#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 Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer), an architecture student and photographer based in Linz, Austria. His consistently colorful Instagram portfolio is a clever response to the monotonous social housing blocks in East Berlin; where they were uniformly grey, Eis made them multiply colorful. Where they were crumbling, ruinous and apparently indifferent to watching eyes, Eis meticulously transformed them to the delight of a growing audience.
What is your relationship to architecture? How did @the_architecture_photographer begin?
I was interested in architecture since my childhood. I always had a fascination for towers, bridges and other spectacular buildings.
Later, when i discovered photography, I got more into architecture and the built environment around me. In the summer of 2015, one year before I finished school, I started an Instagram account to present some of my photos of the building façades in Berlin - especially those of the socialist housing estates built in former East Berlin by the GDR government.
View this post on InstagramStrictly right-angled #architecture #minimalism #berlin
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
But after a short time and a few photos, I realized how monotonous those grey buildings actually were. It was at this point that I started to add new colors to the buildings façades with Photoshop and to make each of them look unique and give them a somehow "happy“ appearance.
After I received very positive feedback from the community about this idea, I started editing other modern and contemporary buildings. In the meantime, I started studying architecture in Linz, Austria.
View this post on InstagramShades of red #architecture #minimalism #berlin
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
How do you produce your imagery? And how long does each image take to produce?
The production of any image starts with choosing a building. The building needs to have a clearly recognizable structure and obviously should not be hidden by any larger objects like trees. I normally photograph the buildings with a wide angle lens to have a spatial perception. In Photoshop I correct the perspective to give the building a neutral appearance. Then I cut the building out of its context and add a uniform blue background to make the image more abstract.
The viewer should only be focused on the building itself and not be distracted by anything on the background. The blue also works as a uniforming property to all of my images. The color choices are mainly based on the structure of the buildings and should amplify the effect of the structural elements.
View this post on InstagramBirdcage #architecture #minimalism #vienna
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
It’s difficult to say how long I need for editing an image. That depends on how complex the structure is. from 20 minutes if I already had a initial idea and the structure is very easy up to a few hours if it’s complex and fragmented.
What have you hoped to communicate about architecture through your posts?
I want to show how also "normal“ buildings can be interesting and varied with the use of colors. I criticize the overuse of white in Architecture. It’s only a part of the problem that most of the contemporary architecture is focused on the lowest risk. That often results in a monotonous and uninspired built environment.
My images should not be understood as literal suggestions for buildings. They demonstrate how the use of color effects on 'rational' buildings can elicit joyful Architecture. The viewer should come away with an infatuation with Architecture and see it as something inspiring.
View this post on InstagramHigh density #architecture #minimalism #ghaziabad #india
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
Has Instagram (or social media in general) affected your views toward the profession?
For me the combination of architecture and social media is very interesting. It gives architecture the chance to reach a larger group of people and to make them aware of Architecture. Before social media, Architecture was in a kind of ivory tower and the ideas of the architects were limited to professional books and lectures. For "normal people,“ the obvious and visible remained but without any thoughts. But displaying and discussion ideas is becoming easier and more popular with social media.
It also forces me to show ideas in the most concise. Architectural ideas that can only be understood by professionals can not be considered good ideas. The rejection architectural projects typically experience today is often a result of a lack of comprehensibility.
However, a social-media-friendly presentation can help communicate the value of architecture to a wider audience and give them a chance to discuss. A good example for me is the success of Bjarke Ingels with his very simple and easy to understand explanations.
View this post on InstagramPower station #architecture #minimalism #copenhagen
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
Another aspect I appreciate about social media is that the international exchange of ideas is better and easier than ever before and possible without any complex institutions or networks that also could control the flow of ideas.
And without social media I as a student would hardly have a chance to present my ideas to the public. What is positive on one hand can be a problem on the other, such as when architecture prioritizes visual effects at the expense of substance. But I think that's the balancing act architecture professionals have to manage.
Do you post your work anywhere else online? Is Instagram your social media channel of choice?
For this image series Instagram is the perfect channel. There is only the picture and the viewer. Everything else is secondary. The presentation is more neutral then any museum could be. Success only depends on the content and how precisely it is presented. That is just the perfect environment for striking and clearly formed concepts.
View this post on InstagramCrazy balconies #architecture #minimalism #copenhagen
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
I also have a website but this is rather an archive and contact page for me than a platform to reach people with.
Do you see yourself taking the imagery to any new directions?
That is a difficult question. I made no major changes while producing this series over the course of its duration. It is rather a a slow evolution.
If you compare my pictures from three years ago they are totally different than the ones I'm making these days. But the idea has always been the same from the beginning and the timeline looks very continuous.
View this post on InstagramA slim one #architecture #minimalism #berlin
A post shared by Paul Eis (@the_architecture_photographer) on
What are some of your favorite Instagram profiles to follow?
Jeroen (@jptrsnl), whose images show buildings in a very sculptural and iconic way.
Roc (@stoptheroc), with always stunning composed architectural photos
Tessa (@tesssart) and Isaac (@isaac_alonso_carpio) who both create surreal buildings as digital collages (in different ways but also quite comparable)
Philipp Heer (@lerichti) with perfectly geometric façade photos
No Comments
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.