Design Inspiration: Samantha King
I have a few specific projects to which I always seem to return, and with those projects I try to get in a mindset similar to that of the architect responsible for those designs. I do occasionally deviate to other projects of theirs, but I find these three to be most influential.
The Pierre | Tom Kundig
“I learn more from creative people in other disciplines than I do even from other architects because I think they have a way of looking at the world that is really important.”
Salk Institute | Louis Khan
“It is the role of design to adjust to the circumstantial.”
Brion Cemetery | Carlo Scarpa
“If the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing.”
My inspiration is driven by the projects above and comes from a series of steps I’ve managed to compile over the short course of my education and professional practice. These steps allow me to choose a project from the list above to observe for the design at hand. I also believe these steps help provide a confidence boost throughout the design process and give me parameters to think within.
Observe the Building Type
Though the three building designs listed above do not cover all building types, I believe they do inspire an opportunity to really question what needs to happen functionally within my design. I’m not looking at these building types in a truly literal way; rather, I am looking at it in the most basic sense of function. I typically refer to The Pierre as “private,” the Salk Institute as “operative,” and the Brion Cemetery as “supportive.” To me, I feel as though any project can be categorized into one of these three functions.
Understand the Evoked Emotion
One of the biggest reasons I feel these buildings are helpful is because of the vast array of emotions each different space creates and evokes. I hold a strong stance on the importance of emotion that is extended to a person through a space – I feel that’s the moment that makes a building memorable.
Create the Concept
Each project is different, so I believe the concepts and considerations for each project should also be different. I strongly consider the quotes mentioned above when creating a concept. One of Kundig’s design traits that I really enjoy is that he gets into the mechanisms of how doors and windows can operate in different ways. With Khan, I have always appreciated his way of exaggerating the transitions between spaces and how well those decisions are executed within the design. And with Scarpa, his attention to detail has always been a pleasure to reference.
Trial and Error
When I reach a dead end and don’t know what the next move should be, I have found that I turn to Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Robert Venturi. Venturi has become my way of questioning my way through a roadblock. I have found his book to be a great resource if I have trouble understanding something conceptually or if I am creating a concept and want to understand the project inside and out. Venturi has a way with words that makes it easy for me to question and understand. Below is a brief list of a few of Venturi’s quotes. I do not necessarily follow these as guidelines; however, I do tend to turn to these when I am stuck.
“. . . A feeling for paradox allows seemingly dissimilar things to exist side by side, their very incongruity suggesting a kind of truth.”
“. . . Equilibrium must be created out of opposites.”
“. . . But aesthetic simplicity which is a satisfaction to the mind derives, when valid and profound, from inner complexity.”
At the end of it, my inspiration comes from the design intent and how accurately that design intent was executed throughout the process from beginning to end. I truly believe the process is at least as important as the result.