Architecture Design process

This is something i wrote whilst travelling in Europe more than 12 years ago. It was the first time ever in Europe. Everything around was fascinating and intriguing and made me contemplate about experiencing life, experiencing architecture and about how these have shaped my thinking on the architecture design process.

Before asking people to share their experiences, I begin to think about the experiences within different environments that I have had. How do my surroundings affect me? What are the thought patterns that these environments generate? There are images reproduced here in the form of sketches, that my mind captured, at the plaza, on the street, within a building, on the train or in the cathedral.

Experiences in life make us think the way we do. Although two people could see the same things at the same time, they might not always do so. If I walk through a busy street, I see and remember. I walked through the street with you. What I saw is different from what you did. We walk towards the Eiffel Tower. I see the caricaturists on my right. You enjoy the river Seine on your left. I feel the arch above us, that holds the bridge. You see the ornament on the bridge. We walk to the Pompidou centre. I see the pipes and railings. You see the people on the escalators.

If you see the river Seine, you may also see the caricaturists the next moment. If you see the ornament on the bridge, you may also soon feel the arch above us. If you see people on the Pompidou escalators, you may not miss the pipes and railings. Time is a dimension to be considered too, is it not? Whilst walking, what might be within the range of vision one moment, might not be, in the next. If you don't feel the arch above us at this moment, in the next moment, we are not below the arch anymore. Experiences are linked with time, aren't they? Especially it is, when two people walk along a street, you experience in one moment the ornament on the bridge, and I, the arch above. In the next moment, you cant feel the arch and I cant see the ornament. It was only for the moment and that moment is now gone.

Here is a link to some of my poems & sketches of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.