Informed simplicity

Matthew Frederick in 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (The MIT Press, 2007) after saying how to draw a line, also says that there are three levels of knowing:
-simplicity, is the world view of the child or uninformed adult, fully engaged in his own experience and happily unaware of what lies beneath the surface of immediate reality.
-complexity, characterizes the ordinary adult world view. It is characterized by an awareness of complex system in nature and society but an inability to discern clarifyng patterns and connection.
-informed simplicity, is an enlightened view of reality. It is founded upon an ability to dicern or create clarifying patterns within complex mixtures.

Frederick’s diktat: create architectural richness through informed simplicity or an interaction of simples rather than through unnecessarily busy agglomerations. Whether an architectural aesthetic is intended to be minimalist or complex, its expe­rience mysterious or clear, its spaces Spartan or richly layered, a building must be a highly ordered thing. Creating simplifying patterns in a building plan is a way of lending order while allowing multiple readings and experiences. Some examples of unnecessary complexity:
-making a dozen separate design moves when three well-informed moves can accomplish as much;
-busying up a project with doodads because it is boring without them;
-agglomerating many unrelated elements without concern for their unity because they are interesting in themselves.

…

but when you set up complexity there’s need to call it informed simplicity? especially when you confuse complex with complicated?

Posted in: Complexity, People, Reading, Theory

1 Comment

  1. […] Informed simplicity politecalab Matthew Frederick in 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (The MIT Press, 2007) after saying how to draw a line, also says that there are three levels of knowing: -simplicity, is the world view of the child or uninformed adult, fully engaged in his own experience and happily unaware of what lies beneath the surface of immediate reality. -complexity, characterizes the ordinary adult world view. It is characterized by an awareness of complex system in nature and society but an inability to discern clarifyng patterns and connection. -informed simplicity, is an enlightened view of reality. It is founded upon an ability to dicern or create clarifying patterns within complex mixtures. (Visit Link) […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.