Architecture uses the diagram as one of its main instruments. But what if we underestimate what that instrument is capable of. In many disciplines, diagrams are not just used to visualize ideas, but also to navigate ambiguity, and give space for new directions. In architecture, however, they too often appear only at the end, polished, controlled and explanatory. 

Recently, during the presentation of a friend’s musicology thesis on film scoring and thematic ambiguity, I realised how narrow my own perspective had been. Her diagrams were not there to showcase her findings; they were tools to search with. It raised a question: why do diagrams in architecture so often end up as explanations rather than explorations? 

Looking beyond architecture may help to find those possibilities. By examining how other disciplines use diagrams, we might be able to rethink its role within the design process. 

 

Diagrams in other disciplines

In other disciplines we see diagrams in a different take. An interesting example of one that is asking for creative intervention is the circle of fifths, coming from the field of music theory. 

This is one of the earliest known illustrations of the circle of fifths. It comes from the book “Der General-Bass in der Composition” written by Johann David Heinichen in 1711. It is an older version of the circle of fifths we know nowadays. This diagram has become such a foundational part of music theory that it is everywhere.

The circle of fifths is a diagrammatic model of the tonal world: it exposes the relations between tonal centres/musical keys. It does not merely describe a composition, but it maps potential direction. By navigating through related and distant tonal centres, a composer can construct tension, release and narrative in their music. The diagram is not a summary or an explanation of music theory but rather an instrument for making decisions.

Diagrams can also be used in a somewhat directional sense. Take for example choreography, where diagrams are used to explore ideas and at the same time explain them to the dancer. 

 

Diagram for gesture dance

Here we see a diagram made for gesture dance by Oskar Schlemmer in 1926. He was a part of the Bauhaus movement and a constructivist, this diagram is made for a Triadisches ballet. 

Another example within choreography is a more like a notation system, almost comparable with musical notation but in a more diagrammatic way.

 

Laban’s diagrammatic notation

This is a Laban notation, it was invented by the Hungarian choreographer Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958). Although Laban's ethical history is debated, his invention of notation was disruptive within modern and contemporary dance.

These two examples diagrams work as instructions for the performer, but at the same time provide compositional abilities through their graphic appearance. The other way around also seems possible. 

 

Fase, a resultant diagram

An image taken from a choreographic performance called Fase by Anne Terese de Keersmaeker, the dance is performed on Violin Phase composed by Steve Reich.

The choreography leaves behind the resulting image seen above, it is in some way interpretable as a diagram as it strips the dance to an abstract form. The choreography is free and minimal, as she states herself “To dance like a child.” It is interesting how this shows the ambiguity of the concept of the diagram, and when it seems to be rather explanatory than an exploration.

 

Diagrammatic concepts from the middle ages

Some, even older diagrams can be incredibly beautiful. Back in the Middle Ages the diagrams were often used in a different manner. For example, they used diagrams to try and predict future religious events, or to give ideas and stories an extra layer. 

A famous example is the Nine Circles of Hell from Dante’s Divina Comedia. Dante was thinking diagrammatically; rather than describing sin narratively, he organised it spatially. Even though he did not draw the famous visual. He managed to order the connection between unknown space and morality through text. This shows an interesting take: that a diagram does not need to be a visual explanation. 

A visual chart of the 9 circles of hell described by Dante made by Sandro Botticelli between 1480-90.

If diagrams have historically structured religion, morality and cosmology, how does architecture position itself within that lineage?

One office that has explicitly engaged with the cultural history of diagrams is OMA, founded by Rem Koolhaas. AMO, the research branch of OMA, assembled an extensive collection of diagrams for their exhibition at the Fondazione Prada during the Venice Architecture Biennale. The exhibition revealed diagrams as instruments that have structured religion, science and politics for centuries. Yet what was presented there as a cultural archive often still remains in architectural practice a communicative device. The diagram does not actually need to be an explanation, it could directly be a designed form. 

 

Diagrams directly as art and design

This is a poster designed by Willem Crouwel for a Beethoven concert, the red lines drawn by Rachel Haggerty expose the diagram laying underneath the design. 

 

This is an artwork: “Section of the Century Calendar”, a diagram directly presented as art by Hanne Darboven. She was one of the most influential figures in post war German conceptual art.

 

Diagrams can be bold and used directly. In art it is less necessary to explain with reason, things can be done without needing a clear explanation. It creates a freedom in the diagrams. 

 

To Diagramize 

The examples discussed going from music theory to choreography and from medieval cosmology to contemporary art, show that diagrams can do more than explain. They can guide decisions, structure movement, and open up ways of thinking that are not yet fully formed. In many disciplines, the diagram is not the end of a process, but part of how that unfolds.

Perhaps architecture does not need more diagrams, but a different attitude towards them. If we allow diagrams to remain exploratory rather than merely explanatory, they might become less about presenting certainty and more about exploring possibility.

 

Sources:

Diagrams. (z.d.). OMA. https://www.oma.com/projects/diagrams 

Globe-Dancer, V. T. L. A. P. C. N. (2018, 18 juni). Writing the movement. Globe-Dancer. https://globedancer.wordpress.com/2018/06/17/ecrire-le-mouvement-2/

Heinsius, J. (1908). Der Generalbass-in-der-Komposition: Eine theoretisch-praktische Anleitung (p. 836). Friedrich Hofmeister. https://archive.org/details/dergeneralbassin00hein/page/836/mode/2up 

Schlemmer, O. (1926). Diagram for Gesture Dance [Tekening]. WikiArt. https://www.wikiart.org/en/oskar-schlemmer/diagram-for-gesture-dance-1926 

Stahl, A. (z.d.). Auktionshaus Stahl. Auktionshaus Stahl Hamburg. 

https://www.auktionshaus-stahl.de/en/article/61014-hanne-darboven-section-of-the-century-calender

Tate. (2010, 19 juli). Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, “Dance Can Embody Abstract Ideas” | Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/anne-teresa-de-keersmaeker-0/anne-teresa-de-keersmaeker-fase

“Rudolf Laban icosahedron, 1939.” Online Archive of California (finding aid). Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, CA.

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0t1nc9dc

Whittle, M. (z.d.). Diagrams from the Dark Ages: Glimpses in to the workings of the medieval mind. Michael Whittle. https://www.michael-whittle.com/diagrams/diagrams-from-the-dark-ages-glimpses-in-to-the-workings-of-the-medieval-mind