“ARCHITERROR” Fears Every Architect Faces: The Devil Behind…
Have you ever opened a blank page of your sketchbook and wondered where do I start? What will become of this page? What if I don’t get the proportions right? What if I mess it up? Then, there’s the devil that convinces you that you can’t do it. So you quickly put away your pen and close your sketchbook and hope that tomorrow will present you with the opportunity to begin. But what if you don’t put them away. What if you just start?
I think we can all agree there’s a nerve-wracking expectation we get from a blank piece of paper. It comes with the pressure to be better than the previous one. To perhaps be the next great building & urban gem. Honestly, the devil behind the blank piece of paper is really just clouded by the fear of starting and some sort of perfectionism.
So how do we overcome the devil behind the blank piece of paper? Simply put, just do it! Just START. Whether you begin by flooding your subconscious with reference images before you start, do it. Then grab the blank piece of paper and begin with your first stroke. You’ll realise that your insecurities will diminish with every stroke and every stroke gives room for the discovery of a new idea.
Aha! Suddenly your mind and your heart and your intuition are connected and guide your hand to come up with something plausible.
The writer, Naomi Wangari, is a Graduate Architect at Lexicon + Ion. She can be reached via email at naomi@lexicondesigns.co.ke