My World as Inspirational research

You as Your Research Ever thought of yourself as the site of your next project? I did the first time I realized that my own life—my beliefs, memories, and daily rhythms—could fuel design ideas. Instead of scouring regulations or analyzing urban charts, I turned inward. My intuition, my stories, and even my dreams became the raw material for architecture.

Embracing Inner Landscape We learn to study wind patterns or soil tests but rarely pause to examine our own emotional climates. I began asking: what do I feel when I wake before dawn, when I laugh with friends, or when I sense quiet in an empty room? Those textures—the pulse of excitement, the calm of solitude—are as valid as any site analysis. They hold clues to forms and atmospheres I’d never find on a map.

Intuitive Writing and Sketching To capture that inner world, I turned to two simple tools: writing and sketching without judgment. I start with a prompt, like “love is,” then I let my pen fly. Love is a ribbon of warmth across cold stone. Love is gathering under a shared blanket of light. I don’t pause to edit; I pour out whatever rises. Then I swap that first word for “space”—space is a ribbon of warmth, space is a blanket— and suddenly I see architecture emerging from my own emotions.

From Words to Spaces One morning I wrote “love is a blanket.” In the next line I wrote “space is a blanket.” In my mind’s eye that folded fabric became a vaulted shelter, its folds guiding light and movement. I photographed a cozy throw draped over my chair, then sketched directly onto my phone, tracing where windows might peek through and where people might gather. That spontaneous exercise gave me a plan far richer than any formulaic diagram.

The Blanket Experiment By zooming in on the blanket’s weave, I uncovered patterns for screens, openings, and seating. Each crease suggested a path, each fringe a column. When I built a quick model, I saw how the “blanket” could cloak an urban plaza, inviting strangers to sit together and share warmth—both physical and emotional. All this from one line of intuitive writing.

Your Role in Creation In this process you become both researcher and research. You are the map, the site, and the builder. Your fears, ambitions, and joys guide every decision. When I ask myself daily, “What do I want to change in the world?” I find fresh answers in my own story. That question led me to design a tea tent in the heart of a city, where strangers share a cup and momentary home under a simple canopy.

Designing for Connection When you root architecture in your inner landscape, it gains purpose beyond form. It becomes a bridge between your soul and others’. A joyful memory transforms into a community hub. A childhood corridor becomes a path toward healing. By making yourself the source of research, you invite buildings to carry your voice into the world—and to change it, one authentic gesture at a time.

Next time you stare at a blank page, remember: you are its richest site. Let your life be the research, your intuition the compass, and watch how architecture springs to life from the depths of who you are.

autoethnography in design, personal research methods, architecture and identity, reflective design, you as your own inspiration, creativity from within, inner world and creative process, moshe katz