A collection of photography and words based on the interests of an Architectural Assistant.
I aim to inspire and entertain with writings of all things creative.
Assemble Studio's design for Limborough Gardens, images from assemblestudio.co.uk
Collages made up of both photo-realistic and sketchy elements, a fun series of images, playful and conceptual yet they still give an idea of how the gardens will slot into the estate. This is a community project, which is aiming to provide residents with enjoyable spaces to cherish and develop.
It seems these days there are a number of different ways to fill out our drawings, we have a licence to express ourselves and be free in the way we represent space. In this post I would like to share some of the ways artists and architects alike have used human forms to create a new dimension within their work.
Competition winner SANAA, design for a Budapest museum, images from dezeen.com
These images are a mixture of rendered and photo-realistic elements. The people are almost drawn as a series of ants, the wider landscape and the connection to the rest of the city is the focal point. Each public building relies heavily upon it's footfall and from these representations I can gauge the significance of the museum's civic presence in Budapest.
At times I have struggled to understand what I want to show, how I will create it and what the eventual outcome will look like. I have dabbled with painting, sketching, model-making, screen-printing and now rendering too. Over the past few weeks, the topic of best representing my ideas in a 3D image has been resonating on my mind. I have been creating a number of spatial representations for my professional work and it is now that I am understanding what I do and don't like. Forming projects in BIM software has helped and I cannot recommend it enough as you can move through a model, place it into context and select the most relevant views.
Herzog and De Meuron's design for a library in Israel,
images taken from dezeen.com
These representations are atmospheric, detailed and bright. The reflections, the green in the foreground and the cutout people enhance the views of this building, each image appears to be light and evocative.
Some of us have little input into the design of architectural space, so graphic is everything. We control the colour palette we utilise, the style we create and the layering of textures, activities and ofcourse the people we include. This sometimes means we watch hours of tutorials to achieve those desired effects!
A photomontage between old and new, it almost looks real!
Royal Academy of the Arts Masterplan, David Chipperfield Architects
The best way to sell our scheme is to create images and drawings filled with scenography. We evoke emotion, we set the scene and create the beginnings of a new place through these images. It helps to imagine how one may make best of use a new gallery, courtyard, public square, entrance or home extension if we show people doing everyday things.
Retail design and display proposal for the V&A museum by Bureau de Change.
A montage of silhouettes and forms, this style leaves much to the imagination., particularly for a project which is designed as an installation against a backdrop of something more permanent. Alternatively when the proposal has not been finalised, this is also a good technique to employ.
The placement of human figures in our drawings, presents a sense of scale. We immediately grasp how it would feel to be that person, walking through that park, gallery or wherever else the artist is taking you.
Brent Civic Centre, WWM, images taken from pinterest.com
Human Rights Action Centre by WWM. A variation of collages and sketches created by Witherford Watson Mann. I enjoy the use of line, colour and opacity in these drawings. The images are exciting and break free from the norm of creating renderings of buildings which may or may not ever come into fruition.
London Almshouse, a project based upon sociability for the elderly, WWM. An animate and vivid drawing, which captures the earthy tones of the view, with layering of shadows, trees, objects and ofcourse people. Ironically this image has a youthfulness about it.
But hang on a minute...which person should I use in my drawing? Should it be an animate figure, an outline, a silhouette or a cutout, the list continues as we are forever evolving our drawing styles. I am sure we all know what we do and don't like graphically, so that's part and parcel of the selection process. We know if something is too obtrusive, distracting or too loud against the backdrop of our projects, so this aids the process. What do we aim to achieve from this image? It truly varies from practice to practice and person to person, do we want to create a photo-realistic effect, is it more of an artistic collage or is it rendered down to a tee?
And a few more...
Kvosin Hotel, DRDH Architects. The building, the figures in the public square, grass and the
sky are painterly, each element is part of this beautiful composed view.
School in Riaz, TEd'Arquitectes. I particularly like the colour palette, textured graphic
and the hot air balloons in the distance!
Baptist Church, Allies and Morrison. A sketchy and colourful set of figures blend into the streetscape.
8th Street Market, AHMM. This scheme is for the re-purposing of an underused warehouse. There is a clarity to the visualisation, the people are using the space as a backdrop to their daily lives.
I hope you enjoyed flicking through the images on this post today, if you have any comments then please do contact me and do not forget to follow and share! All the best guys!
I have made a two part travel diary from my recent trip to India and Dubai, the first installment focuses upon my time in Punjab. I made the video primarily as a means of condensing all of the footage I gathered during my holiday, some shots were taken using my new GoPro Hero 5 camera - hence why I got a little camera happy! Other footage has been captured on phones and cameras - anything I could get my hands on to be honest! It is the first time I have attempted such a diary so it is by no means perfect, but I hope it inspires you to travel, to capture and be creative!
Villa Mairea, Alvar Aalto, taken from Archdaily.com
Last week we saw the anniversary of Finnish Architect, Alvar Aalto. As one of the key figures of mid-century Modernism, we all know and appreciate much of his work. It was the Villa Mairea I first came across in my earliest years of architectural study. Aalto's use of materials, understanding of form, spatial awareness and also the way in which he responds to the site are all important things to take away from his key projects.
Aalto has softened the boundary between what is built and what is natural, there is an overlap
between the man-made building and its surrounding natural landscape. Image taken from Archdaily.com
The details are works of art in themselves, Image taken from Archdaily.com
Aalto's portfolio of work resonates a strong sense of sensitivity towards organic forms and the incorporation of natural materials. In contrast to this however, I was surprised to learn of Aalto's extraordinary relationship with brick, whilst reading Phaidon's "Brick", written by Dan Cruickshank and William Hall. I was particularly intrigued by the Experimental House, Finland, 1952-1954.
The Experimental House, image taken from mlmarquitectos.com
The name of this project is as literal as it's function. Aalto used this house as a test for performance of bricks in a harsh environment, with varying joints, bonds and finishing. His use of brick is unusual and exciting, it breathes life into an everyday material in a way we have not seen before. The rich colour of the brick sets itself apart from its deep green surroundings and the material itself flows down the wall and across the ground.
A red brick opening in the woodland, the Experimental House, mlmarquitectos.com
Aalto was a craftsman with a strong sense of design, he also dabbled with art, textiles, light fittings and furniture design. He designed a number of public buildings and his use of materials is particularly playful in some of the interiors he created.
A series of waves floating above the space, Viipuri City Library, Russia, 1933-1935
Council Chamber, Saynatsalo Town Hall, Finland, 1949-1952, Image from Archdaily.com
Riola Parish Church, Grizzana, Italy, Image taken from Archdaily.com
And to finish I just had to share one of Aalto's extraordinary chairs! Image taken from design-technology.org
I hope I have brought some architectural delight to your day and you have enjoyed this post! I'll try to keep them coming! Thanks for reading.
As the first year of the Journal of the Almost Architect comes to an end and another begins, I have been considering the topics I have most enjoyed, researching and writing about. Although it is hard to pick a favourite, I have discovered the importance of being creative and having fun within the fields of architecture and design. I have tried to discover and interpret works of different scales and types. There have been physical interventions within the public realm that have caught my attention. I have investigated the wonders of both natural and man-made environments. I will continue to share and to discover what I find interesting along my journey as an almost Architect.
Image taken from HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/SALT_EVAPORAT...
Ik-Joong Kang's Floating Dreams Image taken from Totally Thames website
Ik- Joong Kang, one of South Korea's most famous and celebrated multimedia artists has come to London to grace the River Thames with his installation, Floating Dreams. It's a large-scale piece which has been centered in the river, alongside the Millennium Bridge.
The structure floats as a memorial to the millions affected in the Korean War (1950-53), it stands as a beacon of hope in the reunification of North and South Korea.
A floating Lantern on the Thames, Image taken from Londonist website
The structure is made up of 500 drawings and is illuminated so it glows and has a strong visual impact. The Artist returned home to collect drawings from the generation that left North Korea and moved to South Korea during the war. He asked them to revisit their memories and to draw their hometowns as they remember them. The images show a mixture of emotions of the once happy and now lost homes, they have been transferred onto Korean rice paper and mounted onto the structure.
Image taken from Telegraph website
The installation is free to view and is part of the Thames Festival celebrations which are taking place across September. For more information and to see what else is planned, visit http://totallythames.org/.
St Paul's Cathedral, Martin Firrell's projection.
Photograph taken from The Standard
Across the city, over the past week or so, we have seen the marking of the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London. In order to commemorate this pivotal moment in our nation's history, we have seen a series of installations, performances and talks spread across our capital. These events have been designed to offer a modern perspective on a pivotal historic moment. I personally enjoy celebrating the colourful past of our vibrant, cosmopolitan city and of course a hint of creativity is always welcome!
Above is a short video showing the Fire Garden, performed and curated by Compagnie Carabosse, outside the Tate Modern on it's front lawn.
A short video (above) from TimeOut London showcasing the Dominoes sculpture which moved through and transformed 4 miles of the city. As a notion to the flames, the energy spreads quickly across the square mile, symbolically linking everyday paths with those of the great fire of London. 23,000 breeze blocks follow the route and lead to a flame-filled finale.
Our social media feeds have been filled with images of London's famous landmarks adorned with flames, playful interventions dancing across our city and the sheer delight and amazement of the general public.
London 1666 model burning on the evening of the 4th September. Photographs taken from Artichoke's Twitter page, +ArtichokeTrust
Over the last week or so we have seen or heard a great deal about London's Burning collaboration by American Artist, David Best with creative group Artichoke. The replica structure represents 17th century London. It was built by a large team of dedicated individuals including: a group of young Londoners, carpenters, laborers and a series of specialists. The craft, the physical structure and the choreography of the flames have all been determined by a number of different stages of design. The sculpture has purposely been created to slowly burn and create a spectacle, in contrast to the great fire of London.
The model of 17th century London ready to burn. This image shows only a small fragment of the built structure, we can see the level of detail and craftsmanship of each individual building.
Photograph taken from +ArtichokeTrust twitter page
It is exciting to see how people from different walks of life have come together to play a part in such a memorable event. This project stemmed from a moment in our nation's history but it has transformed into a legacy in securing opportunities for young people to learn new skills. Those involved have shared their life experiences with others and cemented a sense of community pride within the project.
Above is the live stream from Sunday night's London's Burning event. It shows a wonderful insight into all of the hard work that went into securing the project right from the beginning through to the end....watch out for the flames!
By no means do I claim to be an expert on mapping, drawing landscapes or making beautiful things, however I do know we are all able to interpret information in a creative way! I enjoy crafting drawings by marrying together a mixture of different media, be it freehand, technical or more controlled techniques.
A piece I created using fabric and ink, attempting to understand the textures of a landscape, monoprint on coloured paper
During my 5th year I was asked to create a series of drawings to represent a Vineyard of my choice. The series of drawings I have produced show plot size, direction of the vines and the expanse of the site/ buildings (left to right in cover image). I have used a mixture of my Photoshop and printmaking skills in this series.
The Vines have an architectural quality about them,
they cut across the land like built walls. Chapel Down Winery, Tenterden
