Why is creativity alone not enough?

After you say yes to that question, has anyone ever joked about how “you artsy-fartsy types” have your head in the clouds? That you’re too busy chasing your dreams to be practical?

 

I’m not sure where this idea came from, but quite a few people seem to assume that creatives like you and me live in our own world, happily staring into space and doing nothing while waiting for inspiration to strike. Then — poof — we magically come up with a finished product.

 

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I don’t agree with this assumption, but I can kind of see why. A lot of what we see out there is just the end product.

 

 

The result.

 

 

To people who aren’t involved in the project, the whole thing might seem random and mystifying.

I mean, have you ever looked at a stunning architectural design or project and felt… frustrated? I remember feeling like that often, especially when I was still in university and just starting out as an architect.

 

 

I wondered:

 

 

“What went through the architect’s mind?”

 

 

“Why was this specific material or construction chosen?”

 

 

“What was the thought process behind each decision like?”

 

 

In short, I couldn’t figure out how these creatives did it. I wanted to see the process and progress, not just the end result.

 

It was all so foggy and mysterious!

 

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Buildings don’t just appear out of nowhere, and neither does creativity.

 

That is probably one of the biggest myths out there: that all you need to do is stare into space, find inspiration, and — poof! — a shiny new building appears! No!

 

That’s not how creativity works — and that’s not how architecture works either.

 

After many years of experience, I have identified two ingredients that every successful project needs, and they’re probably not what you’d expect.

 

Ready?

 

The answer is:

creativity + method.

 

Let me explain.

 

The key to a successful project — any project — is a balance of both. It is even more important in architecture as we have to come up with designs that are both functional and beautiful. After all, the heart of our work is solving problems through design, while still making sure it looks good.

 

Without creativity, you won’t be able to come up with these functional solutions or aesthetic designs, but… That’s not really a shocking idea, is it? It’s honestly quite easy to see the importance of art and creativity in our field. 

 

However,  the second part — being methodical and strategic — is EQUALLY IMPORTANT, even though it might not be as obvious.

 

If you lack method, you won’t have a good and clear project workflow, which means that you might risk delivering unexpected or disorganized (aka expensive!) projects. Yikes.

 

 

In short, this is why creativity and method are interconnected: we need to be able to deliver good results and repeat the process.

 

Let’s dispel the misconception that a good idea can be plucked out of nowhere by simply gazing into space!

 

How will you balance both method and creativity in your next project?

 

This post is written in collaboration with talented copywriter Sefanya Hope.  

 

-Danila-

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Danila Lampis arkitekt. Connect with me on Instagram and say hi!