What can make people understand each other? What can be used for communication to understand other’s thinking? Language is the important tool for communication even it is body language, spoken language, written language, pictorial language or etc. I just wonder is there any real universal language that everyone can understand. Even the international language like English, the language that is set to be business international language that used worldwide, can’t effectively use to communicate with people who can’t speak English. Arabic language, the language of Qur’an, is the universal language for every Muslims, but not for everyone. The point that I want to tell you is the translation. We live in the translated world, we can’t live without the translation. To understand other people , we have to translate because we have the boundary of self-identity , age , gender , nationality , education , religion and other factors. These factors create the frame of our communication and perception.
The inspiration of this topic comes from praying Buddhist monk. They pray in Pali and Sanskrit language. I totally not understand , but I know it has some good meanings and good purpose. From this point I found that translation is necessary if I want to understand others. I didn’t mean the translation between languages only, I meant translation between A and B in every ways. Although we speak the same language, it doesn’t mean that I can understand what you are saying. What you understand is not equal to what I say, it’s from the lecture about the trace, how you understand is not the same as what I understand ,trace can be changed due to person who make it. It’s like layer of tracing paper that you put on and trace only the information that you get or understand. The information on that tracing paper will not be the same as original.
Be closer to our profession. As we are designer, design concept is the important thing in the design project. It can make the project more valuable, but everyone know that it is fiction. However we try to put this concept into space to make the space more valuable , remarkable or notable. The key thing is the user, do they ever perceive what we sent? Do they understand the concept we put in? If the answer is yes, the designer hit the goal , can make the user realize the concept even it is the fiction. How about if the answer is no, It means that your design language is not translated to be understand. To be successful designer is all about translation.
About this building, VPRO building by MVRDV , It is the office building for public broadcasting corporation. There are lots of strategies behind design process like continuation of landscape, contact with outdoor , compact space ,and etc. I don’t know that the users realize these spatial qualities or not. However, users have their own perception of this place. The concept may not be perceived as it is designed for, it can be changed by the person who perceive it.
Translation is also related to simulation. Simulation leads our perception to translate something to be as real as possible like model both 3d and physical one. Model is used for simulating what is it going to be , but it doesn’t mean that others will translate it as designer did. For example , Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas city , USA by Steven Holl Architects, the model is not like the real building in term of the pattern of material. It can cause the problem because translation of what they saw, designer and users, is not the same.
From what I have mentioned , meaning is various by the translator , media ,and other factors. Like the word ‘pharmakon’ , it have two meanings , medicine and poison. It is ambivalent. Translation is the process between these two or more than two choices of meaning. In term of perception, translation is happened to shape each person’s perception.
For all who love watching foreign movie, sometimes movie subtitle is more important than the movie itself in both conscious and unconscious way. You may pay attention to the subtitle instead of what is shown on the screen. Why?? Because it is the translation, the key thing to make you understand the movie. It is the power of translation, to make you understand something more , and sometimes important than the original information itself.
Translation is not A or B or anything but the process between. It is vary by each person , It can change from A to B or to anything but not one of them. The value of the result of translation is also vary up to the original source and receiver. The result can be invaluable or just another fiction. It can make the secret the same way as revealing. It can shape one’s perception because everything needs translation to define itself in our mind even it is translated to be the same as original or not. All of what we perceived is passed through the translation, so do not ignore the power of translation. Keep translating, we are in the age of information.
