ARCH539 S12 Lau Questor How Architects Create Rev 2012.05.25

Black Boxes and Gray Spaces:

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Architecture ARCH : Research Methods (spring ) Professor: Marja Sarvimaki, PhD

Student: Questor Lau

http://w

ww.jstor.org/stable/1424371

Photo: Le Corbusier and Albert Einstein Two intellectual leaders, shown here to evoke the idea of Creative and Rational minds communing harmoniously, each contributing, neither dominating.

How Architects Create

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Questor Lau • D.Arch Project Proposal

Project Statement: My interest in architecture is in its innate potential to integrate bilateral cognition (left and right

hemispheres) or as referred to in this paper1, the Creative and Rational minds. Architecture is one of the few disciplines that is able to anchor the boundlessness of art with real world constraints (budget, client, materiality) in a way that marries freedom of expression with programmatic function.

Architecture is also unique in that the end result (the final design) is often not known at the start of the journey. This is perhaps the conundrum of all true creative endeavors: knowing what the end result should feel like without all the details about what it is or how to get there. An unexpected discovery:

While waiting in the concession line for a movie, this writer picked up a hot dog, only to soon discover that it had been misplaced and he needed another. At checkout, the cashier charged him for two hot dogs. As he looked down at his hands, he realized that he had indeed picked up two hot dogs, one held in each hand! This realization was quite disturbing, as it seemed parts of the body were autonomous, able to act on their own, or perhaps under the direction of a foreign intelligence. Or, could there be another me within me? Another self‐conscious observation was made during this writer’s first studio project. Taking inspiration from a Hawaiian chant, the project explored ways of imbuing space with feeling and memory. The result for this writer, was a seemingly random assemblage of components with moments of poetic joinery.

It is important to note that this writer’s primary job as an administrator involve reading large amounts of building code text, land use ordinances, preparing contracts and billing statements – activities that strongly favor Rational‐minded dominance. Whereas, this studio project could not be “solved” using these same skills. Here was an opportunity for the Creative mind to surface, engaging a problem, that the Rational mind could not solve.

The final pin‐up poster required students to present their ideas in a coherent way that other people could understand. Here, the Rational mind reemerged, organizing the project into discrete stages. The result was a hand‐held “poster” that this writer unfolded during the presentation, to better guide the audience through the design. This integrated solution: from chaos to organized documentation, was for this writer, an example of how the Creative and Rational minds can work together, taking turns to solve a problem (see next page).

The Creative mind flourishes in gray areas2 and solving ill‐defined problems – the bane of exclusively Rational minded people and organizations. This is particularly relevant in the area of government officials’ use of discretionary decision making.

Laws and guidelines attempt to promulgate black and white rules, but in truth, regulations can never anticipate every situation in daily practice. Thus, as the complexity of laws and regulations increase, administrators are increasingly needed to interpret the intent of regulations in order to adapt the official rules into practice. The exercise of such discretionary powers is an example of what this writer terms, “gray space,” as it exists in situations that fall in between the black and white clarity of the letter of the law. Such intermediary situations would seem to not only be inevitable but occur with greater frequency with the complexity of regulations. Navigating “gray space” is a byproduct of applied creativity. In Honolulu, for example, the City does not allow housing density to exceed one dwelling unit per 5,000 square feet of land. However, many homeowners use bypass the regulations simply by naming the space as an “Accessory Recreation Room,” instead of a “Dwelling Unit”. This solution fulfills the desperate need for housing in a way that is

1 Categorizing thinking as exclusively left or right brained is tricky because some functions incorporate bilateral activity. 2 Even among structural engineers, analysis is not always so straight forward. As Glenn Miyasato. P.E. remarks, engineers follow rules and procedures to try to eliminate uncertainty, but there always be room for error.

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technically illegal and not officially recognized by the City government. However, there are numerous benefits: The community benefits from expanded housing opportunities; the property owner collects additional rental income; and the City achieves several goals at once: 1) expand the

Photos of joints and connections in this writer’s bootcamp studio model.

Folding diagram: shows how project was folded, to control focus of audience during presentation.

Final Layout, unfolded.

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number of affordable housing units within the urban core, 2) increase its tax base (by increasing taxable floor area), and 3) preserve the City’s discretionary power to control neighborhood density (by retaining the power to evict occupants at any time for using the space as a separate/second living quarters on a property that should have only one). Research Outcomes:

As an architectural student, one of the goals of this research is to identify ways of improving this writer’s performance in studio. However, such insights are easily generalizable to other situations (ie. the workplace), beyond a university environment. Being mindful of the design process can be useful in a variety of settings or almost everywhere a creative, unconventional solution (especially amidst a complex set of constraints), is sought.

But as people each have different styles of learning and thinking, these insights may not apply to everyone. This research will focus on my own particular design process.

The notion of gray spaces is particularly relevant as a product of enhanced Creative‐Rational integration and interdisciplinary collaboration because of the complexity of solutions that the world now demands of problem solvers. In exploring new ideas, one of the ways is to redefine the problem, blurring back and white boundaries to see what lies between, in the gray areas. Hypothesis:

The lessons learned from a closer understanding of the architectural design process can be used to enhance the frequency of innovative design solutions by integrating people’s Creative and Rational minds. Other Research Questions:

One immediate effect this writer noticed was an elevation of mood during certain phases of design studio work. “I felt happier.” Does integrated thinking between the Creative and Rational minds promote a happier, more innovative and productive workplace? Might this be possible because less mental energy was used to suppress the Creative mind?

What (physical) environmental factors, or (non‐physical) ontological disposition, helps nurture creative‐rational integration? Theoretical Context:

Today, Western education and culture in general favors Rational‐brain dominance. In architecture, this was reflected in the Modernist movement which sought to distill buildings to their functional essence. Since then, it seems human appetites prefer that aesthetics be integrated with function.

Although not directly related to architecture, the popularity of the iPod, iPhone, and other Apple products, suggests that users are willing to pay a premium for design that integrates aesthetics (what the product looks and feels like), with function (what it does).

Corporations are constantly searching for innovative solutions. Sometimes the importance they place on the need to foster creativity in its workforce, is reflected in the physical layout of their spaces. For example, in designing the Pixar Studio headquarters in California, Steve Jobs could have built three separate buildings: one each for the administrative, creative and technical computing talent. But Jobs recognized that the creative spark required the comingling of all of these people3. Thus Pixar’s floor plan

3 This echoes David Weinberger’s sentiment on the future of libraries; that knowledge is not in people or things, but in relationships, the network between people. See interview with David Weinberger, co‐director of Harvard Library Innovation lab. Mckellar, Hugh. “The Changing Nature of Knowledge.” KM World Magazine. Posted Feb 1, 2012, Accessed May 08, 2012. http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Feature/The‐changing‐nature‐of‐knowledge‐80087.aspx

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is wrapped around a central atrium. Conference areas, cafeteria, even the bathrooms are oriented around the atrium so that it is literally impossible for Pixarians to work without bumping into their coworkers.4 To Jobs, creating the mood and space was worth a premium because the high frequency of interaction (created by the spatial design) was an important ingredient in producing creativity in the people who worked there.

Research on autistic savants has led Allen Snyder to experiment using a “thinking cap” to

unleash the hidden potential of our brains. In his lab, people can, for a few minutes, experience vastly improved drawing skill or rapidly count objects at a glance (numerosity) by using a device that temporarily impairs portions of their Rational mind (left hemisphere).5

Stoke victim and neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor describes in detail her experience of having a stroke and what it feels like to be immersed in either the Rational or Creative mind selectively. She suggests that hemispheric dominance in our thinking is a choice.6 Research Methodology:

As there is already ongoing brain scan research (ie fMRI and EEG) into the neuroanatomical areas associated with different cognitive processes, this paper will use case studies, informal interviews and literature review as the primary investigative methodology.

This writer proposes to keep a contemplative journal that reflects upon the research uncovered during the ongoing literature review as it relates to architecture and studio projects as assigned. Informal interviews will include casual discussions with other students, comparing their thoughts on how they design and how their insights and creative process compares to this writer’s own observations and discoveries in the literature review.

While it is understood that this anecdotal research methodology is highly non‐empirical, on the other hand, it can potentially yield far more detailed characterization and understanding of the process

4 Reed, Jo. “Transcript of Conversation with Jonah Lehrer.” Accessed May 08, 2012. http://www.nea.gov/av/avCMS/Lehrer‐podcast‐transcript.html See also Jonah Lehrer’s latest book, Imagine. 5 Chi, Richard P. and Allan W. Snyder. “Brain Stimulation Enables the Solution of an Inherently Difficult Problem.” Neuroscience Letters. 515 (2012): 121‐124. May 11, 2012. 6 “Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight.” Accessed May 11, 2012. http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Photo: View of Atrium inside Pixar Studio headquarters, in California: http://www.sharonrisedorph.com/site/portfolios/architecture/corporate/pixar/index.html

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of creativity than can be accessed by the scientific method.7 In that sense, Jonah Lehrer8 and Semir Zeki9, have suggested that even artists are neuroscientists. For example, the impressionist painter who created with splotches of color may have been more accurately depicting the process of visual perception that we are only recently beginning to prove with modern technology.

Research might also include personality testing to assess learning style, such as the Kolb inventory. Also, body language and a generalization about the type of music, might lend clues as to the cognitive process involved during different phases of design. Research Questions:

It has been suggested in the research that only one hemisphere can be dominant at a time. An important research question is trying to get at how the process of architectural design encourages frequent switching of dominance between Creative and Rational minds. Or, do architects actively engage both hemispheres simultaneously?

As the world grows increasingly complex, effective solutions require multidisciplinary cooperation from teams of individuals. Can observations of architectural students as they work, provide insights into how the brain combines vast amounts of information from a wide variety of sources into a creative solution? Literature Review:

The mind’s ability to structure chaos may be rooted in our evolution. Studies of the brain hemisphere function of chickens suggests that the while one hemisphere is narrowly focused on foraging for food and zooming into the details [ie. content]– whether it’s a pebble or a morsel of grain – the other hemisphere is broadly focused on constant lookout for predators [ie. context]. 10 Survivability would seem to depend on the ability to successfully integrate input from both hemispheres. Thus, the brain’s natural state seems, to this writer, to alternating hemispheric dominance, ie. the Creative and Rational mind taking turns.

In general, the Creative mind is associated with the Right hemisphere and the Rational mind with the Left hemisphere. A few common traits correlated with each are as follows:

Rational (Left) Creative (Right) Logical Emotional Sequential Gestalt, non‐linear Details Big picture Facts Imagination Words, language Symbols, images Strategy Possibility Safety Takes Risks Asks Why? Asks Why not?!

7 Dorst, Kees. “Design Research: a Revolution‐Waiting‐to‐Happen.” Design Studies. 29 (2008) 4‐11. Dorst echoes the sentiment: “The purely analytical models of science that we have been using will only get us so far [….]” 8 “Proust was a Neuroscientist” by Jonah Lehrer. 9 Zeki, Semir. “Artistic Creativity and the Brain.” Science. Vol 293 no. 5527 (2001) 51‐52. Accessed May 14, 2012. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/293/5527/51.full Although not cited in this article, Zeki is also associated with Neuroaesthetics, the study of how the brain perceives art at the neurological level. To this writer, this concept also evokes images of prehistoric cave paintings, as artistic representation of the world seems to be a motivation that has been with man since the beginning. 10 Ghirlanda, Stefano and Giorgio Vallortigara. “The Evolution of Brain Lateralization: a Game Theoretical Analysis of Population Structure.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B271 (2004): 853‐857.

Source:

http://listverse.com/2010/11/25/10‐

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Stanford’s D‐School, is interested in applying creativity or more specifically, incorporating design thinking within all disciplines, encouraging innovation, “radical collaboration,” and entrepreneurship. In general, this process11 includes the open disposition during the brainstorming phase (empathizing with the client and going wide on the topic), narrowing potential solutions (narrowing), rapid prototyping, and evaluation. D‐school encourages students to experiment and fail in the early phases of discovery, as each failure teaches a valuable lesson. Studying their list of recommended reading may offer valuable insights into theory and application of design thinking.

The bicameral theory of the mind suggests that in the development of the human brain, we did not always have a functional corpus callosum mediating between the Creative and Rational minds. According to the bicameral theory, impulses from the Creative mind were interpreted by the Rational mind as vivid hallucinations, as the voice of god(s).12 This brings to mind such research techniques as Clare Cooper Marcus’ technique to extrapolate detailed, personal accounts of how people feel about their homes. “…she discovered a way by which the precognitive realities of the ‘house‐self dynamic’ could be unearthed. She then developed tactics that involved asking a subject to talk to her house, and then have the house ‘talk’ back to her, supplemented by her respondents’ attempts to capture the feelings in graphic form.” 13

ANFA or the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture explores the connection between architecture and the mind. Their current emphasis seems to be limited to the scientific method and neurology to understand the process of aging and Alzheimer’s disease and how it impacts architecture. As this writer is more interested in the internal processes of the creativity that are approached though other research methods, research from ANFA is of uncertain usefulness in this investigation.14 One of the ways the mind makes sense of the complexities and gray spaces of the world is by creating metaphors. Metaphors allow for rapid fixity of ideas, images, or things into categories, while permitting maximum flexibility or room for future modification. Further research will reading Donald Schon and his method of reflective learning. Also, the connection between creativity and schizotypal personality disorders and depression is curious and seems to hold interesting potential into accessing creativity or possibly suppressing the Rational mind.

Mind altering pharmaceuticals solutions such as beer, THC and adderall have been mentioned in the literature as psychologists study the effects of these substances on the mind. For example, beer has been shown to enhance performance on a Random Association Test15, suggesting that mild forms of intoxication can improve one’s creative performance in studio – an observation that has been backed‐up by informal and anecdotal observation. One source noted that it takes architects until their 40’s to reach their creative peak. That decades’ worth of visual learning, seeing designs implemented, understanding spatial proximity and the nuances of the craft are required before architects are able to produce novel award winning work. Jonah Lehrer on the other hand noted that being an outsider, or novice is an advantage. Historically, not

11 D‐School has a blog and offers a “bootcamp bootleg” free online a step‐by‐step manual to support design thinking: “Bootcamp Bootleg.” By the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Sanford (aka the d.school). Accessed , May 07, 2012. http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp‐content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf 12 “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.” By Artikelen van Erik Weijers. Accessed May 07, 2012. http://www.erikweijers.nl/pages/translations/psychology/the‐origin‐of‐consciousness/summary.php 13 Marcus, Clare Cooper. House as a Mirror of Self. Berkley: Conari Press. 1995. As quoted in Groat, Linda and David Wang. Architectural Research Methods. Canada: John Wiley and Sons, 2002. (pp 188‐189). 14 However, AFNA does have extensive reading list recommendations which does seem to offer many fruitful avenues of understanding the mind. 15 Jarosz, Andrew F. and Gregory J. Colflesh and Jennifer Wiley. “Uncorking the Muse: Alcohol Intoxication Fcilitates Creative Problem Solving.” Consciousness and Cognition: An International Journal. Vol 21 (1). Mar 2012. 487‐493. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.002

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knowing any better has led to numerous inventions and solutions that have stumped those in the industry for years. (His book cites many examples.) In architectural studio, this writer has observed similarly that many students’ designs demonstrate amazing use of space and form that are missing in many modern buildings. Jonah Lehrer’s research suggests ways to moderate one’s own creative process. He says there’s a difference when you hit a wall in the creative process and can’t go any further, versus when you know what to do, but just need to stay on task to work out the solution. Hitting a road block means the Rational mind can’t solve the problem and he suggests taking a break from the task and relax. Give the brain time for alpha waves to kick in, which may be the Creative brain’s way of communicating it’s version of the solution. That is why he says so many aha! moments come to us when we are taking a hot shower or otherwise not focusing on the immediate task at hand. These ideas seem to warrant further “testing” and observation in future architectural studio classes and this writer looks forward to continuing this research.

Annotated Bibliography (topical subcategories) 1. Neurology + Architecture

Eberhard, John P. Brain Landscape: The Coexistance of Neuroscience and Architecture. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Written by an architect who became fascinated with how neuroscience would “likely to change our understanding of how classroom design affects the cognitive processes of children, how the design of hospital rooms could impact the recovery rate of patients, how working environments likely impact the productivity of white‐collar workers, how sacred spaces instill a sense of awe in those who worship there, and much more.” (pg 23) Extensive Bibliography. References include Jonah Lehrer’s article on the Aha Moment. In Part I, Eberhard goes through architectural history, relating different architects and theorists to neuroscience. In Part 2, the author focusses more directly on architecture and neuroscience.

Why neuroscience + architecture? Eberhard recounts the story of Jonas Salk (Salk Institute) who visited the Abbey at Assisi, Italy when he was on sabbatical and in an intellectual “rut.” It was here, amidst the architecture and serenity of the place that Salk was reportedly able to develop the Salk vaccine. But Salk attributed the setting so stimulating to his mind, that he proposed the American Architectural Foundation study how architecture affects the mind. (pg 21‐22)

Eberhard’s personal interest: “the creative process itself […] with the elusive issues of ambiguity and metaphoric thinking that seem to lie at our very core. And what I see neuroscience offering designers today, quite simply, is a sketch of the enormous intricacy of our intellectual and sensory‐emotive existence.” (pg 3)

Lehrer, Jonah. “The Eureka Hunt: Why do good ideas come to us when they do?” New Yorker Magazine, July 28, 2008, pg 40‐45.

Mark Jung‐Beeman, Cognitive Neuroscientist at Northwestern Univ – studied (right) brain damaged patients, trying to understand insight – that aha moment [or conceptual breakthrough we architectural students stay up all night hoping and praying for]. When Jung‐Beeman realized that talking, explaining how to solve a puzzle as they were solving it, interfered with people’s ability to solve the puzzle. To Jung‐Beeman, this was because talking shifted attention to the left hemisphere, not the right, which is the part of the brain that excels at remote associations. Here a distinction is made between cognitive paths: insight vs analysis. (pg 42) Combined fMRI with EEG to map areas of brain involved with insight. Findings: preceeding

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flash of insight, brain goes quiet. It’s blocking other sensory input to focus. Like consolidating all its energy to push through. Then the insight strikes, with an accompanying burst of gamma rhythm brain activity, the “highest electrical frequency generated by the brain. Gamma rhythm is thought to come from the ‘binding’ of neurons, as cells distributed across the cortex draw themselves together into a new network, which is then able to enter consciousness.” (43) Area of the brain that is active just before insight is the anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG). The right hemisphere itself generally is wired to provide greater connectivity than the left side. (43) So the process of insight – when hitting a road block, the focused brain must relax and allow the right side to explore solutions and provide the insight. “The relaxation phase is crucial. That’s why so many insights happen during warm showers.” Jung‐Beeman said. (43)

ANFA: Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture http://anfarch.org/

John Eberhard is the founding president) has an extensive recommended reading list. Some over lapped what I had already found; most I have yet to explore.

ANFA has an extensive reading list full of great books that may help provide a broad theoretical basis for my research.

Chi, Richard P. and Allan W. Snyder. “Brain Stimulation Enables the Solution of an Inherently Difficult Problem.” Neuroscience Letters. 515 (2012): 121‐124.

tDCS (transcranial direct currents stimulation) impairs brain and induces savant‐like talent.

Allan Snyder sends electrical impulses to paralyze the analytical brain and produces exceptional results. I saw him in a video. Magnetic pulses to paralyze rational brain. Turn on hidden potential by turning off parts of the brain. He studies savants. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGqZOU6iz7A) TMS Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Lawson, Bryan. How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2000.

Horse drawn carriage has complex design that people replicated without understanding the design. Blacksmith tried to change with disastrous results. (pg 19)

Design is art + science. + something more. It can be studied and practiced and learned, but “We probably work best when we think least about our technique.” (p 11)

Invention Inventor

Safety razor Traveller in corks

Kodachrome films Musician

Ball‐point pen Sculptor

Automatic telephone Undertaker

Parking meter Journalist

Pneumatic tire Veterinary surgeon

Long‐playing record Televisions engineer (pg 7)

226: design is like conversation management. Maintaining multiple parallel lines of thought simultaneously. Arranging, orchestrating conflicting or at least abundant visual and conceptual ideas. And then cultivating this development amidst a “willingness to live with uncertainty.” Defer judgment. Hang on to the central idea.

206: “Design Methods” often don’t teach techniques for design but how to guide thinking about the design process, the problem in stages. More “cognitive recipes” than arriving at a true understanding of design.

134: thinking about thinking. Designing is not explainable by behaviorist model. Cognitive complexity is not addressed by trial and error or operant conditioning.

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Gestalt Theory. Ie. Edward de Bono – understanding pbm by focusing on process and organization. Ie. Wertheimer – pbm solving = restructuring key relationships of a pbm or situation until solution reveals itself. Use analogy or describe pbm in a different way.

“Jeff Hawkins on How Brain Science Will Change Computing.” TED talk recorded Feb 2003. Accessed May 07, 2012. http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_hawkins_on_how_brain_science_will_change_computing.html

He says that compared to science, which theories and observations/data are roughly equal, in neuroscience, there’s a ton of data collected about the brain, but scant theory. Could this justify why my inquiry into architecture’s potential to balance the brain?

Intelligence is defined by prediction, not behavior. Neocortex in humans over reptilian brain, takes all sensory input and creates patters and recalls patters in order to predict and prepare for what comes next.

He’s working on a brain theory that involves memory and sequence and artificial intelligence. He says in order to really understand the brain and have a good theory, you need to understand brain physiology and also build prototypes. His model of the mind is created with “spatio‐temporal patterns.” He enjoys working with mathematician, engineers and physicists, because they think in algorithms. Biologists do not algorithmatize and are not good theorists.

2. Ambiguity in Architecture Mallgrave , Harry Francis. The Architect's Brain: Neuroscience, Creativity, and

Architecture. Wiley‐Blackwell, 2011.

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd‐1405195851,desc Cd‐reviews.html

Book is divided into two parts. 1st seems grounded in historical context, covering Alberti, Vitruvius, Laugier, Kant, Neutra, Merleau‐Ponty. Some very heavy hitters. Much of it is difficult for me, as many references require a deeper level of familiarity with architectural history. 2nd section seems to cover more recent advances in neuroscience and such topics as ambiguity, metaphor, hapticity. That part I have an easier time comprehending.

Zeki, Semir. “Artistic Creativity and the Brain.” Science, New Series. 293 (2001): 51‐52.

Prof Park recommended I look into this Neurobiologist.

Law of constancy – that to make sense of the world that changes moment by moment, the brain creates metaphors, categories to quickly asses what is the essence and toss out all else. Similarly, the purpose of art is the “acquisition of knowledge by registering constant and essential characteristics of objects[….] That is

theory

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why many great philosophers concerned with the problem of knowledge from Plato onward, have devoted large parts of their work to discussions of art.” (52)

Law of abstraction – prevents the brain from being “enslaved to the particular.” How the brain abstracts: “…cells in the brain seem to be able to recognize objects in a view‐invariant manner after brief exposure to several distinct vies, which they obviously synthesize.” Abstraction is key to efficient knowledge acquisition systems.

“…ambiguity – a characteristic of all great art – that allows the brain of the viewer to interpret the work in a number of ways, all of them equally vaild.” (52) Author quotes Paul Klee “Art does not reproduce the visible; it makes things visible.” (52)

Neuroesthetics – new field that studies the “neural basis of artistic creativity and achievement.” (52)

3. Brain Lateralization (Evolution) Ghirlanda, Stefano and Giorgio Vallortigara. “The Evolution of Brain Lateralization: a Game

Theoretical Analysis of Population Structure.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B271 (2004): 853‐857.

Chickens watch for predators, escape using creative brain. Use rational brain to forage.

4. Brain Lateralization (Visual‐Spatial Thinking)

Grandin, Temple. Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism (Expanded Edition). Westminster: Knopf Publishing Group, 2006.

How is visual thinking different than thinking in words? Pg 4 Temple explains that when people talk to her, she translates the words into pictures. Chap 1: Describes that her thinking is like video. Compared to CAD or even 3D design simulations. She claims her mental visualization is much better, able to pan, rotate, walkthrough a design to see where the flaws are. She test runs designs and keeps catalogs of good and bad design. She also does a lot of reading research and field observations.

Architects are visual thinkers. I used this insight to gain greater respect for my doodles. Watching what comes out of my hand is surprising, like having a different person with related but different ideas contributing (silently) to the same project.

Rogers, J. Lesley; Paolo Zucca; and Giorgio Vallortigara. “Advantages of Having a Lateralized Brain.” Proceedings: Biological Sciences. Vol. 271, Supplement 6. (2004): S420‐S422. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4143025.

“The advantage conferred by lateralization in being able to carry out qualitatively different types of processing simultaneously in the left and right hemispheres may, therefore, explain why this specialization is conserved across vertebrate taxa.”

This is an evolutionary explanation of why we have two hemispheres of brain with slightly different functions, purpose.

This is interesting to me in that Architecture engages both sides of the brain, focusing on the big picture and the details.

5. Brain Lateralization (language‐based thinking) Bible Genesis 2:19‐20. BlueLetter Bible, “Genesis ‐ Chapter 2.” Accessed 5/6/12.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Gen&c=2

There is curious mention in the story of creation that God wanted man to not only acquire language, but to give names to the animals. But even more curious was that the assignment of a name, becomes permanent, as if the process of naming proved

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somehow irreversible: “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field”

Why is our creation mythology connected to language? There does not seem to be mention of God directing Adam to explore different variations of enclosure or understand how to manipulate his environment spatially. And on the 5th day, God told Adam to name these curved foothills, Zaha and the rolling plains, Hadid.

“Stroke of Insight: Jill Bolte Taylor” TED talk . Accessed May 06, 2012. http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Jill is a neuroanatomist describes her experience having a stroke and what it’s like to lose her language (it’s quite blissful to live in the moment – the creative brain does not understand time).

Right hemisphere: parallel processor. Left: serial processor. Corpus Callosum connects the two. “Because they process information differently, each of our hemispheres think about different things. They care about different things. And dare I say, they have very different personalities.”

Right: lives in the moment. thinks in pictures, learns kinesthetically. Takes in all sensory input simultaneously.

She has the most vivid description of how the Creative mind thinks.

Left: linear thinking. Methodocially. Thinks about the past and future. Takes moments from the present. Categorizes, associates. And projects possibilities. Thinks in language. Brain chatter. Connecting internal to external world. Calculating intelligence. Contains “I am” awareness, separating ourselves from the moment. Maintains conceptual boundaries of boundary vs Creative mind floats in the energy, connecting self to the external world.

6. Learning Styles Demirbas, O. O. and H. Demirkan. “Focus on Architectural Design Process through

Learning Styles.” Design Studies. 24 (2003): 437‐456.

Kolb’s Experiental Leaning Theory: Accomodating, diverging, converging and assimilating learners. Accomodating style does the worst. Assimilating does the best in design courses.

Experiential learning (Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory): range from concrete to abstract.

Education Journals (Eric via EBSCO)

based on my prelim search, have scant info on integrating lateralized brains in the classroom. What little published work I was able to find in education journals was in the 80’s and did not seem to understand cognitive processes very well.

Casakin, Hernan and Nitza Davidocitch and Roberta M. Milgram. “Creative Thinking as a Predictor of Creative Problem Solving in Architectural Design Students.” Psychoogy of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts. 4 (2010): 31‐35.

Simple definition of design and architecture – author defaults to dictionary, but these seem adequate to frame discussion. That design is complex and even the problems it addresses are ill‐defined. Therefore, design problems require a creativity that is not found in typical out‐of‐the‐box solutions.

Article states there is lots of research on producing, enhancing creative outcomes in design, but little research into enhancing creative thinking process.

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One criticism of architectural schools is that faculty often have difficulty measuring and therefore grading creative thinking. Thus grades are based on aesthetic qualities (ie. students who render better, get higher grades). This in turn encourages architectural students to “enhancing the visual communication power of their designs, instead of inesting in the enhancement of the creativity of these designs.” (32)

Study suggests studio professors may want to give more weight to ideational fluency as it is correlated with creativity and “may be a critical factor in higher quality performance in architectural design…” – meaning that students should be “encouraged to produce as many design alternatives as possible to improve the quality of their design solutions.” (33) I have found this to be true in my own observations of the studio process. Some students latch onto design solutions quickly and spend the majority of time refining the same idea to produce higher quality end product but experiment with fewer iterations of a solution. This runs contrary to the advice in this article.

“Bootcamp Bootleg.” By the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Sanford (aka the d.school). Accessed , May 07, 2012. http://dschool.stanford.edu/wp‐content/uploads/2011/03/BootcampBootleg2010v2SLIM.pdf

D‐School has a blog and offers a “bootcamp bootleg” free online a step‐by‐step manual to support design thinking.

Blog: http://dschool.stanford.edu/our‐point‐of‐view/

7. Creativity / Implementing Creativity in the Real World Lehrer, Jonah. Imagine: How Creativity Works. Unabridged audiobook. Brilliance Audio.

2012.

One of the best sources I’ve encountered so far. Easy to understand applications of complex scientific investigations and good historical context of creativity and efforts to understand and case studies of innovators. He cross referencing vast sources of information. Many of his summations of how the brain works I encountered again and again in other readings.

His bibliography would be very useful, but need to focus on topic as it’s easy to get distracted with so much interesting research.

Kelley, Tom and Jonathan Littman and Tom Peters. The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm. Crown Business. 2001.

Referred by D‐School website Brown, Tim. Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and

Inspires Innovation. Harper Business. 2009.

Referred by D‐School website Cross, Nigel. Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work. Berg

Publishers. 2011.

Referred by D‐School website

8. Human Resources: Potential Informal Interviews and personal stories Informal interview/comments by Beta Quach 5/5/2012

This writer told subject about an experiment that shows drinking beer helped people be more creative (random assoc test). He laughed then said that the engineers he knew in undergrad school drank a lot. He said they would get toasted especially before tests; not to the point of drunkenness but “just enough”. To this writer it is very curious that engineers would be so cognizant of the effects of

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alcohol on their rational minds. And further, that they would be so interested in using their Creative mind for a numerical, quantitative exam. Even engineers, it seems, rely on creativity in their problem solving.

Gordon Chong, FAIA

(referred by Lindsay) lives in Oakland, CA. She says he wrote a book about Architecture and Neuroscience [email protected] He is on the Board of ANFA in San Francisco.

“Career Day Interview: Gordon H. Chong, FAIA, Architect.” Accessed May 07, 2012. http://academics.triton.edu/faculty/fheitzman/gordon_chong.html

“Q: What do you like most about being an architect?

A: I like to build things and I enjoy seeing a finalized product, if you will , and like most of us, I have a right brain and left brain side of me that architecture beings together and integrates.”

I wonder what personal observations and insights he might share about this process of architect’s potential to integrate our highly segmented and lateralized thinking.

Foster, Maelee T. “Experiencing a ‘Creative High.” The Journal of Creative Behavior. 26 (1992): 29‐39.

This might be a starting place for an anecdotal case study.

Nursing care home for elderly and use of a collage project to provide creative decision‐making opportunities, which were seen as reducing stress and helping them cope.

Proposed Schedule 546 (part 1) Doctorate Project (part 1) fall 2012

week 1 Background reading on different theories of creativity, design theory, visual thinking, etc. and keep an ongoing diary of observations as I work through my own studio projects.

2 1st committee mtg ‐ submit Form 1: with all committee signatures

3 informal inteviews w/students, profs. Correlate reading w/observations in studio.

4 Reading, writing

5 Reading, writing

6 2nd committee mtg

7 Reading, writing

8 Reading, writing

9 Reading, writing

10 Reading, writing

11 3rd committee mtg

12 Reading, writing

13 Reading, writing

14 Reading, writing

15 Reading, writing

16 Submit draft Thesis to committee

17 Final committee mtg

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BREAK 1 week break between semesters

546 (part 2) Doctorate Project (part 2) spring 2013

week 1 Incorporate committee comments into thought process, research and observations. Continue journal writing.

2 1st committee mtg

3 informal inteviews w/students, profs. Correlate reading w/observations in studio.

4 Reading, writing

5 Reading, writing

6 2nd committee mtg

7 Reading, writing

8 Reading, writing

9 Reading, writing

10 spring break?

11 3rd committee mtg

12 Reading, writing

13 Reading, writing

14 Reading, writing

15 Reading, writing, scan all documentation for binder

16 THESIS DEADLINE ‐ give to committee ‐ 1 week prior to Oral Defense

17 ORAL DEFENSE ‐ Submit From II w/all committee member signatures and attach copy of Thesis


547 Summer 2013 (Professional Studio)

1 observing office processes and organization, keep journal, refine thesis based on comments from committee

2 informal interviews, participate, learn



5 informal interviews, participate, learn, review journal



8 informal interviews, participate, learn, review journal, scan all documentation for binder


548 Doctorate Project spring 2014

week 1 1st committee mtg: last day to change committee members

2

3 last day to file for semester's degree application

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4

5 2nd committee mtg

6

7

8 Submit draft Thesis to committee 1 week prior to pass/fail defense (75% complete)

9 Prelim PASS/FAIL DEFENSE ‐ submit Form III

10

11 spring break

12 Submit Thesis (95% complete) 1 week prior

13 FINAL PASS/FAIL DEFENSE ‐ submit Form IV

14 Proofreading, scan all documentaion for binder

15 Proofreading

16 Submit Final Thesis, ‐ sumit Form V and check for binding

17 Public presentation, poster

Documents

ARCH539 S12 Lau Questor How Architects Create Rev 2012.05.25