Figure 4: Architecture & Furniture student project for “One-of-a-Kind” cooking utensils Inspired by the ethnic/culinary diversity of West Chicago residents/ restaurants. Utensils were designed and fabricated without drawings. Final function and/or form were revealed by hand gouging, band sawing and machine/ hand sanding…their outcome aesthetically & functionally was “continually at risk”
Recent developments in neuroimaging offer explanations of what might be happening between hand and brain during various controlled activities. Neuromimaging experiments suggest how this information or data might be used to develop or shape the way architects go about their education and/or educating. “Simple clenching of one versus the other hand increases the neuronal activity of the frontal lobe in the opposite (contralateral) hemisphere. Electroencephalographic (EEG) measures demonstrate that a mere 90 seconds of left hand clenching increases right hemisphere activity, and similar right hand clenching increases left hemisphere activity.” 11
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“Following the notion of relative importance of the right hemisphere (RH) in creative thinking, we explored the possibility of enhancing creative problem solving by artificially activating the RH ahead of time using uni- lateral hand contractions. Participants attempted to complete the Remote Associates Test after squeezing a ball with either their left or right hand. As predicted, participants who contracted their left hand (thus activating the RH) achieved higher scores than those who used their right hand and those who did not contract either hand. Our findings indicate that tilting the hemispheric balance toward the processing mode of one hemisphere by motor activation can greatly influence the outcome of thought processes.” 12 My interest in neuro-imaging experiments such as these is a search for a “more scientific” explanation for what I have learned intuitively either by watching my students work or analyzing my own process of making. Drawing with a pencil, mouse, and/or keyboard is a much different experience than cutting, sanding, and planing. Cutting, sanding and planing require the use of both hands clenching and unclenching continuously for sometimes hours at a time. The sense of sight does not work in isolation from touching, hearing and smelling. Right and left hemispheres are constantly being bombarded with information that is simultaneously rational/logical and experiential/intuitive. I am particularly interested in the long term effects hinted at in the two experiments described above. Short term gain is of course interesting and important to the project at hand. What I am