To be different is what architects that achieved notoriety says when describing their projects. It is the aim of what they hope to do and accomplish. It's also why their lectures are usually less inspiring that anticipated. Typically organised linearly with pictures and drawings of their design. The simple fact is, it is precisely because of their visual difference that we recognised their work in the first place. Therefore as an audience we go to the lecture to be enlightened by a narrative, to discover a revelation of a rigorous process, perhaps an unique methodology. But instead we learned about intuition, a particular feeling to react, an eureka moment, and we hear the use of metaphors. Therefore we leave the lecture room knowing nothing more than when we entered 60 minutes prior.
But like all things in life there is a positive side to it. Mr. Fujimoto revealed to us, when responding to a question from the audience, that during the seven years of inactivity between his graduation from Tokyo University and the inception of his firm in 2000, he was 'thinking'. He was, as he described a shy and young person without much confidence. He worried about being rejected by two of his heros, Ito and Sejima. Two people with whom he wanted to work for but never applied. It wasn't until when he received the second prize in a competition that Ito wrote in an essay about Fujimoto's work that he discovers his confidence. This was an encouraging confession useful in future desk crits.
