Architecture and Complexity: “Binding Together”

Crossings, Dominique Coulon & Associés, Essay, expanding design practices, No Density, Technology and fabrication

Architectural boundary, Architecture, Architecture&design, Architecture&knowledge, Community, Design strategies, Design thinking, Essay, Flexibility, Monument, Multifunctional space, Multiscale approach, Production, Relational space, Social contributor, Social dynamics, Space-body relationship, Spatial definition, Spatiality, Topography, User’s experience

Excerpt from Crossings by Dominique Coulon & Associés. Published by Actar Publishers.

‘When I speak of complexity, I use the elementary Latin meaning of the word “complexus” — “that which is woven together”. The constituent parts differ, but the overall effect is as in a tapestry. The real problem (with reforming thinking) is that we have learnt too well how to separate things. It would be better for us to learn how to bind things together. “Binding together” is more than creating an end-to-end connection: it means establishing a connection that forms a loop. Indeed in French the word for “binding together” (relier) includes the syllable re, meaning “return”, which represents the loop turn­ing back on itself.