Brute ideation

In the 1990s, Rem Koolhaas’s architecture office perfected a workflow referred to as “brute force”: Throw as many designers as possible at a project and make an infinity of models; if you create all possible solutions, one has to be the best. Brute force is now a common practice for larger firms. In the context of the creative arts, moreover, the word "brute" can be associated with "art brut" ("raw art"or "rough art"), or, in the context of architecture with "brutalism" (from Fench "beton brut"). Might the word brute, then, as an adjective be applied to the ideation process in the sense of generating and communicating forcefully a large number of ideas to deal with the problem at hand, or "brute ideation"? Yet such a quantitative approach to idea generation would make sense only as long as it remains a purposeful, focused activity ("problem solving"), in contrast to "brainstorming", which generates lots of random and directionless ideas at one fixed point.

Artificial ideation

Problem-solving is part and parcel of design ideation; how to generate, develop and communicate ideas towards a solution. However, it is known that the same design solutions appear over and over again because designers face the same types of problems over and over again. The fact that problem-solving often shows patterns of similarlity or repetition across industries was observed early by TRIZ, a mehod that evolved in post-war USSR to help finding inventive technical solutions to challenging problems more effectively. Based originally on collecting and analysing thousands of patents, TRIZ has since produced and developed software (algorithm for inventive problem solving) resulting in better understanding of complex management problems and finding effective solutions. This result may suggest a similar approach for ideation. That is, to build an extensive digital data base of design precedents, including, for example, 3D scans of realised buildings that will provide a tool for problem-solving. But although computers are commonly used for general problem-solving, based on generic algorithms, the challenge for ideation by algorithm, or "artifical ideation" is to formulate the actual problem so that the computer is able to understand it (machine learning). So when dealing with "wicked problems", optimal design solutions may still require both algorithm (unambiguous specification) and free-form reflection and lateral thinking.

Digital Corbusier

Le Corbusier, in his polemical book Vers une Architecture (1925) argued for a new way of architectural thinking where housing developed a standard along the lines of industrial mass production. Corbusier's writing was in the context of great need for housing caused by the First World War, and the availability of new and innovative technologies of construction, notably the use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete. In this, Corbusier argued that "a house is a machine for living in", similar to "a steamship is a machine for transport, an airplan a machine for flying in, a motor car a machine for moving in, and a chair a machine for sitting in". These analogies, conceived in the spirit of the machine age, contain an argument for function and comfort - a synthesis of functional and artistic expressions as well as lessons from mathematics and geometry. Now, a century later, the demand for mass-production houses is still with us, and on a global scale: homelessness is estimated at 1bn people. So what has changed? Well, digital design and fabrication technologies, and computational geometries are evolving fast and, given the right market or socio-political conditions, the digital tools are set to improve the capacity to supply not only mass housing but mass customised housing. For example, a 1 bedroom house can be built in 24 hours using 3D concrete printing technology. Interestingly, advancements in computational design was already envisoned by Corbusier when he wrote that modernism was bringing about a new era when a geometric or mathematical order controls all architectural forms, from the smallest pot of cream to the largest structures. Indeed, digital Corbusier, or Vers une Architecture Numerique.

Ideas for sustainable design

As we enter a new decade, today's designers find themselves caught between the fierce competition of the market place and the calls for sustainable production, of ever satisfying consumers needs and desires yet in environmentally responsible ways. But this dilemma also highlights the ideological difference between modernism (c. 1920-70) and postmodernism (c. 1970-90) regarding what is art and design. That is, between the meta-narratives and somewhat elitist ideologies of modernism, within a broad social and political context and the subversive and glossy statements of postmodernism. Because in the over-reaching debate about climate change, the ideas, theories and methods of modernism (which also embraced experimentation, new technology and rigorous and systematic research) rather than the fragmentation, simulation and deconstruction of postmodernism might offer a more fruitful and effective approach to reducing the negative effects of global warming, and therefore a better ideas base for sustainable design futures. Discuss.

Bauhaus ideas

As the centenary year of the Bauhaus, possibly the single most influential modernist art and design school of the 20^th century, draws to a close, it may be wortwhile to recall the creative drivers and main ideas behind the school's achievements. First, Bauhaus didn't emerge from nowhere; it was inspired and influenced by the international Arts and Crafts movement (c. 1880-1920), the Werkbund, the creative associations of artists, architects and industrialists established in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the early 1900s, and the Dutch de Stijl movement (1917-). Second, it saw as its mission to bridge the gap between traditional arts and crafts and modern industrial manufacturing aiming at an alliance of the arts under the wing of architecture. This mission also paved the way for the International Style and Brutalism as well as postwar modernism in architecture. Third, Bahaus developed a pedagogic model which combined the teaching of arts, crafts and architecture stressing design as a process where ideation and experimentation with new materials were integral to problem-solving, a model that later became a blueprint for design education worldwide.

Narrative ideation

The narrative is one of many ways to generate, develop and communicate ideas. That is, an approach whereby the narrative, or story telling, is the propelling agent of the idea, the agent here being the designer-ideator, from first thought to description or exposition of the idea through the means of words (written and spoken), freehand sketches, physical models or computations (digital media), or combinations thereof. Moreover, as the idea is a form of proposition, or argument, that is, although the idea may be "fully formed", it is not yet realised, and whether expressed verbally or visually, it sits within the narrative approach in either fiction or non-fiction mode, or, again, in mixed modes. Design ideation, then, becomes a process akin to that of narration, where the designer is not only the ideator - the creator of ideas, but a story teller too. A variation of ideation as narrative is interactive storytelling, that is, the designer interacts with clients/colleagues/users/consumers. In this mode, the designer is not necessarily the leading ideator, or protagonist propelling the story (idea) forward. Narrative ideation, then, becomes a shared creative and collaborative experience.

Computational ideation

Design ideation is integral to design thinking, a form of strategic and practical process for problem-solving. Computational thinking is part of this process too, that is, thinking computationally can help designers identify, organise and represent the problem in new and different ways through computer aided abstractions and pattern recognition. However, computational thinking, as a thought process, is sometimes criticised for being too externally guided or structured (programmatic and algorithmic thinking) leaving little or limited room for human "free form" creativity. But this seems a narrow view because the design field is part of ongoing rapid technolgical change and necessarily engaged in challenging complex problem situations, for example issues of sustainability and climate change, which require an understanding of underlying science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM skills). Indeed, design thinking already involves STEM skills, from architecture to fashion design. This suggests that introducing and applying computational thinking in the early stages of the design process expands rather than narrows the potential of the development of a creative solution which is authentic, valuable, and useful for a given situation and context. A prime example hereof is Gehry's  design for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in which new computer software helped materialise new architectural forms.