DESIGN IS A CRIME

ELUSIVE 

The day will come when you will understand the value of Peter Pan within, the crazy fool within, and

then on that day, fear and worries will be replaced by laughter and joy, and the emptiness of your

fearful anxiety will be replaced by the joy of life.

Tranquility is the creative thinking without sorrow pain guilt and it that state we can understand each

other.

At the point this occurs, play, amusements, fun and pleasure and being rich will not be a crime, but will

become a grace. That is why I now call Design a Crime, when it will become at one point, a Blessing.

That is when Art and Design no longer belongs to a small group of privileged people, but It belongs to

us.

This is the democratization of art. To have the right to choose and able to reach likes in life.

WHO USES CRIME AND DESIGN TOGETHER

If we remember people who combine the words design and crime, we see Hal Foster and Adolf Loose.

Hal Foster, an art critic who has won a Guggenheim Fellowship (1998), in his book ‘Design and Crime’,

focuses on the political economy of design, and explains branding as slavery he abhors.

Adolf Loos, Architect, and Theorist of Modern Architecture, in his manifest essay ‘Ornament is a

Crime’, defends the beauty of clear surfaces.  He sees ornament as a pointless distraction, a Crime.  (I

will explain this idea further in my coming book, R-EVOLution of Architecture).

WELL-BEING & LUXURY

Idealization takes time.  Well-being is a modestly productive concept if you approach it from a higher

point of view.   We will learn and balance it against the unwanted.  For example, Luxury can create

unwanted slavery as poverty.

How can we approach the ideal?  Book stores are full of different types of motivation methods about

healing the wounds.

These concepts of Well-being & Luxury can be less productive if they capture you in the comfort zone.

Lazy comfort may prevent you from your real-life purpose.  If you are confused between the purpose

and tools in life, maybe the hidden slavery pushing from everywhere blinds you. Ultimately, the new

advertising strategy called ’Brand Loyalty’ handcuffs you invisibly, endangering your individuality even

as it enhances sustainability.

Remember, we owe a debt to the people who leave behind their luxury and comfort in order to pursue

higher purposes.  They use their power of will and determination. These frontier souls burn the fire

inside of them to stimulate humanity.  They show their strength, resisting distraction, overcoming

obstacles and destroying barriers.

These are the ones who put a stick in the wheel of fate.  They disorient its alignment.

Luxury & well-being can be unique tools in life, or they can be a trap.

FREEDOM

BE A DIOGENES RATHER THAN A CIRCUS MONKEY

Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, emphasized self-sufficiency and defined himself as a citizen of the

world.  Alexander the Great one day asked Diogenes if there was a favor Alexander could do for him.

Diogenes replied, “Stand out of my sun.”.

Later in life, Alexander declared, “If I were not Alexander, I would rather be Diogenes.”. Plato described

him as Crazy Socrates.

He was so minimalist that he reached a point where, after seeing a boy drinking from the hollow of his

hands, Diogenes threw his water cup and remarked, “Fool that I am, to have been carrying my

superfluous cup all this time!”  Freedom starts where you lose the fear of losing.

My approach is slightly different from those who, before me, compare the words ‘design’ and ‘crime’.

Today thank God, we are approaching to an era where being childish becoming popular.

Nobody wants to get old,

No body want to die before living the best life they can.

Today’s artist celebrates not Death

Being death at 27 is out

Being fit on 72 is in.

Now we are facing a generation accused of being shallow.

The inhabitants of the previous century celebrated quiet virtue, not showing their happiness.

Their belongings and achievements were not shared with the public view.

Their relationships suffered. Grief and sorrow accompanied mature wisdom.

Today, people are encouraged to show their lives to the masses.

They earn their living by the courage of showing their lives and advertising their confidence.

Today, it is certain that the mere survival of imminent death is not the focus any longer.

This was the focus of past ages.

Leadership of the masses today means living life to the fullest.

Sharing the good life with others as best you can, wins the applause and attention of the masses as we

approach the future boldly.

NOTHING BUT DEATH

Before the developments in medicine and science (the Industrial Revolution), life altogether dealt with

the inevitability of death.

Our despair attitude towards life is always highlighted with philosophies like ‘Memento Mori’

(Remember that we die),

‘Omnia Vanitas’ (all is futile) expresses the transience and temporariness of life.

Life after Death is well mentioned and creates the focus from literature to paintings.

(Dante’s Divine Comedy and Inferno were looks toward life after Earth)

By the developments and Industrial revolution, the focus of life changes dramatically as the

understanding transfers from death to life.

In the eighteenth century, there came the scene of the philosophy of Art.

Immanuel Kant influenced our understanding of beauty and aesthetics.

When first the philosophy of art began creation, Art was freed from the coffin to which it was stuck.

‘Art is for Art’

‘Art is for society’

Enlarge the meaning of Art and Life and carry them to another realm which is more abstract and

delicate.

The Spirit of art is saved from where it is stuck, and we set it free (as it still is in progress)

Even though art seems very real (think about the renaissance), it was not letting us reach the inner core.

The physical body was a mask and emotions are well hidden behind.

This questioning of art creates a breakthrough and the spirit releases itself from its body.

We move from the serene eye of Mona Lisa to Edward Munch.  His painting Scream depicts a person’s

inner thoughts.  The portrayed scream abstracts our inner being, which is screaming on behalf of all of

us.

Twentieth-century art is progressing on the conceptual level.

What Hegel defines as “the end of art”, is where black swans are welcomed, and is the beginning of

another thing.

Where you cannot think further, there occurs a turning point, or let’s say a wave, so things change in an

unexpected way.

Seeing a city from a distance at night gives the impression resembling the descent of the stars to the

Earth.

Yes, ‘City Lights’ is a magical concept that has already been a subject of Charlie Chaplin’s film.

Even though going out to dinner, after work, with friends, integrates with the cultural and

entertainment activities of the city, as a great suggestion in terms of socializing, the truth does not

match with the situation.

I am focusing on smart technologies in alignment with humanity, because if we use the tools technology

enables us, we may have the chance to eliminate the disruptions.

People are immigrating to cities, not to sit on top of concrete fields, but to have a chance in life. This can

only happen if we increase our consciousness towards nature and the environment.

INDUSTRIAL R-EVOLution

We have managed a big step in the democratization of Art and Design.  Mass production created

monotony and loneliness.  It brings its own psychological problems and contradictions.

MAN ON THE CORNER

The Royals’ families may still be privileged, but not like Pharaoh of Egypt, thought to be descended

from the bloodline of Gods.

It turned out that ordinary people possess the same essence. They have the power in their lives by the

invention of quantum physics. The eccentric quantum world has no distinction between me and you.

Power comes from within and can only be gained by perception and consciousness towards life.

Digitalization and the worldwide web distributed the sum total of collected knowledge to society.

The multiplying of knowledge, critical thinking, and democratization of art and design enables and

triggers people to understand their own value.

This democratization of the knowledge coming from quantum physics equalizes the power between the

man on the corner and the king.  Now they each can influence the world, as the queen does, which can

create a butterfly impact, by amplification over space and time.

This is the day of the man on the corner. Everybody is wondering about the thoughts of the ordinary

person.

The world has dramatically changed.  Attention has moved from society to the individual, and that is

the reality of today.

Culturally, look at the movies.  The number of superheroes, not just from the graphic novels, has

multiplied, turning into a crowded middle-class.

Remember Jiddu Krishnamurti, the chosen one, was expected to sacrifice his body and his life for the

reincarnation of Buddha.  And on that day this transition will take place; He quit this social function at

the last minute and walked away. Afterward, he wrote many books about the importance of the

individual and freedom.  This is demonstrated in his book titles including,  ‘You are the world’, ‘First

and last freedom’, and ‘Total Freedom’.

Remember Michael Jackson’s song Man In The Mirror and its lyrics:

”

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

The Change originates in the mind and hearth of an INDIVIDUAL.

RISE OF INDIVIDUALITY

Even if Krishnamurti stands up and walks away, Buddha certainly reincarnated in a conceptual

dimension years after 25 century of his physical death as he told so. He instilled a level of consciousness

into the world that we know as the 68 generations.

The flower children of the last century are now progressing as New Age, currently.

Individuality is a concept that the revolution of industry brings into our lives.  Individuality sets us free

from our obligatory connection with other people.

In the end, we all are born alone, we all die alone, but in between, we all live in a society.

There are times to be an individual and there are times to act with society; neither is more important.

We need to learn to be together, without being dependent.

WHAT IF

The spirit awakened in the 1970s can go deeper, the flower children’s level of consciousness can

spread through all nations and levels.

And if we had a world-class scientific leadership in the course of the industrial revolution, then we

would have seen the advent of global warming in the 1970s, and we would have allocated resources to

the world.

Then it wouldn’t be that hard to deal with the consequences. We’re probably at a stage where it’s

probably more expensive to save.

CAN DESIGN HELP US BALANCING THESE CONFLICTS CREATED?

Architecture is much more than the X Y Z plane.

Even if you design the most beautiful place in the world, you can not go there if it smells bad.

Place is both emotionally and logically the basis of humanity where you initiate your movement in life.

There are neuroscience and artificial intelligence nowadays becoming extremely popular.  These both

interact with all kinds of ambitions.

(interactive products have artificial intelligence and are sensor-enriched)

We are actually giving emotional reactions to our surroundings and now it is time to understand our

reaction to our surroundings.

From the very ancient times, the reasons for creating a place were physical and emotional support.

Over the years, visionaries attempted to discover mathematical proportions in the human body.

The Roman architect Vitruvius described the typical man, as a body inscribed in both a geometric circle

and square.

Leonardo da Vinci drew upon the Vitruvian Man with descriptions of relative proportions based upon

his actual measurements.

Le Corbusier further refined this long tradition by developing his Modulor. He reconciled the two

predominant measuring systems.  The historical imperial English yard, foot, and inch contrast the cold,

inhuman definition of the meter.

The meter definition has subsequently been, a fraction of the Earth’s circumference, a multiple of a

wavelength of light, or a fraction of the speed of light.

The foot was based on the foot.

We understood the codes of the physical side through the ages until now, with Vitruvius, DaVinci, and

Le Corbusier, among others.

All these were attempts to discover mathematical proportions in the human body in order to use that

knowledge to improve both the appearance and function of architecture.

But now it is time to understand the codes of emotional place.

EMOTIONAL PLACE.

Is there a common understanding of Place among us humans?

What is subjectivity?

These questions will be solved in the coming ages, as we are moving toward a Golden Age.

TILL NOW

If we examine the architecture we are constructing up until now, we see a building that does not always

communicate with us on another level. When we are in the industrial age, Le Corbusier uses the

analogy of the Machine and compares the House to a machine. Now that analogy is proving itself to the

fullest. We are trying to adapt to the Smart Home, the Smart home device, the Smart Building, and the

Smart City.  But do you really think the houses we are selling as Smart, are really smart enough?

The latest scientific knowledge of our times is used for explaining life.

And for analogies, in the industrial age, the brain and body are thought to be more like a machine.

But Machines do not foresee anything which has any emotion and communication skill.  They have the

on/off button and level of gear speed, and that’s it.

Now we are in the computer age.  We are comparing our brain and body, or cities, with the computer.

The computer is robotizing our industry, life, and constructions also. The 3D print is a good example of

it.

But still, we lack communication.

Next, we will be passing to the Quantum Age (and using quantum computers) where we will start to use

the analogy of brain and quantum mechanics. With the help of Neuroscience and artificial intelligence,

the machines, homes, buildings, and cities will begin to work like our extension.

Information City is an understanding of interactions between the components, and making the invisible

visible, by using the extension of information architecture on a city scale, to make better new city

designs.

Responsive cities are preparing to come to the scene.

We are now living in the information age. We collect a great amount of data, which needs to translate

and transform into knowledge.  When this knowledge is created, we will be passing toward responsive

cities and the

AGE OF SENSES.

When the knowledge comes forth from these smart city collections, then we will be able to understand

the pattern of cities.  Infrastructural jams can be distributed from the infrastructural pattern to the city

level.

Maybe much more dynamic, changeable, city plans we will see- where the patterns of cities will be

changed and arranged according to the necessary needs of that moment.

When this will be in a computer that will be driven by Artificial Intelligence, that kind of technology can

be used for the highest good of humanity. The entire city becomes an information organism. Data and

information that create knowledge when they come together, will lead us to responsive cities. The

information will count as one of the building components of the architecture in the near future.

Our senses are going to become an issue of science that needs to be interpreted.  They will be used as a

pivot which makes for data scientists – the fortune-tellers of the next decade.

Data-Science, Neuro-Science, Artificial Intelligence will merge to conceptualize architecture.  We will

understand nature much better, and what nature is with much deeper meaning. Biomimicry will drive

an understanding at more conceptual and deeper levels, which I am calling Conceptual Functioning,

meaning (“function beyond function beyond function and beyond… “).

AS ABOVE SO BELOW

Like the ventilation of a Sea Shell, it creates zero noise. Today what makes our cities and our civilization

stressful and stress-creating is because of the noise created by our computers to cars to our buildings

and factories and our airplanes.

The web silk strength of a spider, as strong as bulletproof vests, can be used in space habitats, especially

inflatable constructions.

Termite mounds create small gaps in the façade to manage ventilation, but the air conditioning engines

outside our buildings is the bottom line of visual noise.

Nature is wise and achieves its evaluation in billions of years.

Nature is alive, it is omnipotent, it is what is called Anima Mundi, the “world soul”, connecting all.   It

creates even the smallest amount of consciousness. It does not create dirt, it does not create noise.

Everything nature does has a purpose, and so what is our civilization?

We need to understand before we consume it.

We are at the very beginning of understanding nature.

Sense architecture will open another realm where our senses and our architecture will begin to be much

more meaningful in the coming centuries.

SCIENTIFICATION OF ARCHITECTURE

BLACK MONOLITHS

The first stage is the invention of Perspective by the Italian Renaissance architect, Filippo Brunelleschi, who invented the connection between the worlds that stand there and my perception.  Perspective is a system that combines and organizes two things into one.

And the second stage is neuro-science, sensor technology, data analyzing and artificial intelligence merging them into architecture.

So we can move on a higher ground

Today our civilization is an energy vampire, consuming, and we are the consumers.   We are the passive elements in nature, like the moon, but we need to become more like the sun.  We need to radiate energy to ourselves and our environment.

Our civilization is leaving only concrete ruins with no meaning at all.

The first thing we need to get an idea of is cables. We look like we are killed by Jack the Ripper. The number of blood vessels in our body circles the world several times, while my computers’ wires mess my house with their sight.

Our anxiety towards artificial intelligence or these Technologies is now unnecessary.  We humans are already living in nature, which is much more clever than we are, and we manage to survive. The natural disaster happens when you resist the natural forces against which you can never win. And it shouldn’t be forgotten, the atomic bomb  that caused the greatest harm to humanity, is a man-made product.

We should be avoiding from the hand that pushes the bottom of that bomb.

MOSES AND MAGIC WAND

The reason why I wrote all this, is to give a road map for the future,

We humans have been living with our tools and instruments since the first walking stick (a Wand) has

been made. Notice, later this initial task was raised to magical levels in stories.

We have come a long way.  By discovering the covered.  By constructing places impossible.  By surviving

under all the conditions we have been.

To the extent that all of the developments I have described above continue, the path of structuring in

space will be opened. We will be keen on structuring  beyond earth in space as far as our technologies

will progress.

We first step backwards to underwater and take our speed by the knowledge we gain and jump a way head to stars.

As we are the children of the Sun