To create great buildings, one needs to maintain passion, focus and drive. A critical component to all three of these is inspiration. As you engage in the day-to-day aspects of your work, what keeps you inspired? What keeps you wanting to make your next design even better than your last? And how do you carry this through your entire career?

Inspiration is a key ingredient to keeping your work fresh and yourself refreshed. For this reason, I have put together the following list of unique ways for you, as an architect, to stay inspired.

1. Read A Lot: The more knowledge you can get from other thinkers and innovators (in other fields), the better. Doing this, you will probably find some new ways to approach complex problems, break them down and come up with sophisticated and practical design solutions.
2. Bend Boundaries: Set creative boundaries for yourself when you are facing a challenging design issue or problem. By exaggerating or minimizing boundaries that you are used to, it will force you to think about your design dilemma in new ways. For instance, give yourself a small allotted amount of time in which to “solve” a design issue. Or, pretend that you have three times the budget than you actually have. This might just free your mind, getting you to think of a totally different way of solving your original problem.
3. Streamline your Organization: Become an active thinker. During or after visiting a site, another great building, reading a magazine or even having a discussion with a fellow architect , make it a habit to record the most important thoughts that will spark your future action(s). Organizing your ideas will result in better ways for you to create new ones. Organization actually can spark creativity and innovation.
4. Switch Your Perspective: While working on the day-to-day details that surface for specific building projects, don’t forget to take that eagle-eyed view. Think of how Norman Foster or Zaha Hadid would approach your design problem. Or think of what a good architectural critic might say about your design challenge.
5. Get Out More: Although having a consistent design setting (like your office) is very conducive to being creative, so too is changing your scenery. Try thinking about a design problem in a totally different place. Go see a great architectural lecture. Or go have a brainstorming session with your colleague in a new setting.
6. Remember Your Colleagues: Don’t forget about the people around you. They can help you stay inspired too. Coming up with new ways to communicate with your colleagues to generate creative ideas can be quite motivational.
7. Set Your Goals: Don’t lose sight of your goals, whatever they may be. Be sure to revisit them often — both so your time is spent working toward them and so that you remember why you are doing what you do. One of the keys to maintaining inspiration, is also to reward yourself. After you reach certain goals be sure to enjoy them, take a break and then use that energy to renewing your momentum.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your opinion on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.

2009 Has Been an Amazing Year

Sensing Architecture has had quite an amazing year in 2009. Really, this website was brand-new at the beginning of the year, in January. Ever since then, it has been rapidly growing and now its readership is exponentially compounding. Projected to reach approximately 20,000 visitors this month, it is safe to say that 2010 will hold great things in store for the Sensing Architecture community.

Readers range from architecture professionals, to architectural scholars to design enthusiasts. I continuously receive a wide range of reader insightful comments, questions, “thank-you” letters and e-mails asking for architectural design advice and reviews.

I am certainly encouraged by such a pro-active reader response!

Plus, I love working with all of you.

2010 Will Be Full of Nice Surprises

Already, there are a variety of plans in the works for Sensing Architecture in 2010.

For starters, I will be launching a free Report entitled Bringing Architecture to the Next Level. To make certain that you receive this, be sure to sign up for my free Sensing Architecture newsletter — you can sign-up using the simple form here. All newsletter members will be first to receive this free Report in late January of 2010.

For later in the year, I plan to introduce new content in varying media formats — which I think will be a rich addition to the site…particularly for those that like to learn in different ways.

Another goal on my 2010 plan is to add more community enhancements to increase member interactivity and lateral learning. This will be a very desirable addition as our community continues its rapid growth and healthy response rates.

There are, of course, more 2010 ideas brewing on my drawing board at the moment. Those, I will share with you in the future. But for now, I can tell you this…

This is only the beginning.

Please Tell Me What You Think

What do you think should be added to Sensing Architecture In 2010?

I would really like to get your feedback on the post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you are a reader that enjoys Sensing Architecture, please also tell me why — this will also tell me what works and what can be expanded upon in the year ahead.

Also, make sure you share this post today with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.