What is Conceptual Architecture?
One of the closest parallels and influences on my approach to architecture is Sol LeWitt’s work and his essay Paragraphs on Conceptual Art published in Artforum on June 1967. The quote below goes straight to the point illustrating LeWitt’s approach:
In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes art.
Paragraphs on Conceptual Art by Sol LeWitt
All two part combinations of arcs from four corners, arcs from four sides, straight, not-straight and broken lines in four directions, 1977 by Sol LeWitt
It may help to reread the last quote sentence by sentence, replacing the terms art/artist with architect/architecture. It is clear then that in conceptual architecture the most important aspect of the work is the concept. My approach to architecture is to find an initial concept that can be used to organize the entire design process, think of the concept as a kind of guidepost for decision making during design. The architectural concept is the essential driving force behind the design process.
When I teach architecture design, I often deliver this prompt on the first day of class:
The concept will be your guide for all design decisions from the building’s urban image down to the choice of finish materials. The success of your project will be determined by the strength of your concept and your ability to remain true to this concept while intelligently executing your final building design.
The strength and clarity of your concept will determine how automatic its execution can be. I like to think of a concept as a “scaffolding” that you construct to assist and support in the design of architecture, once the design process is completed the “scaffolding” is removed leaving only the final work, a concept is a means to an end.
As we know architecture is not a studio art, making it more difficult to achieve the conceptual approach LeWitt strives for. For example, Wall Drawing #260 I see as an example of a genuine conceptual art where “…the execution is a perfunctory affair.” An architect’s reality includes budgets, building codes, utility, and client’s needs but even with all of these in the mix a concept can still exist. The concept will brush against these other constraints, but a conceptual architect will do her best to maintain the concept, allowing it to bend but not break.
Wall Drawing #260, 1975 by Sol LeWitt
Where do we find concepts? We can mine the project’s context to develop architectural concepts that are rooted in the real domain of the world. Conceptual invention can be derived from site factors, program, climate, history, user requirements, social relations, political frameworks, texts, pieces of art, among others. There really should be no limitation on where a concept comes from.
In my own work I am fascinated with the concept becoming a machine that makes architecture. For me it is a question of how far can we go, how mechanical can our decision making be once the concept is established? How close can we get to a concept becoming a machine that makes architecture?