Storytelling in Architecture Part 2
I was reminded recently by a real estate agent on Instagram that I should update my my post about creative narratives in Architecture because they had mistaken the pieces for real. That’s a kind compliment for any writer who tries to create compelling narratives of the subject matter, but my work is ultimately fiction. Writing is an amazing tool for creating analogies and metaphors to explore and celebrate the best parts of architecture and also its challenges, both professional and personal. Extending from part 1 — without duplication — below is a collection of my most popular Instagram posts.
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July 4, 2017
The structural engineering firm knew they wanted to pivot to be more sustainable but were limited by the materials themselves: Steel and concrete being both energy intensive industries and needed to hold structures up. Therefore, it was with great celebration the firm opened their new net-zero office. Built and designed to be carbon neutral over its entire lifecycle, now they could get to work again designing apartments, factories, and malls — slightly less burdened then they were before.
July 28, 2017
The architectural walking tour abruptly stopped in front of a house which offered an arresting visual style to visitors. The Guide noted the firm responsible for the design was known to be conceptual in the extreme. In stories about the firm, brainstorming sessions said to have started in the design studio often ended days later in the woods outside the city with Bach playing gently in the background. The Principal, finding even the limits of gravity on their designs contemptible, was resolved to devise a plan by which to counter its Nature. All this creativity was celebrated by the group of architectural enthusiasts because it meant at least someone was trying to create good design, and that certainly was better than not trying at all.
August 4, 2017
The adventurers pushed through the dense brush toward the clearing they knew lay somewhere ahead of them. Exploring the Minecraft map as a team since morning, they now questioned whether the mythical spring ever even existed in the first place. With bedtime closing in, the dense jungle in front of them finally parted, opening onto two small shrines which marked the entrance to the spring. Relief, excitement and protestations to keep playing mixed as each was tugged off to bed by their parents: tomorrow they build! Best summer camp ever!
October 26, 2017
The window framed a perfect sunrise and the Mayor looked through it to see the city she created. It went as far as the eye could see… Further than the eye could see! Beyond the horizon! Ice cream shops, bike decoration stores, candy factories, ninja castles… A Spaceport! But the sky was rumbling; like it was trying to tell her something. Returning to planning her day, she remembered the placement of benches needed to be finalized and flowers arranged, puppies needed to be petted and ponies fed. Ah, and the forest green hotel needed to be rebuilt! But the sky continued to rumble. The sound morphing into strange syllables. “T~~ n~~!” “Tee~~~naa~~~!”….. By the old Gods and the New– What was that?! … “Mom! Tina’s spacing out again!” yelled her older sister. “Tina! It’s almost time to go. Stop playing with your LEGO and get ready please.”
December 23, 2017
The architecture professors had warned of a dark shortcut to creativity. Found down Diagon Alley at the Magician’s Bazaar, located on a table half the size of the others, strewn with tiny mismatched bottles that screamed “sketchy” but also tempted. Previous students of interior design, graphic design, industrial design, writers, etc., had all been drawn to the tiny mutilated bottles while the dark cloaked figure behind promised an easy path to creativity. And as adults grew up they forgot how to play.
December 29, 2017
The team gathered to admit that one tiny building robot was not enough. The boxy robot was intelligent, industrious, and cute, but it was obvious it was going to take the construction drone 100 years to finish the structure at this rate. The conclusion was clear: they needed to order a heck of a lot more robots, create a hive, and set them loose on the project. Their small scale reduced the risk of a robot takeover, but their benefits sparked the imagination. They could build so much! At first it was just a house, but then a kindergarten? A school? Fire stations? Airports? More robots please!
January 24, 2018
Though the house was not the type to ever receive an award for architectural merit, nor be featured in a glossy design magazine, the newly married couple was still overjoyed by their first house. Imagining a warm and welcoming hosted dinner, comfortable, a table full of friends, fresh bread, roast beef, a platter full of vegetables, laughter, and plenty of wine. For the moment they put out of mind the suspiciously bouncy floors, or how long the roof might last, and instead danced around the living room before placing the furniture in their final positions.
