imaginary practices

A traditional design practice is significantly sifting. To say one has an office in the parochial sense is to have a principal designer who fronts the space while providing design services. The principal along with partners and necessary office staff are responsible for services rendered against any commissions received. With lack of adequate building projects to go up against this format of conducting the design space is being forcefully re-imagined. Not only is the context evolving but facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations who are then required to operate within the problem constrains. Culture of conversations from an office is redirected to the kind of work being taken and performed. Though argued is the context of this imagination exists in early design and mid-size firms where concentrated intake of building projects due to various factors are limited. It is this mostly the naivety which lays out alternatives unrestricted to accepted standards. When standards or the norm is not followed what then is the validity of a design practice? How does it achieve credibility? Service provided by a traditional practice, in addition to architectural design would range any from the list a) interior design, b) landscape design, c) urban design, d) urban planning, e) branding, f) education, g) site/ construction management, h) graphic design, i) product design, j) web design, k) graphic design i) architectural photography, j) film making, k) fashion design l) product design and m) rendering/ building modelling/ prototyping. Though elaborate in time based on work influx and requirements of specialization there can be an inclination to the mentioned. Limiting to core design services [a to g] is the hallmark of the traditional but veering towards the fringes [i to m] moves recognition from construction to creative industries. Specialization is core mandate for the tradition to sustain and be recognised over period of operation.

Imagined practise is a plan for a design practice. It is a proposal drawn over time to direct expertise and specialisations to invariably lead to a traditional design production environment. It could be labelled as an aspiration or foundation to build upon towards a permanent design position. Jobs here is simplified as drawing, writing, photography and illustration. Design products produced from this enterprise are prototypes or successful idea from varying domains of association. Validating the practise is the dissemination model selected. First from the space is a design portfolio. Required for future associations the portfolio is a project list which the imagined practise requests expertise. The form this portfolio transforms into is a website predictably to increase exposure. The book and the exhibition are the next tangible forms wherein the practise starts its recognition stage. Traditional practices of yesteryear is factored to reach a state of credibility when their objects of specialisation find its way into print. With the imagined practice of today access to dissemination mechanisms is limitless thereby requiring the book or exhibitions to reach pointers of validation. From each of the four products, project a proposed image of the practise with respect to ideas it strives to, is emergent. Work done, to aspirations, the practise aims for goals of the image produced. The imagined practise is definitely not profitable and is an accepted possibility of all of its self-published projects are vanity tasks. Should it be taken seriously? This is definitely questionable as the imagined practice is an experiment. Its acknowledgement is therefore restricted to the experimental mode. To those who are willing to play patron to the tests lie the answer.

Working Notes _ Frank Lloyd Wright inspired a school, Le Corbusier inspired a movement, Rem Koolhaas inspired an ideology and OfficeUS inspire the times. If one compares the four of them, how does one respond to them? How have you decided to understand their progress or process and apply them to the imaginary practice? What are experiments of past to play role in deciding products of future?