I have heard opposing viewpoints. 

Some people think creativity happens when a group of brilliant young people bounce ideas off one another in zany bright-coloured open workspaces. My mind is conjuring up images of Google people accomplishing amazing Google things. 

Some people think creativity sparks, sooner or later, if persistent focused effort is performed under well-defined scientific testing. Now, I’m picturing Edison and his people exhaustively going through those 5,000 [or was it 10,000] failures before they found the solution to incandescent lighting.

Some people believe solitary efforts in seclusion, silence, and stillness are the routes to creative intelligence. Elmer R. Gates comes to mind…this self-proclaimed psychologist and prolific inventor was sought out and  paid to sit for ideas and he achieved such success sitting for ideas he impressed Napoleon Hill [author of the classic, ‘Think And Grow Rich’].

Some people think creativity is closely linked to if not the result of personal suffering: whether physical in form or emotional or mental. Examples of creative people who have suffered include Gandhi, Van Gogh, Mandela, Beethoven, Lincoln, and pretty much all the great poets…and, of course, I better include Jimmy Morrison or I will later feel remiss. 

All that considered – 

How does structure fit in?

While there is no question – the environments for creativity vary considerably and the personalities of creative people vary considerably…and there are many different routes that lead to creativity – the question remains, does creativity crave structure?

What does your personal experience tell you?

Think about performing at your creative best…how did you get there?

Do you have flashes of intuition/genius…how do they arise…what was happening before they ‘hit you’?

Do you set aside time to be creative...if you do, do you ‘plan and structure things’ prior to beginning to spend that time?

PS: A year or so ago, after a great deal of deliberation, I changed one of my personal values from 'Creativity' to 'Curiosity'. I wonder if that gives away my answer to the title question.