The first image brought to mind when doing word association with the word "time" is... clock. Symbolically, the clock face is something recognised ubiquitously in society. Why, one of the first things we are taught at school is how to tell the time. We need to delve into the function and meaning behind the clock -and perhaps more specifically time- especially if I am to begin constructing a design solution for someone known only as "The Timeman". Who is this character? Is their life purposed only with managing the forward motion of time? Is it just to maintain all of the smaller, inner mechanical workings of a clock that create something larger than the sum of it's parts? This is what I need to contemplate. Obviously, we all use a clock to- you guessed it- tell the time! Because despite the best efforts of Hollywood to tell us otherwise, time has an endless forward-moving momentum. What is done cannot be undone. And so, because the amount of time in the day is never long enough, we use the clock as tool to track and organise our lives around the revolution of Earth around The Sun. In our daily lives, we experience this in the timeless ritual of the rising and setting of The Sun. Just as it is cyclical in nature, so to is the clock face.
Thus, I bet it is safe to assume that my client -"The Timeman"- will require a design language that wholly encompasses this cyclical ritual. Perhaps this occurs in the form of a perfect circle? Maybe elements of the design will act as a sundial of sorts, where the inhabitant will always be able to track the movement of The Sun no matter where they are. Hence, the permeability of the building's skin, or it's ability to let light through will be a crucial aspect (more so than usual) to consider within the design phase.
Hmmm, I think this leaves more questions than answers...
