Theory Sells.

Image taken from an AI generator prompting "A building on Mars designed by Bjarke Ingles"

The first week of our final ARCH history course of graduate school was very interesting and provocative. I'll be talking about the assigned YouTube video of Bjarke Ingles' TedTalk. In the video Bjarke casually bounces from topic to topic. Without reading the description of the video beforehand I was unsure what the topic was or what Bjarke was really getting at. The way he flawlessly bounced from topic to topic seemed remarkably seamless and smooth as he 'wows' the audience with his story telling capabilities. He showcases his talents across the spectrum; from practicality to aesthetic he elaborates on how the concepts of some of his world famous buildings were derived. Before you even knew it, he makes a casual joke about space which segments into the next topic... humans inhabiting Mars. Here he uses architectural diagrams, and theoretical information/concepts in how the daunting process would be achievable. 

He starts off the presentation giving examples of challenges and how BIG architects have 'overcome' them through thoughtful theoretical concepts that were brought to fruition with the financial help of wealthy developers. He explains how he and his team came up with a concept and how in initial conceptual development, it may seem unfeasible to the vast majority. He proceeds to use a similar framework to persuade the audience of the feasibility of space travel. Somehow he does it so seamlessly and elegantly. Before I watched the video, I was a firm believer that we will not be 'living' on Mars anytime soon. Nor did I believe it could be an act to happen within our lifetimes. After the video ended, I had never felt so excited about space travel and the potential we have in regards to planetary space travel + inhabitation. To me, this highlights the importance of theory as a selling standpoint. Without the theoretical framework, it would be impossible to sell this idea. I'm sure if a developer was in the room, they would be on the edge of their seat, completely convinced of whatever Bjarke says, further convincing he/she to invest. I believe this same idea translates into everyday architecture. This is how architecture becomes an art. It is subjective and requires a well thought theoretical argument to convince those whom aren't believers (of whatever that may be). That is the value of theory to me; naturally biased, customized, and highly intellectual. I'll end with this question, if architects were to stop thinking theoretically; what would be the difference between us, contractors, builders, and engineers?