Are you suffering from a creative block and cannot seem to find architectural ideas? You are not alone. Finding provocative and unique design ideas can be a daunting task sometimes. As the deadlines get closer, you struggle more to find any inspiration. Doubt starts to creep in and your self-confidence take a blow.
Don’t let it happen to you! Who says you have to be a creative genius to get architectural ideas? If you go through these creative processes, you will definitely be able to churn out some brilliant and original ideas in your brain.
4 stages of creative thinking
Firstly, did you go through the four stages of creative thinking i.e. Preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification?
Preparation: It is the first stage where you lay the groundwork by gathering all the necessary information about your subject. Seek out questions and understand the context and design brief.
Incubation: Let your thought process go and allow your mind to wander around. This is all part of indirect or unconscious thinking where your mind seeks out connections and determine what is important.
Illumination: This is the stage where ‘Eureka moment’ is supposed to happen. Your idea may not be fully formed but you will at least find a direction to move into. Once that happens, chalk it out on paper, make a model, and put everything that you have learned from the above periods.
Verification: To reach the end goal, you need to fine tune your ideas. Create a concept of your idea and underline the problem you are trying to fix. This will help you scale up or down your idea dependently.
Read
The best way to get architectural ideas or anything is to read. Read a lot. This may require a tad bit of patience but, hey, no good ideas come easy. There is an endless supply of inspiration and resources in literature to find some architectural ideas. It may not necessarily be fiction. You can read how successful people get architectural ideas when they suffer a creative block.
Observe
Observe your surroundings to find architectural ideas.You often find inspiration in the least expected places. Look at things from a different perspective and think what you would have done differently. Get beyond obvious things and try to understand the deeper meaning of elements and influences around you. This will provide a certain depth to your idea for sure.
Bisociation
Who says you have to derive some architectural ideas from other architecture examples? This is where bisociation comes into play. It is defined as simultaneous association of linking your idea with a totally unrelated element or fields. An unconventional way to find architectural ideas, but science has shown that it works. It also ensures that no two ideas are same and provides a certain degree of originality in the development of the idea and its thinking.
Constraints
If you are afraid of constraints, don’t be. For any idea to function practically, having a few constraints is important. It provides a backbone to the given problem or idea. A constraint can be in any form; technical, legal, or maybe a few creative differences between you and the client. Don’t let these constraints be a setback. In fact, channel them to find a genius, problem-solving idea.
Precedents
Sometimes when you are looking for something else, you stumble upon some architectural ideas that you may want to execute later. Don’t let these ideas disappear. Save them somewhere right then so that you can come back to them later. Form an idea bank where you jot down all the ideas, however crazy they maybe, and revisit this pod when you are in need for some inspiration. This is how I find architectural ideas most of the times.
Ideas won’t come to you by just sitting there. Had it been the case, you would not be dealing with that creative block right now. Sometimes, you have got to work harder than ever to have that moment of Eureka that will create a magic of creativity and individuality. Even Picasso would agree to it!
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