056 FX TALKS
I repeatedly nag our teams to be a
sponge, soak up everything around you, even bad design – we must acknowledge it and understand it as much as good design, if we are ever to avoid making the same mistakes.
What will lead the way for more radical thinking in your/our field?
We must explore and immerse all our senses beyond our own echo chambers. We should know when to quit navel gazing and get out there, speak to people, experience things first- hand. Architecture and design is always on the cusp of being elitist and unapproachable or unobtainable to many, but I believe good design should be for everyone. Good doesn’t necessarily mean expensive.
I’m convinced there’s an abundance of untapped knowledge and ideas out there that could radically change how we make design and architecture more inclusive, sustainable and obtainable to all. Ideas could come from people with less baggage and stakes in our current design and construction models.
Could you recommend a book/article/blog that inspired your thinking?
Beyond the usual suspects (TED talks, World Economic Forum etc.) I discovered a few great books through another source of inspiration. For the life of me, I can’t remember who recommended them (sorry if it was you!). One of them is Te Universal Traveller by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall, a ‘soft-systems guide to creativity, problem-solving and the process of reaching goals’. Shikake – Te Japanese Art of Shaping Behavior through Design by Naohiro Matsumaru has some great ideas, and for pure visual joy and inspiration Ronan Bouroullec’s recent reference book Day After Day.
Could you name two buildings/pieces of furniture that you consider radical designs of their time, or perhaps still to this day? Dieter Rams’ 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsoe, 1960 – perhaps not the first modular system, but absolutely one of the
Right Hughes thinks best with a cup of coffee, music, and some scraps of paper and a pen
best, which has (unsurprisingly) stood the test of time, adhering to all of Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design.
Instead of a single building, an entire (series of) islands; Naoshima in Japan being the main event. A truly visionary collaboration between the mayor, a businessman and an architect – Tadao Ando no less. Te aim being to unify art, architecture and nature, while offering an alternative to the primarily urban museum experience.
I think best with… (e.g. my hands/a pencil/ with a computer)
A cup of coffee to-hand, music playing with ideally no other audible distractions. A comfortable set-up (discomfort = distraction) with some scraps of paper and a pen.
I think best… (e.g. first thing in the morning/ last thing at night)
Consciously, I think best throughout the day in quite a cyclical way – peaks and troughs. I aim to consciously stop thinking about work when I choose to stop for the day, but I’m a firm believer in my sub-conscious figuring a bunch of things out during rest, downtime, walks, automatic processes that require little thought (domestic chores!) – because often resolutions crop up only after these.
I think best when… (e.g. in a gallery/at home/ outside/over drinks/with friends/on the bus) Te location is variable – but as above, I suspect some of my best thinking happens during automatic tasks, particularly when walking at a relaxed pace. Visual stimuli are always welcome, but I can get incredibly distracted by unwanted noise. I had never heard of misophonia until relatively recently, and I’ve never been diagnosed, but I suspect I suffer from it to some extent. Chances are, unless I need to be engaging with people, I will have my noise-cancelling headphones on if any sort of thinking is required!
Te thought that keeps me up at night is… Tere’s not much that can keep me awake at
Above, from top A book that has inspired Hughes’s thinking; he stills scribbles if he finds himself in a boring meeting
night these days, particularly not work- related. Do I worry about things? Of course, but no resolution to a great problem happens in the dead of night, and I believe to my core the importance and positive impact rest has on our well-being. Sleep well, and deal with it tomorrow.
Te thought that gets me out of bed each day is…
I best feed the kids and cat, and crack on.
Do you like to think with, or think against? Both. It’s fundamental to bring a positive approach to challenges, to work together as a
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