#ArchinectMeets is a series of interviews with members of the architecture community that use Instagram as a creative medium. With the series, we ask some of Instagram’s architectural photographers, producers and curators about their relationship to the social media platform and how it has affected their practice.
Social media has undeniably affected the way we perceive, interpret and share opinions about architecture today. Using our own account, @Archinect, as a site for image curation and news content, we wanted to ask fellow Instagram users how they navigated the platform.
We spoke to Philipp Heer (@lerichti), a freelancer photographer whose work primarily focuses on contemporary architecture in Switzerland and the neighboring European countries. His website states that his complete work can be found on Instagram, a profile he has kept active for nearly four years.
What is your relationship to architecture? Has Instagram affected your views toward the profession?
I have loved architecture and design since my childhood and I always loved to take pictures of buildings. Thanks to Instagram, I see buildings and different styles from all over the world, which is simply amazing. When I’m taking photos, I love to touch the materials the architect used. I’ve got a huge appreciation for architects, as I can imagine how difficult it is to design something unique and eye-catching, but always in accordance with the growing legislation which can make a project almost impossible to build.
View this post on InstagramIn a world of steel. Outside the Lloyd's building in London, United Kingdom. Design by Richard Rogers and Partners Architects, built 1978-1986. _____________________________________________ #art_chitecture_ #arkiminimal #rustlord_archdesign #tv_buildings #minimal_lookup #skyscraping_architecture #diagonal_symmetry #tv_pointofview #arquitecturamx #architecture_minimal #creative_architecture #lookingup_architecture #ink361 #architecture #архитектура #arquitectura #archdaily #archilovers #minimal_perfection #shootermag #minimalism_world #unlimitedcities #learnminimalism #visitlondon #architecture_london #london
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How do you believe you have developed a distinct identity for your Instagram profile? What have you hoped to express through the photos/videos you post?
I’m always trying to show what I think the architect wanted to show and express.
Of course, only they know what was most important to them, but sometimes it seems obvious to me. So my feed shows a lot of façades and powerful lines, but sometimes also the entire building. It really depends on the object.
Additionally, it’s important to me to describe the building, so I always mention the name of the building, the architects and the construction year and I add the geotag so it can be easily located. This is something that takes a lot of time for research in advance, but I think it is appreciated by my followers.
View this post on InstagramYou have to #VisitZurich - Spiral staircase in Zurich, Switzerland. @vdurango (in frame), @stoptheroc, @archdaily and I are exploring my hometown these days - thanks a lot to @visitzurich for making this possible. Join us on our journey by watching our stories. _______________________________________________ #art_chitecture_ #arkiminimal #rustlord_archdesign #tv_buildings #minimal_lookup #skyscraping_architecture #diagonal_symmetry #tv_pointofview #arquitecturamx #architecture_minimal #creative_architecture #lookingup_architecture #ink361 #architecture #архитектура #arquitectura #archdaily #archilovers #minimal_perfection #shootermag #minimalism_world #minimalmood #learnminimalism #fubiz #architectanddesign #inlovewithswitzerland #visitzurich_architecture #theworldneedsmorespiralstaircases
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How has Instagram affected the way you take photographs?
In the almost four years I have been on Instagram, Instagram and other accounts really taught me to take pictures carefully and as perfectly as possible. This is very important, as taking photos with ultra wide angle lenses needs careful alignment, every centimeter or millimeter counts. If I’m not totally concentrated, pictures are not perfectly symmetrical - and this can’t be corrected by post-processing.
Do you post your work anywhere else online? Is Instagram the social media channel of choice for you?
Instagram is my most important and beloved social media channel - and where I’ve gotten the biggest audience. Although I wouldn’t call Instagram "social media," it is most importantly a huge photo album. I’m also posting my work on Facebook and on Twitter, always as "lerichti."
Do you mostly work in a specific region? What is your travel schedule like?
I started only with pictures of buildings in my home country, Switzerland. Because I wanted to show that Switzerland not only consists of mountains, cows and chocolate – a picture that is unfortunately transported also by our tourist board. This though the circumstance, that many renowned architects are from Switzerland, like Herzog & de Meuron, Peter Zumthor and Le Corbusier. So I travel a lot around in Switzerland, but I also visit European cities a lot. I try to visit cities that are a little bit off the beaten track of modern architecture, that’s why I took photos this year in Birmingham, Brussels and Amsterdam. I also visited Kiev and cities in Poland.
Is there a photograph you have posted that you are particularly fond of?
I always like to take photos of the interior, which takes a lot of time for getting the needed permissions. So I like my pictures of the new HQ of the EU Council in Brussels and the Elbphilharmony in Hamburg. And I had this year the occasion to take pictures on the Novartis Campus in Basel - as the first Instagramer ever.
What are your favorite profiles to follow?
There are a lot of architectural Instagramers, but I prefer the ones that are not only showing beautiful pictures, but also are giving information about the buildings - like I do. So my favorite accounts are @stoptheroc, @nlsteven and the more graphical account of @music_my_saviour
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