Image courtesy flickr.com/photos/omaromar

Shortly after Thom Mayne was awarded the Pritzker prize, editor Chris Sullivan praised “Thom Mayne’s Radical Incrementalism”:
“…he operates as a nexus of many ideas and inputs, deftly prioritizing and assimilating them per project needs.  He carefully instigates change through guerrillalike tactics, cognizant that perfection is impractical.  And the ‘finished product’–the diagram, building, or detail–is neither faultless nor final, but rather the most elegant, most remarkable solution available in its time and space.” -Architecture, 04.2005

I can hardly think of a better description of the kind of parameters any architect is expected to synthesize, or indeed, the goals of this site.  We work in an age whose complexity and interdependency has only increased since the above description.  Currently available tools make productive collaboration so much more possible, it seems almost paleolithic not to at least investigate the opportunities they provide.

The “guerrillalike tactics” that are alluded to are enviable to the pigeonholed and familiar to the forward-thinking.  Mayne has in many cases gone ahead and investigated whatever approach or series of constraints that he was interested in, “pure zeitgeist,” as Sullivan says later in the article.  Mayne explored what he was interested in as the opportunities arose, without waiting for approval that might typically be considered necessary.

If you find a tool or process that works for you, increases your productivity, eases communication, whatever, then by all means use it.  Test it out, fly under the radar.  So much of what we suggest here at archifilter is connective, demonstrable, and often low- or no-cost, so that quick evaluations of usefulness are typical with minimal overhead.

Please use whatever guerilla-like tactics you feel appropriate to get your projects off the paper and into reality.

PS:  While many might arguably consider Mayne an example of the kind of sculptural starchitect for which we have little time, his intelligent process, principled stands, and career focus on pushing the boundaries of what architecture has meant and can mean is laudable.  I have seen him be at times thought-provoking and obtuse, but more recently personable and intelligent.  Commenters notwithstanding, this is an interesting and inspirational TED lecture, also from 2005:

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