On Saturday, we had a pot luck dinner at Louise's back porch - and as usual everyone outdid themselves and cooked too much food. There was an American lady in her 70s, Christine who spent 3 years in Kuching in 1973-6 - she was amazed at the food; Vietnamese wraps, fish curry, and dodol (which she loved). After the dinner, she wondered aloud 'how does Louise do this? to have people bring in food for dinner, and then wash up and pack up and leave everything spotless?'.
'There is an App' I told her.
Our American friend, Louise* has been in Kuching for quite a number of years now, and has picked up some local customs such as the one where food containers (which previously had in them meals for her) were returned with a token of appreciation; usually fruits or sweets. We received this gift of Polish coffee cake, with a note explaining its drawbacks due to the lack of a certain ingredient; butter. Some might say if you don't have enough butter then don't make cake. But I see a slightly different mindset - getting things done is better than waiting for a perfect opportunity.
Designers face this problem constantly - waiting for that perfect idea before presenting their scheme, which almost never comes before the deadline. It is better to launch the initial ideas and thoughts in their infancy and see if they take root. There are several immediate benefits:
1. it takes the pressure off, and it releases you to have more (and better) ideas.
2. your team members can 'see' what is on your mind, and help to review and comment.
3. your client (or tutor if you are a student) knows that although this might not be the final scheme, you are making progress.
4. He can then review with his team and provide feedback which will shape the scheme, and make him part of the design team/process.
The Polish coffee cake? As predicted it was a little dry and needed more time to chew and wash down with cups of coffee - perfect for a long journey out of town on a budget airline for the Borneo Architectural Festival (BAF).
*names have been changed to protect our friendship
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