Cultivation of a Problem Field

A problem is typically defined prior to an architectural process and the result is seen as a solution. The process as a whole is conceived as problem solving. However, the artistic element of the process is inseparable from constructing the problem. From the artistic point of view the solution is merely a derivative.

Conventional understanding of artistic creation is sometimes coloured by the misconception that invention first and foremost takes place in the mind of the artist parallel or prior to the actual process. However, as far as the artistic element in an architectural process is concerned the problem cannot be abstracted from the specificity of the material, the drawings, models etc., which constitutes the project under development. The problem is an immanent relational field and invention is triggered by the difference between maker and architectural media.

The aim of the paper is to portray the artistic practice as a learning process different from communication of knowledge. It proposes a kind of leaning not about improvement of skills and competences but rather concerned with the dynamics of a material field. It emphasises the role of technique and presents architectural media as the prime material field investigated by the process.

The discussion uses examples of assignments and student projects developed under my supervision to demonstrate how a problem field is framed by the ordering of techniques.