Mateo Reading Response

Mateo’s article focuses on the process of design. This process is described as having and moving toward a fixed direction (moving from the abstract to the material or concrete). According to Mateo, a project begins with something he described as a “phantom” that has no precise boundaries. Therefore, there are many possibilities and ideas to be explored. Once this phantom is established, hierarchies are defined in order to establish systems of order and dictate an internal structure. The final stage is bringing the “phantom” into material form and seeing what this object will be in reality.

The article is both helpful and interesting, because it seems to offer a view from a professor’s perspective. This article may act as a guide on how to go about starting and following through with a project as well as warns us about certain dangers that may lead us off track. One particular danger that I understand from experience is that ideas shouldn’t imply a specific form. Mateo states that “Geometry, volume and plan are always a result, never an end in themselves (in the latter case they become an oppressive, constricting straitjacket.” I believe that I’ve fallen into this trap a few times before. There have been times when I quickly adapted a certain form or layout early in the process. Eventually it became harder to develop the project further because I was stuck on a certain form and timid to step away from it. In general, the article focuses not only on how to design a building but how to create and drive a project. I see why this article is the first reading assigned to us, because essentially, for thesis prep, we are taking over this role (usually held by our professors) of defining a project that is set toward a fixed direction of our choosing.