Sir Ken Robinson Addresses the Intelligence of Being Creative at Grassroots 2007
Robinson espouses creativity as applied imagination; advises asking “What If?”

by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

Summary: Can architects learn creativity? Sir Ken Robinson, expert on creativity in education and business, says yes. Robinson led a U.K. initiative called “The Arts in Schools Project” from 1985–’89, and in 1998 was appointed by the British government to chair England’s National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education. At Grassroots 2007, Robinson told AIA members that he believes creativity is applied imagination, which in turn can be applied to innovative and intelligent architecture.

Robinson, who began his presentation with a series of comedic flourishes, got serious when talking about creativity, intelligence, and innovation—and how it all ties together for architects. “Creativity is applied imagination—putting it to work,” stressed Robinson. “Imagination is the most important feature in architecture, and we take it for granted.”

Imagination is the most important feature in architecture, and we take
it for granted

Robinson pointed out that imagination is the capacity to picture, visualize, and conceive visually and verbally. “To put together combinations, this is the imagination of form—to hypothesize and speculate and put together a model from combinations. Creativity is the capacity to bring to mind those things that are not present and ask, ‘What if?’ Hypothesizing and creativity are the same process.” With imagination and creativity comes innovation, Robinson added. “Innovation is putting that creativity into practice based on something that you are interested in.”

But always temper your creative judgment, he recommends, with intelligence. “The three keys of intelligence to use are objective truth, rational process, and empirical validation.”

Misconceptions about creativity
There are several common misconceptions about creativity, says Robinson. “The first is that people think only special people are creative. We are all born, however, with creative capacities, but they drift away. We all have creative capacities by virtue of being human. The second misconception is that creativity is only about specific things, like design and advertising. But, anything under the compass of human imagination is creative. The third is that there is nothing much you can do. I believe you can cultivate creativity.” Robinson used ecology as an analogy. “The garden doesn’t make a flower grow, but you can create a climate where it will flourish, making sure that there is growth.”

I believe you can cultivate creativity

Imagination, creativity needed for a cultural revolution
Asking the possibilities pertaining to the built environment is “the foundation of the new culture” due to increased population growth, according to Robinson. “It is a palpable revolution. The population is outnumbering that of any past generation in any period of history. We can’t predict the next 50 years but the challenges will be hard to establish. Your profession is on the front line as this gathering increases around the Earth in greater clusters.”

Robinson had three propositions—based on imagination, creativity, and innovation—for AIA architects about meeting the changing, growing built environment:

• “Don’t take things for granted. Many things that we take for granted are not true, or may not be true for much longer. Recognize that as architects you are engulfed in this revolution. With digital technology, the world is becoming more complex. But people are failing to recognize that this is a revolution like the industrial revolution. Essentially, all that the AIA has learned in the last 150 years may not be enough.”
• “Meet this revolution.” It is vital that you get a sense of this new agenda. Children starting school now will be retiring about 2070. While nobody knows what the world will look like then, your profession is one of the key players in shaping the world in which we will live.
• “Behave and act differently. Do not have a limited view of your creative capacity. Think differently about the nature of your resources. Use your imagination. It is the most important feature in architecture. Use imagination and creativity … ask, “‘what if?’ Think outside the current algorithm and challenge what you take for granted in your profession.” Robinson added that architects need to “cultivate the creativity of everyone in your organization, not only the creative departments,” emphasizing that “we all can be innovative and creative.”

Rely on intelligence, concluded Robinson. “Intelligence is distinct—we all have a relevant sense that is diverse, dynamic, and distinct.”