The Plan

Tom Vigar

There is a mental disconnect between plans on paper and their consequences in  reality. On paper there is a trend to make plans more efficient; to cut out waste,  to rationalise and align. The eventual conclusion of this trend will be that the  majority of Architects will lose their jobs to algorithms unless they fundamentally  change what they offer and how they articulate this offering. This studio is primarily concerned with a critique of plans, the process of  their creation and their purpose in the creation of architecture. The plan is the principal theatre where the balance between function  and experience is realised and committed to, yet it is fundamentally lacking in  methods to demonstrate experience. We consider what drives the thinking  behind plans being the way they are. How connected with the experience of the  user is this process? Given the environmental state of the world, should plans be  efficient? We look at historical classics to understand the priorities of previous generations and consider how is this different from today? We focus on circulation, its functions and role in creating a series of experiences. We  investigate the effects that computers are and will continue to have on the creation of plans as a studio. We form individual agendas in order to critically react to all these trajectories.