Every architectural project gives us the opportunity to tell a story, composed of the thoughts and ideas we have as we draw and construct a building. It is written in the process of the making and becomes an implicit substance of the architecture, filling the spaces with meaning. It may tell us about the site the building stands on or transport us to a foreign place. It may rationalize the mundane functions that the building inhabits or elevate them into something glorious. It may demonstrate the raw character of industrial materials or relate the refined craft from a different time.
Whether in the transformation of an existing building or in a ground-up construction, each task allows us to experiment and rewrite the history of making architecture. A good story need not start at its beginning. It can be understood differently by every reader. And it will even be reinterpreted by the same reader at different times, in different moods. It will unfold new meanings, no matter its age or how often it has been read. Ultimately, we want each design to be a story about the love for architecture. It can be uplifting, perhaps mysterious, sometimes tragic, but also funny. And it should never be boring, even if it is a long novel, or maybe just a short story.