ABSTRACT
The exercise required students to communicate in two ways: to internalize the program through the making of the photomontage and then to communicate the intended "atmosphere" of the project. However, the beginning processes of thinking and making as it occurs in the design studio are not often open for discussion or "made common." Beginning design studio instruction often emphasizes the practical lessons of design at the expense of the "idea," which for many students is a highly indeterminate portion of the creative design process. The two design exercises presented are examples of creative thinking through the neuro-mechanics of top-down and bottom-up processing, which positively changes the strength and depth of neural connections. As explained by Goran Schmidt, Aalto was relaying the "determining factors of architectural design" that were "anchored deep in the human psyche". Thus, the work of architectural design is both physical and mental.
