But it’s not just about thinking by oneself. It’s about discourse, debate and a the ability to adapt your ideas as the design problems change. All of these activities are only possible through the interaction of designers with their clients, colleagues and wider communities. So please feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss ideas, architecture, design or anything else.
My thinking at the moment is focused on how small spaces can deliver multi-modal programmatic functions within the most efficient construction boundaries. I’ll be putting up more writing on this topic soon, but in the meantime please take a look at the range of speculative projects presented here.
I approach architecture and design as way of addressing challenging issues. It’s a way of thinking about problems and what we can do to provide considered, personal solutions. It’s about being innovative in this problem solving, without forgetting how we came to this point. Above all, it’s a way of providing better experiences for those who come in contact with the design.
Advanced Design 1: ‘Synthesis’ is a design studio I supervise at the University of Auckland in the first semester of the M.Arch(prof.) program. This page will function as a space for the publication of student works and experiments through the course of the studio. It will also function as a hub for learning resources and notifications.
The distinction between audience and performance is entirely constructed, and as such is reconfigurable. The divide between the audience and the performer that exists in many conventional theatres denies the opportunity for the audience to become performers in their own right. That is to be active participants in the narrative.
Designed to address the issues surrounding the degradation of the Rice Terraces of the Philippines, this project examines how conservation of environmental and cultural resources are dependent on the establishment of Social Sustainability.
Since forming Atelier Bow-Wow in 1992, Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima have been producing some of the quirkiest and most subtly nuanced work of their generation. Their seemingly light hearted name masks what is an extremely insightful research based practice.
Architecture has the power not only to frame significant moments within our lives, but to actively project our values and support us within these moments. One of these moments is the fare welling of a loved one. This project examines the architecture of grieving within the context of landscape and context. It aims to examine what factors must be taken into account in the design of contemporary architecture on sites which exhibit a palimpsest of cultural, landscape and socio-economic histories.
Far from being just lucky, Klein Dytham has shown the particular skill of being able to extract the most from whatever opportunity is presented to them. Mark Dytham discussed culture, practice and humor with us on a recent visit to Auckland.
OH.NO.SUMO. is a collaborative design studio that I jointly run with Patrick Loo, James Pearce and Katherine O’Shaughnessy. We have worked together for a number of years on projects that are outside the bounds of conventional architectural practice.
Stefan Stagmeister, that legendary and polemic figure of graphic design, is said to take regular breaks from practice. When I say regular, I mean a few years on, a few years off. For the whole office. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Surely the work of a (financially secure) genius, right?
Patrick Loo and I interviewed Akihisa Hirata on his recent visit to Auckland. We discussed research as part of a successful commercial practice, his time working with Toyo Ito and his approach of “Tangling”.