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If architects only operated in a paper world , we would never get our buildings evolved beyond paper ,” he says . “ Architects must be dreamers , visionaries , explorers and entrepreneurs . The principle of Avant-garde architecture whereby architecture is innovative , radical and always progressing , becomes the focus in urban development when an architect designs for the future . To be able to take a commission from a client and translate that into a drawing , you first must be able to create a vision of the future . It takes imagination – plus the cognitive development of being able to think in a 3D environment .”
He says that architects not only translate a client ’ s need into an image , but have to be able to play with it to see what ’ s possible . For example , renowned architect Frank Gehry , known for iconic buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain and The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle , USA , created the Dr Chau Chak Wing building , at Sydney ’ s University of Technology , based on the idea of a crumpled paper bag .
He was also said to have designed the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles by simply crumpling up a piece of paper and saying “ there ’ s the design ”, but he told CNN that this story was just a gag invented for the TV show The Simpsons and that his process is far more involved . Like Collen , he says it begins with gaining a deep understanding of what the client is looking for and the parameters of the job ( from the budget to the specific site ). Function comes first , but then the architect also has the opportunity to bring something special to the project that goes beyond an understanding of the engineering and technology – that will “ engender an emotional response .”
Collen describes this quality of architects as “ a necessary sense of playfulness ” and says architectural professionals navigate the fine line between dreams and what is possible . “ We have to be visionaries to understand what we ’ re designing – to interrogate not just the moment in time we ’ re being asked to design for , but the long-term vision for a building and how it will work 50 years in the future .”
This means that architects can ’ t view their buildings in isolation but must understand the
103 JUNE / JULY 2023 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine