"How to Draw Up a Project" Reading Response

Mateo's "How to Draw Up a Project" is an interesting essay on the process of designing architecture. While his writing exposed me to many new ideas, I also felt at many times during the essay that his perspective closely resembled my own. Mostly, I was only made aware of my own position after reading what Mateo had written, and then deciding that I agreed with it.

At first I felt strange that I could so readily accept ideas put forth by somebody else. However, in addition to genuinely agreeing with much of what I read, I realized that many of the metaphors that Mateo uses to describe the process of architectural creation very closely resemble metaphors used by a number of different philosophies to describe the natural process of creation.

Thinking of that relationship between architecture and philosophy led me to the realization that in the history of the human species, architecture or the definition and creation of space precedes the development of language. What I take from this realization is that architecture is a fundamental language of its own, possibly one of the earliest forms of expression.

The expression I am referring to contains a wealth of information. Architecture for the earliest of humans was born out of the necessity to survive. Each shelter and structure created had an innate diagram holding the knowledge of how that piece of architecture worked. These earliest forms of architecture eventually evolved into built structures that we might more readily recognize, even incorporating passive heating and cooling techniques, the principles of which are still practical today.

Much of this evolution, architectural and otherwise, happened before the use of language, when what governed the actions of early humans and animals alike was instinct. In early stages of evolution, humans likely operated from a more balanced distribution of instinct and reason, if not nearly exclusively on instinct. However, as our logical brains continued to grow, especially after the advent of agriculture and later, industrialization, where life became more sedentary and stable, instinct was less frequently relied upon in favor of the egotistic consciousness of reason. The two opposites of reason and instinct exist in a duality, much like many other things in the natural world.

Mateo briefly touches upon duality near the end of his essay. He says, "I like to see these dualities simultaneously," speaking about both lightness and heaviness. This is another one of Mateo's thoughts that I agree with. I enjoy very much the juxtaposition of two extremes, for example the feel of ice cold water on a hot day, or a hot cup of coffee on a cold day. This is because the existence of one extreme provides a benchmark for the perception of the opposite extreme. In this way, for example, if one never tasted bad food, he or she would never know what good food was. The knowledge of one extreme allows us to distinguish the opposite extreme, and for both Mateo and I, allows us to enjoy ourselves in the process of that distinction.

I believe there is a way that architecture can hold this information within itself, and express it to everyone who experiences it. Specifically, I believe that architecture has the ability to educate us about who and what we are. Architecture can show us a way to be balanced and in harmony with our instinctual and natural selves, something that society suppresses starting from the moment we are born, oftentimes to the detriment of our health and well being. This is the ego that is present within any logical construct, or in other words, the necessity for control. The instinctual self is without ego, it relenquishes control and flows with the natural movement of the world, relying and trusting in the flow of the current, so to speak.

I believe that the way to change the world into a better place starts with the expulsion of the ego. In my thesis project, I will attempt to achieve this goal through the creation and experience of architecture.