What is Design?

Concepts, images, ideas are elements that go into creating a design, yet design can hold so many meanings to its observer and its creator. Designs can fulfill two purposes ascetical and utilitarian all the while the designer is the one that transforms these ideas into a design.

Design serves many purposes which can range from creating something aesthetically appealing to solving a problem. When it serves to appeal to the aesthetic the design becomes artistic, and the opposite goes for when it solves a problem. In solving said problem the design may become utilitarian in nature. Timeless design come when the problem is solved in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Many of the unforgettable buildings throughout history have melded utility (solving a problem) with beauty. An example of this is the Burj Al Arab in Dubai design by Tom Wright from WKK Architects. The structure is aesthetically pleasing looking like a ships sail coming out of the water, yet its construction changed the Dubai landscape and set this desertic city apart. Without the Burj Al Arab Dubai wouldn’t have the lux identity it relishes in now.

Ideas get transformed into design by a creator that derives inspiration from there surroundings. In Burj Al Arab its main inspiration is a ships Sail while in the thermal baths designed by Peter Zumthor the main inspiration is cave springs and melding in to the natural. Designers bring all sorts of ideas together to create complex or simple designs. Alejandro de la Sotas was given the task to create a gymnasium but instead of making a standard building he took the ideas of utility and aesthetic to create a space that both had classrooms int the above space as well as natural light streaming in. The gymnasium in Colegio Maravillas encompasses the complexity of creating a design yet the simplicity of the idea of the design.

The creator/ designer is essential to what design is. They transform ideas into a design that can represent multiple purposes. Here we explored those of aesthetics and Utility and how melding each together can create a design that is unforgettable in buildings like the Burj Al Arab. As well how designer draw inspiration from there surrounding to create complex designs with simple ideas.

References

Fundación Alejandro de la Sota. (n.d.). Maravillas. Alejandrodelasota.Org. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://archivo.alejandrodelasota.org/es/original/project/234

WKK. (2018). The Burj Al Arab Hotel. Wkkarchitects.Com. https://wkkarchitects.com/aburj-al-arab-dubai-2