Psychoanalytic Understanding of Unsaturated Questionsand the Analytic Field in the Design Process

In architecture, a teaching relationship is based on one person being devoted to the growth in the other. By looking at the discipline of psychoanalysis and the relationship between psychoanalyst and analysand we are better able to understand how particular aspects of teaching methods and the working relationship between student and teacher might be enriched. The exchange between analyst and analysand is a journey of discovery aimed at increasing self-awareness and acquiring the ability to become autonomously self-aware. The analogies between this model and the quest to find best methods to guide the emerging designer hold much potential. By looking at the concept of unsaturated questions and the analytic field we see how they might inform the design studio process and working alignment. An unsaturated question is an invitation by the analyst for the analysand to reflect and imagine without suggesting any direction they should take – neither stating that something is true nor validating its correctness. In the design studio, the instructor’s unsaturated question fosters a designer’s mind, stimulating inquiry but also delaying uncertainty, relying on the student to find answers from within. We see clinicians advocate in different ways for expanding the analysand’s thinking, imagining, and feeling. In our students, we in turn see how to expand the same capacities as well as self-observation via an appreciation for process knowledge. In this technique, the therapist must wait for new ideas to emerge. It is essential that the analyst (or teacher) watch, listen, wait, and not be seduced into “working too hard” for, or in lieu of, the patient (or student) doing this themselves. By looking at unsaturated questions and the analytic field we are offered a model for interactions with emerging designers to equip them to think analytically and creatively and seek their unique, authentic voice.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.112.57

Volume Editors
Germane Barnes & Blair Satterfield

ISBN
978-1-944214-45-6