Abstract

The question for architects is always how to begin.
This proposal attempts to illustrate a design methodology that is characterised by
its attention to non-traditional generators.
The focus of the paper is the definition of an innovative design process characterised
by the production of an architectonic language through the observation of the
ephemeral and the transitory (the quanta of place), and which pays cognisance to
the realization of a three-dimensional narrative, placing value upon the products
of investigation as well as the resultant design.
As the title suggests the process outlined concerns itself with the examination
of the ephemeral, the transitory and the unobserved. The overriding concern is
with the recording of fragments of a chosen environment (site) and, the collation
and depiction of these findings in an alternative three-dimensional environment
(virtual space). This process is only made possible by the advent of computer applications
capable of generating the complexity of three-dimensional environments
needed to explore the plethora of forms generated by the initial recordings.
This process is concerned with the nascence of architectural expression and the
formalising of architectural propositions composed from an individual’s interpretation
of the ‘space between’, the obvious and the immaterial, and the phenomena
that exist there.
The generators are the things beyond immediate perception. They are the quanta
of place.
It is this process of capturing fixed moments in time and space and, translating
imperceptible nanomoments and nanoevents, that allows for the development of
exploratory diagrams constructed over a backdrop of credible analysis.
These make apparent the infinite possibilities for further transition whilst illustrating
the conceptual lineage that links each instance to its antecedents.
The resultant physical forms embody the essence of something transformed. They
possess cultural and emotional syntax. They become mementos in the landscape.