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Review: Center 21

Flipping through the Center 21 reading, the artifacts shown act as instruments of inquiry rather than a solid outcome which emphasizes a reciprocal relationship between both the tools we use and the exploration process in design. Tools are not simply there to just execute a preconceived idea that we might have in our heads, instead they shape the questions which we might ask. Each strike of a chisel into stone brings forth new possibilities, an accidental slant in a physical model might spark deep thought on the symmetry or aesthetics, etc. My favorite was the project In-Turn which demonstrated that relationship between tool and making. The tool is a partial restraint on the process which introduces resistance into thoughts but when using models not everything goes to plan and sometimes there are interesting outcomes regardless of what we desire.

I can relate to this, as a lot of my own recent work was dealing with manual tools and means of fabrication of structures rather than relying on just the computer based design programs. In the process I was using molds and chiseling to create what I thought I wanted but the most interesting thing happened when I let go of control and let the materials do what they wanted, which In turn created something beautiful I do not think I could have achieved just designing in the computer.