The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously

Gauging and guessing is a metaphor that represents the duality in the process of architectural design, between logic and intuition, reasoning and chancing, the explicit and the implicit. Throughout history, this duality implies not only different design methodologies but also deeply-rooted design me...

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Main Authors: Wang, Yun, Wu, Haotian
Other Authors: García-Abril, Antón
Format: Thesis
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2023
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150234
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7052-7703
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3330-5498
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author Wang, Yun
Wu, Haotian
author2 García-Abril, Antón
author_facet García-Abril, Antón
Wang, Yun
Wu, Haotian
author_sort Wang, Yun
collection MIT
description Gauging and guessing is a metaphor that represents the duality in the process of architectural design, between logic and intuition, reasoning and chancing, the explicit and the implicit. Throughout history, this duality implies not only different design methodologies but also deeply-rooted design mentalities, the conscious and the unconscious. Gauging is associated with consciousness, representing a will to pursue certain results based on intentional thought processes. Guessing, on the other hand, is associated with unconsciousness, representing an aleatoric chancing to fulfill one’s inner possibilities. However, “gauging consciously” and “guessing unconsciously” inevitably happens on a spectrum with two extremes, either limiting or diluting the discipline of architecture. This thesis investigates the opposite situations of gauging consciously and guessing unconsciously, experimenting with new ways of involving technologies in the design process to look for the possibility of paradigm shifts. In the first phase, the two research projects “Fake Fake-hill” and “Data-Matter to Data” are attempts to examine the notion of gauging unconsciously and guessing consciously respectively. Using naturally-formed rock art and intuitive model-making that engages hands as the prompts in combination with engaging the digital tools, we aim to show the possibility of pursuing a precise design result without the limit of human consciousness, and of pursuing a natural result without the necessity of unconsciousness. In other words, being naturally precise and precisely natural. Based on this research, the second phase of the thesis tested the methodology of combining the two sets of paradoxes with two design proposals, in search of the “architectural coincidence” that remains oscillating in between.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1502342023-04-01T04:06:02Z The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously Wang, Yun Wu, Haotian García-Abril, Antón Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture Gauging and guessing is a metaphor that represents the duality in the process of architectural design, between logic and intuition, reasoning and chancing, the explicit and the implicit. Throughout history, this duality implies not only different design methodologies but also deeply-rooted design mentalities, the conscious and the unconscious. Gauging is associated with consciousness, representing a will to pursue certain results based on intentional thought processes. Guessing, on the other hand, is associated with unconsciousness, representing an aleatoric chancing to fulfill one’s inner possibilities. However, “gauging consciously” and “guessing unconsciously” inevitably happens on a spectrum with two extremes, either limiting or diluting the discipline of architecture. This thesis investigates the opposite situations of gauging consciously and guessing unconsciously, experimenting with new ways of involving technologies in the design process to look for the possibility of paradigm shifts. In the first phase, the two research projects “Fake Fake-hill” and “Data-Matter to Data” are attempts to examine the notion of gauging unconsciously and guessing consciously respectively. Using naturally-formed rock art and intuitive model-making that engages hands as the prompts in combination with engaging the digital tools, we aim to show the possibility of pursuing a precise design result without the limit of human consciousness, and of pursuing a natural result without the necessity of unconsciousness. In other words, being naturally precise and precisely natural. Based on this research, the second phase of the thesis tested the methodology of combining the two sets of paradoxes with two design proposals, in search of the “architectural coincidence” that remains oscillating in between. M.Arch. 2023-03-31T14:41:30Z 2023-03-31T14:41:30Z 2023-02 2023-02-28T18:54:19.267Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150234 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7052-7703 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3330-5498 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Wang, Yun
Wu, Haotian
The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously
title The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously
title_full The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously
title_fullStr The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously
title_full_unstemmed The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously
title_short The Architectural Coincidence: guessing consciously, gauging unconsciously
title_sort architectural coincidence guessing consciously gauging unconsciously
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150234
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7052-7703
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3330-5498
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