Inquisition of Inanimate Objects

Inspired by Louis Kahn’s query of brick, I use inquisition for this post with definite purpose and singular intent.

Must architecture always start with a line? No, not at all. For me, however, it usually does. This decision is not at the expense of other design commencement methods. Quite the opposite, as line, and its intense examination and rigorous inquiry, begets (necessary) paths of exploration.

By the tactile interrogation of the aforementioned line, I find that I discover the salient mysteries which are the result from the friction of charcoal or graphite as it is drawn on or dragged across a sheet of paper has left an indelible effect on the way I view the beginning of an architecture or design project.

Does line want to be a part of a section? Or, is it more appropriate for line to be a part of a floor plan as the thickness of a wall or the edge of a floor or as the separation of crafted space?

Repeating the process by sedulously drawing line over and again allows answers to become clearer, even though this inanimate object cannot ‘speak’ with a traditional audible voice.

This process is not arbitrary, though it might be argued that it is. But I do not think it is. Once ‘pencils down’ for the process has occurred, and it is time to make line an anonymous digital element (CAD or BIM), the inquiry changes trajectory. It is then that the wonder of nuance and subtlety begin to emerge.