Page 82 - AC-2-1

Arts & Communication Nebula rasa: The diaphanous in architectural design

itself. Because the propensity so characteristic of the conceive of the surface as a nebula rasa – a representational
diaphanous is typically present in drawings, it resides space of diaphanous indistinction in which a creative play
there as an esthetic potential that drives architectural unfolds. In this space, the diaphanous exerts its generative
design processes. The virtual space afforded by the impetus, turning the nebula rasa into a non-geographical,
diaphanous represents a domain in which (half-formed) layered space in which relations, possibilities, and
concepts and notions shade into the foreground or fade constellations emerge, morph and fade.
into the background, mingling with non-conceptual The differential and sedimentary play of visual
contents and effects to produce a range of esthetic effects properties and allusions makes the present continually
that surpass deliberative reasoning but that stimulate effective. That is, it constitutes its inner life that – as Jullien
concept-blending and emotive, associative thought. 60,61 All puts it – represents “perpetual, soaring flight.”
this is discussed by Jullien under the heading of shi – the
presence of efficacy. 7. Conclusion
The generative impetus resides in the fact that it avoids The cognitivist paradigm leans in many cases too heavily on the
all-too-quick determinations and categorizations, creating visual representation as a carrier of information. Conversely,
material-perceptual conditions under which new relations if we combine insights from the phenomenological approach
can be perceived. The diaphanous is a visual environment in and the agentive paradigm, the notion of the diaphanous
which fuzziness, vagueness and blurriness, the oblique, the suggests a different account of architectural drawing. This
opaque, the nebulous, and the suggestion of an additional does not imply that all drawings in an architectural design
dimensionality productively conspire. By suggesting a process should be diaphanous. Indeed, there is a case to be
different (hypothetical) order of things – an order made made that precise, technical drawings tap into a very different
visible without being fully determined – the diaphanous aspect of our creative capabilities. With this in mind, we
63
drawing creates an effective regimen of visibility that should raise the question of how to utilize the potential of
inspires and generates new options and configurations. different types of drawing throughout architectural design
Such visual representations are continuously in play, processes. These processes could take place in a professional
both content-wise and through the medium in which as well as an educational context.
they present themselves. As Emmanuel Alloa argues, the One suggestion is to foster visual literacy, in the sense that
medium contains an inherent instability: practitioners should actively practice producing drawings
“[T]he irreconcilability of the image-carrier and image- that cover the full range of architectural expression, from
appearance–in covering each other, the two can never the precise to the allusive. Especially in a time where
coincide–expresses, once more the lack of a specific digital technology affords the possibility to rapidly create
place granted to images within a traditional ontology countless variations, the phenomenological side of the
of objects. (…) Images are singular because of their design process becomes extremely important. The idea
intrinsic tension between facticity and unreality, which that technical competence can replace the existential, lived
does not resolve in a unity and always already veer from side of architectural design is prevalent, but learning to
a classical logic of identity.” 62 “love uncertainty” may balance these digital designing and
In this medial surplus resides the potential for efficacy. lived experience.
The surface of the drawing is no longer a neutral surface As discussed, drawing is not just a skill to communicate
on which marks or traces are inscribed but becomes a ideas or information. It is also a fully developed way of
figure-ground play, a topos in which relations dynamically thinking-through-making that is unique for many design
form, settle, and spring up. Greek logos framed the drawing disciplines. As such, acquiring a degree of visual literacy
surface as a tabula rasa or empty surface on which marks is a prerequisite for learning to think well through visual
are made to determine and fix a creative concept or idea. representation. As the heuristic side of design processes
5
Conversely, Chinese thought and recent phenomenology can be relatively easily digitized, the skill to critically
discern which design options make sense, which potentials
5 In image theory—following up on the linguistic work on are worth developing further and which questions are
iterativity and tracing by Jacques Derrida—the idea of addressed can all be trained through engaging with
tracing has been worked out in different directions to blend diaphanous representations.
the conceptual frameworks of linguistics and visual arts, for
instance by Hans-Jörg Rheinberger in his philosophy of science The hypothesis that could be raised here is that
and in Sybille Krämer’s work on tracing and performativity. practitioners who grow accustomed to work with
However, as discussed, the origin of this philosophical diaphanous media will be more at ease and more attuned
approach can readily be traced back to the Greek logos. to the ceaseless play of options, and correspondingly more

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1922