By Mike Sneyd
Putting words on paper (or a screen) seems like a very inadequate response to the people we have met, places we have visited and experiences we have had in; Tokyo, Berlin, Madrid, Valladolid and all the transit points in-between.
For those who have followed our blog and the socials (my least favourite part), I’m sure you have gained a sense of the immense quality and quantity of practices and Architectural masterpieces we have visited around the globe. What is difficult to show is is how each person appreciates and interacts with these forms and savours the moments within them.
For me; it has been a full sensory and mental overload, going from situations where my world involved only seeing maximum of 10 people in any one average day (of face-to-face interactions), then to cities of millions of people where you pass thousands at most busy street crossings; Combined with seeing projects whose budgets are greater than the half of our regional gross product (GDP). This all sounds like I’m portraying a period of chaos, the opposite is true. I can now take a moment to reflect on the learning opportunities and apply it to our unique contexts.
Given how fresh this all is, I’m far from a point where I can chronologically list or convey the moments or learnings in the written form eloquently or coherently.
While the mind buzzes with the whirlwind journey I have just had, I am drawn to the desire to build simply and with heart. In the same exact moment, flashes of pushing experimental styles or techniques pass through my thoughts like streetlights down a highway.
There are many Architectural comments and approaches that I will elaborate in the future once my mind is no longer racing; however, a few common universal comments were made in our practice visits … they allude to AI.
Is this the end of us providing traditional architectural services? Will most Architects be made obsolete? And beyond Architecture; I’m sure there have been blog posts previously and into the future written with AI assistance; (given how poorly this is written it is clearly not one of them).
Reflecting on Antón García-Abril of Ensamble Studio’s approach, solidified my perspective that it is a tool, and a tool that can be effectively used and can benefit those who leverage its ability.
Rambling about AI aside we can all learn from the approach to be quickly adaptable and embrace the chaos, whichever and whatever situations we find ourselves in. There is one thing that cannot be taught or machine learned and that is to design with the heart.
The contents of these blog posts are far too condensed, so hopefully you can take the time to view our tour reports in due course.
I’m now looking forward to a moment to recluse and reflect, whilst I mow my lawn and enjoy time back home with my family.
– Mike Sneyd is principal and director of EKD Architects.
