Quality of Line

A long time ago when I was a young architecture student I remember being perplexed by criticisms around something called ‘quality of line’. At the time I didn’t really get it. I do now.

Every line we draw has meaning and commitment embedded in it. Especially if that line is drawn by hand and reflects a creative moment in time. The architect Alan Dunlop speaks passionately about the 'authenticity of this approach'. But whatever the medium, every line counts. Sometimes a design drawing can fail spectacularly to convey any sense of meaning or commitment. And sometimes a few simple marks can conjure up a world of intent and quality.

I have said elsewhere that every word in a brief needs to be authentic – whether it is inscribed in stone or typed on a touchscreen. Lines are how we communicate design: they need to be as honest and as beautiful as our intentions.

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Time after Time

I came across this title to an article - ‘Moments not Monuments’ (by Craig Martin). Now, I don’t know the article but it’s a great title, and one which has real resonance in the debate about school buildings. The real debate is not iconic versus standardised. The real debate is about schools as monuments versus schools as moments.

Gant charts give us decision points and activity deadlines: turf is cut and steelwork is topped out. Contracts may be completed and ribbons cut, but education is a work in progress.

After all, schools are experienced day by day, moment by moment. It is the success of these individual experiences which mark the success of our buildings. If they are monuments at all it is as monuments to what takes place within them.

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Making Space

The winners of the Making Space 2010 award were unable to accept the award in person because they are doing good works in Haiti. Instead, these Norwegian student architects sent us a heartfelt video – including a song from the local kids they’re working with.

If I wasn’t already moved by their winning design for a library and orphanage in Thailand, then their personal message did the trick. They reminded me that architecture and social responsibility are never separate. This may be a problem for procurement – please tick box if your firm is committed to a better world - but I was taught that it is an essential part of good design.

A passion for people seems to me a prerequisite for a passion for architecture. So, my congratulations to the folk from TYIN Tegnestue and their non-profit humanitarian organisation, and my thanks for their antidote to architectural cynicism.

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A Wee Bit Radical

(extract from my guest blog for www.engageforeducation.org)

To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeldt - there are known unknowns and there are unknown unknowns. What we do know is that some of our pupils are in buildings we need to replace, so that’s what we’re doing. We know that pupils, staff, and communities know their own lives better than we do, so that’s why we talk to them first. We know that collaborating for better outcomes leads to . . . better outcomes. And I know that design matters.

What this has led to on the ground is what I call incremental radicalism. Rather than wait for the epiphany which is the ultimate school design, we can simply learn from others – whether it’s from the school down the road or from the innovative global projects showcased in Making Space 2010.

Does this mean I lack ambition? Perhaps what I lack is patience. I do not know the future – and neither do you. But I do see good things happening which should be shared, good ideas which should be celebrated, and good people who should be supported.

We ask our schools to do remarkable things every day. If you know a better way of how design can help make that possible, then please let me know.

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