Design and Translation

                There is a very important connection between these two word and our lives that we might think of. The definition of the word design is, to de-sign or we can say that it means to detach ourselves from away from the sign itself. So the question will be what is a sign? For me a sign is like a system created in order to organize our lives and make it quite easier for all of us. The sign’s job is to simplify and represents s things in a more international way, we could say that sign simply make us notice and understand thing quick. One of the most effective examples will be a painting of a pipe from Rene Magritte. The painting simple show us a picture of a pipe, this is when the question comes to our minds that what is it? We would say that it is a pipe but little did we know that it’s not what we think, it is NOT a pipe, but it’s actually a picture of a pipe. The picture represent how signage affects us in our daily lives, it changes how we see things into a more automatic response.

                In architecture there are also something similar to the painting of a pipe as well. There are many architects who understand this concept of signs and then adapt the concept into the buildings. We can see that many buildings such as the Seagram building which built with steel I-beam on a plain sight are using the concept of signs. The reason why these buildings choose to show the materials that usually be hidden is because it is not just a material but it is also a sign. Those structures are signs of functions, which tell us about the background of the construction.  

                Now after we understand about signs, we need to know about translation, which is the way that we can detach our mind from the system and started to analyze by ourselves rather than just follow the system that we were born into. The concept of translation allows us to think beyond the automatic thoughts in our daily life. It can be explain in a very simple way by using shapes. Let say that we have a picture of a pentagon shape, I assume that most of us would interpreted the picture as a house, the simple shaped house that we used to draw when we are young yet, already programmed by signs. This is when architects tried to change how the translation works by create buildings that will redefined the old house shape.

                In the lecture, there is a house that got the inspiration from this pentagon house, the architect choose to represent a new definition to it by creating it into an exact shape of a pentagon house but the tricks are this building has be elevated above the ground, slightly shift windows and door from the position and yet the most interesting thing about this, an entrance that located underneath the structure. The house is using the same shape but yet created in a whole new definition for us to translate. We can see that this is a great example of how translation can be used to redefined and transform buildings into something new beyond the system.