure, based on which many designers have formulated their design concepts. Mies’s Less is More and Corbusier’s House is a Machine to live in are a manifestation of such concepts.
Time has an influence on all aspects of life. In the more theoretical sense it relates to the changes it introduces on all things and the cycle of changes that it introduces with its passing. Besides introducing changes in technology, materials and method, Time brings about a change in the level of the thinking process of the designer. The designer, over time, after going through the design process a number of times, matures in the process and is able to improve upon the final product by improving the conceptual inputs. Architectural design concepts need to change over time because of the changing behavioural patterns and aspirations of the users which keep modifying with the alterations in the cultural and societal systems.
Architectural design concepts are also governed by Man, Nature and Technology. All architectural endeavour is for the performance of the various activities of the users. Here, Man with his entire physical, psychological, social, cultural, emotional and qualities and failures has to be accommodated. Architecture as the matrix of civilisation needs a conceptual background in its generation which is of an equally high standing and of a depth which would actually produce a product truly representative. Nature has always been a source of inspiration to Man and a provider of all the basic philosophies on which contextual concepts are laid down for specific design solutions. Technology while being of serious concern at the time of executing the design idea nevertheless plays an important role in the formulation of the design concept as the basic design philosophy would be incorrect if it were not to incorporate the issues of final production of the product being designed.
Different world masters of architecture have expressed these fundaments in their own way and language. While Frank Lloyd Wright had a great respect for Nature giving rise to the concept of ‘Organic’ architecture, Corbusier, a great believer in Man gave a fillip to ‘Brutalism’ and Mies Van Der Rohe with his great insistence on ‘Less is More’ gave a new meaning to the contribution of technology to the spirit of architecture. These great masters besides having specific solutions with different concepts for different situations adhered to some very fundamental personal philosophies which went much deeper than the physical constraints of the individual projects. These concepts relate to the more profound relationships of Man and Nature with all their myriad facets and ramifications. Corbusier while insisting on the strength of Man accepted Nature with his respect for Sun, Space and Verdure. Mies while producing impeccable technological products respected Mans need to be in visual contact with Nature at all times.
Today though Man has alienated himself from Nature through his mental prowess, his genesis was through a natural process. In spite of this estrangement, even today, the major source of inspiration and learning still comes from Nature. This emotional distancing of Man from Nature has come about by the products conceived by Man, but very interestingly, these conceptions themselves are derived from natural phenomenon and with the intention of defying nature to be a part of nature. The concept of an aeroplane defies the natural processes but gives Man the ability to ‘fly’ - a natural attribute of another species evolved through a natural process.
Design concepts while being philosophical in their structure are ultimately meant for the purpose of creating a physical product. These will have to be holistic statements which based on profound philosophy take due care of the contextual issues, personal beliefs and equally important the workability and practicality of the product. The intangibles must lead to the tangible for that is the purpose of design.
All products are designed by some means or the other. If there is a concept to the design programme there is the possibility of the design to be meaningful otherwise it will end in just the creation of a product which may or may not be effective. As there is a vast variety of products produced and there is a difference in the design parameters, constraints and areas of application there has to be a difference in the design concepts used. The basic philosophy of the designer towards Life and the profession may remain the same, different design situations will, of necessity, call for different concepts which are contextual and product based. The conceptual difference may be because of Space, Place Time or User in architectural design.
Design concepts even if these are by the same designers for near parallel situations need to be slightly varied as designs need to represent originality and creative innovativeness. As it is, if a product has to be reproduced there is apparently no need for designing the product all over again but it would be in the fitness of things if designers were to review their designs once the product has been produced and used by the users and responses received from the users on the performance of the product. In architecture this study is in the form of Post Occupancy Evaluation and is of great help in improving design concepts for near parallel situations. Design concepts can only improve with additional inputs of feedback and experience.
Design concepts are thus personal postulates which are given birth after due gestation of the experiences of Life in general and the design constraints and parameters at the individual product level crystallising into thoughts which on conversion result in the production of a meaningful product which is both useful and beautiful. It is in the holism and completeness of the concept that the success of the product lies.
Anil Chotmarada is a Faculty & Director in Gateway College of Architecture & Design, Sonipat-131001, India.