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aae2016 Publication Volume 2

Page 148

392

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all these roles are still very much evolving, with no tried and tested models for success to follow anymore. Embracing the creative possibilities of uncertainty is no magic bullet that will enable students to shape, define and fulfil these roles. However, having spoken to students and recent graduates, I believe that the cultivation of a positive attitude towards uncertainty can certainly help them meet the future with optimism and resourcefulness, “you are drawn by curiosity, you have a sense of direction, but you do not know the outcome” (Nowotny, 2014). It’s perhaps illuminating that none of the graduates I interviewed have gone into full-time employment in conventional practice. Two of them are combining practice with on-going post-graduate studies and one has set up his own practice in temporary event architecture. Along with the current students interviewed, they were all doubtful of the opportunities available in conventional practice for experimentation and embracing uncertainty “uncertainty is rarely formally acknowledged in practice (although it certainly exists) – because architecture tends to portray itself as capable of ironing out the unknown” (KD,2016). In conclusion, this paper attempts to show how the creative survey can help to embed “a certain degree of uncertainty” (JD, 2016) into the design research process, thus building a strong emotional and intellectual relationship between the designer and their work that is robust enough to cope with complexity and thrive on collaboration with others. “Uncertainty is always there. [The creative survey] helped me start accepting plurality. This is a learning curve that did not stop with university, I still experience it today and it is quite liberating as a designer to embrace it rather than ignore it. [It’s] about accepting to give up a little control, to let the world interfere or contest whatever it is you decide to put out there. It is humbling really, and I find it is a really important part of being a designer.” (KD, 2016). REFERENCES Burns, C. and Kahn, A., 2005. Site Matters. New York:Routledge Carlson, M., 2004. Performance: A Critical Introduction. New York:Routledge Hyde, R., 2012. Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture. London:Routledge Kahn, A., 2011. ‘On Inhabiting ‘Thickness’’ in ed.s Ewing, S., McGowan, J.M., Speed, C. and Bernie, C.V Architecture and Field/Work. London: Routledge Koolhaas, R. and Mau, B. 1995. S, M, L, XL. New York:Monacelli Press Nowotny, H., 2014. The Cunning of Uncertainty [video online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4vQd3pdH8tM [Accessed 15th January 2016]. Nowotny, H., 2016. The Cunning of Uncertainty. Cambridge:Polity Pearson, M. and Shanks, M., 2001. Theatre/archaeology: Disciplinary Dialogues. London:Routledge Plowright, P. D., 2014. Revealing Architectural Design: Methods, Frameworks and Tools, New York:Routledge Salomon, D. 2011. Experimental Cultures: On the ‘‘End’’ of the Design Thesis and the Rise of the Research Studio. Journal of Architectural Education, [e-journal] 65(1). Available through University of Sheffield Library website http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/index [Accessed 18th January 2016]


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