The Box

We often hear about this idea of a box. But what really is this box. Some people are described as thinking outside of the box. This Box exists in our head and we clump all of the standards and rules of society in the box. Now this can be good and bad. We have the ability to categorize the sort the information inside of the box. But why does it matter? In the box we define what is normal and what can be done. If you don’t fit the mold of thinking you then are put in this category of thinking outside of the box – Thinking outside of the Norm. I Believe that this box exists but I am not sure I would describe it so concrete as a box. I think that it is more malleable and forming. We think that it is ridged only because we confine ourselves to that idea, that it really is ridged. Those that think outside of the box are more open minded, hence the ability to transition in and out of the box. But what if we could change the box to a pyramid or a sphere? And I am not talking about changing the shape but our idea of the shape. Not the form representing ideas but the inherit ideas of the shape. Changing the standards to variables and the rules to suggestions. Making the box transitory. That the rules have to be obeyed for the perfect outcome. But who makes these rules? Now I am not talking about or suggesting an anarchy of Design. But a liberation of ideas. Defining the rules ourselves to enhance the design. That these suggestions have a base in what has been done and worked but that they are meant to be forgotten when it is imperative to our work.

As people we have become so quick to judge and view the world through our own ideas of reality. There is nothing that is just simple just a simplified explanation of our ideas. I like the statement from Dean Kamen. He said that there was a “simplicity on the other side of complexity.” That phrase has stuck with me since then. He was advocating for us (High School Students at the time) to think beyond our ideas and try to simplify these complex ideas to form simple ones. In Reality that is what Einstein did with his formula E=MC^2. He was able to break down the entire process of Nuclear energy into such a simple idea. I think that in Architecture that is what we try to do. We try to take these large ideas of the space, emotion, materiality… and try to break it down into a singular idea that we can experience. I think that there is a lot that we can learn about the world and we don’t have to travel far. I think that Architecture could do more to influence people in one simple way. By understanding and defining the word Home. The idea of a home means something to people. It has an influence on the mind in a way that shapes our identities. I think this is where we need to make a change. I think as Architects and designers we are aimlessly wandering trying to design something that we can not obtain a perfect idea of. We are seeking an out of the Box idea. It is an idea of who we are and where we are from that I think we lose sight of in our work or it is the thing that we build on. I think that there is a reason that people often wonder about these questions. Religion has often taken a role in trying to address these questions of the heart. As people we are trying to find out who we are. I think the place we are looking for answers to our greatest design challenges is really an inward direction of ourselves and our family. If we approached the question of what is a Home we would start to see a new design. A better design.