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Arts & Communication Nebula rasa: The diaphanous in architectural design

(i) My first suggestion is that the generative agency of these exploratory and synoptic manner, discussing selected
images derives from their diaphaneity. Diaphaneity is sources on architectural sketching and illustrating the
the visual characteristic of being indistinct, blurry, influence of the diaphanous in architectural design. The
nebulous, open, vague, or ambiguous (Figure 1). generative characteristics of the diaphanous as driver
I will suggest that diaphanous images possess a of architectural design are explored by engaging with
dimensionality that extends well beyond them architectural theory (notably the phenomenological
actually being two- or three-dimensional images and approach), recent and classic accounts of creativity, and
that turns them into effective creative operators. selected works of the French sinologist and philosopher
(ii) My second suggestion advances one step further and François Jullien on the concepts of the “effective present”
examines the diaphanous as a generative stimulus in and “propensity” The examples shown and discussed here
its own right and not just as a particular property of should therefore be understood as thematic examples
an image. Ito formulates this as a statement: to achieve rather than targeted research results that would allow for
progress in a creative design process, a degree of generalizing the conclusions of this article across the entire
diaphaneity is essential to their generative efficacy. domain of sketch-driven architectural design. This article
Therefore, I explore the diaphanous as a nebula rasa – provides the preliminary (theoretical) foundations for
a nebulous realm of open and suggestive representation further investigating the diaphanous with precision, so a
that is not reducible to either axiomatic understanding or relatively well-circumscribed initial definition is required.
Cartesian geometry or to two-dimensional representation To that end, this article features a concise historical
on a neutral plane – the tabula rasa. I aim to qualify the claim overview of how the notion came into being and relates
1
that in the diaphanous as visual characteristic (point 1) and this notion to architectural theory. The concluding section
as generative stimulus (point 2) resides an underexplored provides suggestions on how the role and influence of the
theoretical concept that accounts for creative development diaphanous could be investigated in a systematic study
and that we have to understand it on its own terms. and outlines some repercussions of the diaphanous on
architectural design.
1.1. Methodological note First, I discuss some historical background of the
This article provides a theoretical perspective on the notion of the diaphanous, even if this account is meant
diaphanous as generative stimulus. It does so in an only to introduce a key distinction between cognitivist and
agentive paradigms that I use throughout this paper, and
1 Aristotle discussed the concept of the tabula rasa which I introduce in the third section.
(“empty plane”) in De Anima, just like the concept of the
diaphanous. While this discussion takes place in the context Following this distinction, I turn to the role of the
of formulating a theory of mind—or, more precisely, the diaphanous as visual characteristic in architectural design
mind as an empty surface to be inscribed—it would later processes. This exposition is followed by a discussion
be interpreted as the plane on which ideas are inscribed by of Jullien’s concept of the “effective present,” leading to a
reason (logos). consideration of the diaphanous as generative stimulus.

A B C

Figure 1. Three examples of the visual characteristic of diaphaneity. (A) The indistinct, blurry line of two cloud formations; (B) the translucence of the
glass partially obfuscates the figures behind it; (C) the reflection of the window replicates the view, visually overlaying it on the surface and suggesting
additional depth.
Source: Photographs by the author.

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1922