Don't take the easy route

Nothing great was ever accomplished by taking the easy route.  I know it’s tempting.  After all, there are only so many hours in the day and there is a lot to do.  Cutting some corners to make your life simpler is only natural, right?  Sure…unless you want to be proud of what you do, create something original, or move the discourse of design forward.

Have you ever seen a new building and thought, “I feel like I’ve seen that before”, or “that looks a lot like…”.  It happens all the time.  Designers get out the books or the “Archiporn” online and create a building with an assemblage of parts from various sources.  They fail to realize that the sources they are using were created to solve specific problems, respond to certain context, or make use of available materials and technology.

Don’t get me wrong.  Genius doesn’t come out of ignorance, either.  I think it’s great to read, absorb, and soak up every bit of information there is out there.  It is how you use it that matters.  It all needs to seep into your brain, slosh around, and come out as new and different.  It needs to be thrown into the collective pile in your head, dismantled, pulverized and reconstituted as something original.  It is true that architecture has built on itself since the first people decided to put a door on their cave. But, the best designers draw from their knowledge bank for inspiration…only inspiration, not content.  They create, they don’t assemble.

It’s tougher this way.  It’ll lead to sleepless nights.  It’ll rob you of your sanity.  It’ll make you try and try and try only to fail and fail.  But, when you finally hit it, when it all comes together, when you realize that your solution is good and new and original…oh what a great feeling it is not to take the easy route.