diagram

www.thebiblog.net, diagram, february 23, 2010

kirby mood board

in the wider world, the diagram is a two-dimensional image that is used to explain complicated or abstract ideas. this results in the ubiquitous flow chart of board meetings, the color coded subway maps that are recognizable in cities around the world, or the depiction of the veins beneath our skin that hang in doctors examination rooms. in architecture, however, the relationship between the diagram and the diagrammed is often reversed. architects realized that the very diagrams that were useful in describing complex spatial projects, could be reverse engineered: by determining the most efficient diagram first, and then folding the building design into it. entire firms rely on this process, and it is critically well received—perhaps because the buildings which are conceived as diagrams are so easily understood. the danger lies in accepting that easily understood architecture makes for good architecture. in a field that has always had one foot planted firmly in the arts, and the other in the sciences, diagrams tip the scales further towards the scientific (though at times the diagrams themselves can be beautiful). the diagram typically does not speak to the experiential aspects of design such as the richness of materiality, the play of light and shadow, or the beauty that is achievable through thoughtful detailing. if we are to balance the scales, perhaps an equal emphasis should be placed on whimsy during the early stages of design: for every diagram, an image depicting mood or atmosphere.