Archinect - Bartlett (Chris)

A Piece of Cake

2013-03-02T10:43:20-05:00

Well, it's been a while...

Since my last post I had to take some time away from my blog while I juggled a full-time job, a research degree at the Bartlett, and several side projects. With that all done I decided to take some time out from the monitor stare-down that was my life to travel the world a bit.

In the end, I went travelling through Japan, China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia with my girlfriend. Since getting back to the UK I've condensed some of the video footage from that time into a 5 and a half minute video. I hope you like it. :)

Woolworth Tower

2011-04-17T17:46:49-04:00

Last week I went along to the 176 Gallery - home of the Zabludowicz Collection - for the book launch of a project I recently completed with the artist Matthew Darbyshire. As part of the trans-Atlantic exhibition, The Shape We're In, 5 artists were invited to create installations for the 33rd floor of a skyscraper (1500 Broadway) in Times Square, NY. The project was titled Woolworth Tower and comprised a mixture of photo-realistic interior renders and saccharine, overly-saturated exterior shots pulled together onto a trompe l'oeil banner. Coming at just over 3500 megapixels, I can thoroughly recommend to anyone contemplating the same: don't. Have a bowl of cereal and put your feet up instead. 5GB psb files are the devil's work.

Woolworth Tower

Sited in a now-derelict Woolworths in the north west of London, Woolworth Tower was (similarly to ELIS before it) a hypothetical proposal intended to raise, critique and mock the relentless process of surface regeneration and intended gentrific...

Food for Thought and other associated puns

2011-04-12T20:27:13-04:00

I've got a couple of blog posts waiting in the wings (some renders I did for an exhibition in Times Square and a talk I helped organize at the Barbican) but, while I wait for clearance from official photographers etc, I thought I'd get a quick blog post under the belt to test the new School Blog layout.

Edible Architecture

At Jestico + Whiles we have a practice half day every month in which we get to do creative tasks, site visits etc. In December, the task was to create Edible Architecture based on certain London landmarks. A friend and I were tasked with creating the Thames Barrier:

Rather than make it out of sweets and cake, we decided to go a more fishy angle and make sushi instead (I'm not sure many fish survive the Thames but you get the idea).

A few hours later, we were allowed to dig in. Unsurprisingly, our now dry and wilted sushi wasn't particularly high on many people's lists, however, I can proudly say that it was utterly foul.

Favela Painting at Santa Marta, Rio De Janeiro

2011-01-16T20:25:01-05:00

One thing which I've come across in recent months has been the work of Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn for the Firmeza Foundation. The Foundation supports the creation of artwork in unexpected places with Jeroen and Dre taking this approach to Rio to produce amazing murals with the help of local youths. Their most recent project at Santa Marta is particularly impressive in scale and effect.

The press release explains:

"Praça Cantão, a new Favela Painting in Rio de Janeiro

Over the last month, Praça Cantão, the square at the entrance of the community of Santa Marta has been the scene of a spectacular art intervention and was turned into a vibrant artwork of monumental scale. 34 houses on the giant hillside favela, located in the center of Rio de Janeiro, have been painted in a design of colorful rays, radiating into the city. This 7000 square meter artwork is part of the 'Favela Painting' project by Haas&Hahn (Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn), a project that aims to transform communit...

Zebra Imaging Blows My Mind

2010-11-16T15:02:16-05:00

I really need to catch up on my blog posts but in the meantime this holographic panel (kind of) blows my mind. I say 'kind of' because from what I can see, it's very limited in its viewing angle; apart from the benefits of novelty factor and portability, I can't see how it's better than a physical model. Still - it could great in a pin-up only scenario...

PLEASE CRIT THIS - 1: Tom Ibbitson

2010-07-26T22:34:42-04:00

University can be quite an insular business. So much time spent focussing on the tiny details can be suffocating for the student; the underlying manifestos of units and departments leaving students struggling to find a clear path for their ideas and even less likely to be able to find a position where they can take a step back. I've often found uni to be like having an argument - it's always once you've walked away out of the impatient dynamic of explaining yourself that you think of the perfect comeback. Similarly, it's only when I've had a chance to step away that I'm able to see the real strengths and weaknesses of a project.

Now, however, the 2009/10 year is over and the projects of Unit 24 at the Bartlett are complete and ready to be consumed. Many students find ways to take their proejcts further after graduation, whether it be realisation, exhibition, publication or continuing refinement in their spare time, and as such it's a good time to open these projects up to a wider a...

1.7 - Gold-panning in India

2010-07-04T20:26:52-04:00

I came across this in Private Eye the other day:

"Panning for gold in the sewers is like looking for a needle in a haystack," Samir Sheikh told reporters at the Zaveri bazaar in Mumbai, "so we do meticulous research beforehand, to help us hunt it down. First, we find out where the goldsmiths live, and follow them home from the bazaar after work. Then, when the goldsmiths shower, the gold dust on their hands and body comes off, and flows out into the sewer. Then we collect the filth that pours out of the sewer into the gutter, and pan it for gold. It's slow and dirty work, but most weeks I can collect about 2 grams of gold this way, which is worth about US$74."

Jeweller Rajesh Solanki regards sewer-panning as part of India's cultural aversion to any form of waste. "When you throw away a bottle, someone will collect it, and it's the same with the gold. The gold-panners are part of of the system. We jewellers don't have the time or the wherewithal to put the gold dust to use, but t...

1.5 - This Grating Blows My Mind

2010-06-10T17:07:44-04:00

Euston Road, London

1.4 - My Favourite Building in London

2010-06-10T14:33:00-04:00

From Wallpaper
b) Rowley Way, Abbey Road NW8 0SF

Often seen as the last ditch attempt to reconcile social housing with the minimal space of central London, architect Neave Brown’s 1979 council project, Alexandra Road is terraced housing reinterpreted with a modernist twist. A low-rise large density enclave nestled in the far-flung throes of North London, the complex is grade II listed, and has been maintained virtually identically as it was originally designed.

When not being photographed on my phone at 80mph, it looks like this:

1.3 - RIBA Forgotten Spaces Results and Opening Night

2010-05-29T14:57:24-04:00

OK, so this Wednesday night just gone was the opening night of the RIBA Forgotten Spaces Exhibition at the National Thatre on London's Southbank. As mentioned in a previous post, this exhibition was of the 20 shortlisted schemes from over 150 entries to propose interventions in some of the capital's forgotten spaces. Also mentioned was that I had somehow managed to get on the shortlist, so off I went to have a look at find out who the eventual winners were.

The Shortlist (excuse the crappy phone photo)

As the RIBA blurb will tell you, the shortlist and winners were selected by a jury that included: Mark Brearley Director of Design for London, Paul Finch- Chair of CABE, Tony Heaton Chief Executive of Shape, Jeremy Titchen- Development Director Qatari Diar , Tamsie Thomson- Director of RIBA London, Judith Salamon Director of Property and Planning at London First and Rowan Moore- architecture critic at the Observer.

The winners were:
1st Prize: Reservoir Roofs by Gort Scott
2nd P...

1.2 - Business Time

2010-04-10T11:18:01-04:00

Quickly following on from the last post:

One of the things I got around to doing for the ELIS exhibition opening was to make some business cards. These are 0.2mm stainless steel.

It's an expensive way to make a business card, but I from people's reactions so far they seem to be memorable - and what more can you ask for when you're trying to sell your design abilities?

(Note - they're not flexing in the photos - they're just on uneven notebook paper. They're surprisingly rigid with a slight flex to them.)

1.1 - THE ART RACE

2010-04-10T11:13:01-04:00

It’s fair to say that I was nervous about a fair few things having graduated uni. Not least trying to find a job in the midst of a recession. But more than that - when I eventually did find a job, I was aware that this is potentially a very dangerous time in any architect-to-be’s life: when the university education ends and the pratical experience begins.

Now, while it's an expected turn to take as you progress through the ranks of architecture, I’ve always been struck by the discrepancy of these two educational models (at this stage I still consider practice to be an education). Having studied at two pretty conceptual schools and spent the majority of my work experience on design stages rather than construction, I’m left with a legacy of having very little knowledge or experience of the practical side of architecture. Personally I was happy to let this be the case and to give a disproportionate amount of time to design in my early years. However, I am aware that there is a balance...

Competition News...Wooooo!

2010-04-07T07:29:21-04:00

This is more of a *stop press* post. As mentioned in my previous entry, I'd entered a competition recently and was awaiting the results. Well, I just found out I've been shorlisted! :D

It was the RIBA Forgotten Spaces competition and the full shortlist can be found HERE.

According to the email sent today, the shortlist comprises of 19 entries chosen from the 150 who entered. Most excitingly of all though, the shortlisted entries are to go on exhibition in the National Theatre on London's Southbank from 24 May - 4 July.

I'm going to have to hold off posting the entry itself until I find out if I'll be asked to prepare more work for the exhibition. Fingers crossed this will be the case, as there's lots more I'd like to add. :)

PS. I think they listed entries made by individuals as Name at Company, hence why Jestico + Whiles is mentioned with my name. For clarity, the entry was made entirely outside of my professional work and any views expressed are not those of Jestico + Whiles......

Post-graduation/pre-next stage blog...

2010-03-18T21:47:14-04:00

Well, after a long haitus from blogging here and having graduated from the Bartlett since, it seems I'm back again. It looks like I'll hopefully be returning to the Bartlett soon to join the Advanced Architectural Research programme (more on that to come). In the meantime, I thought I'd get round to re-breaking the ice and mention a few of the thing I hope to be blogging about before I go back to school.

Since graduating I've been working in practice and trying to keep as many private interests on the side as I can. It's an interesting time at the moment. I'm going to try to comment on life post-graduation (which I hope might be interesting to some people facing that scenario on the horizon), as well as write up some of the private work I've done and am currently doing. I hope to talk about:

- A winning entry in a product design-scale project which is moving to fabrication in the next few weeks.
- A collaborative installation I worked on recently which was lucky enough to be cove...

New Pepsi Logo Blows My Mind...

2009-02-10T09:23:01-05:00

Or...How I Realised Architecture Portfolios Aren't All That Different From Advertising Pitches (and my subsequent breakdown)

Backstory
The advertising agency's PDF presentation for the new Pepsi logo was leaked via reddit a few hours ago (I've made a mirror of it here for archinect viewing: here [pdf]). Read it!

And it makes quite a read. I mean, it's a Pepsi logo right? How much post-rationalisation does it need? And what's the point anyway - people only drink Pepsi when there's no Coke left.

Little did I know. This new logo - this aesthetic angel waiting to raise our souls to another level of artificially-sweetened nirvana - is actually the result, nay, pinacle of thousands of years of culture and learning.

And here's the proof, people. Da Vinci, the Parthenon - hell - even Mother Nature and the Gods themselves don't have sh*t on this logo. Does nature have diagrams? No - all nature has is wind and grass and sh*t.

But let's not undersell this logo. It's not just shaming Natur...

The fruits of Christmas labour

2009-01-02T04:27:57-05:00

With the convivialities over, work looms once again on the horizon. Very close on the horizon as it happens - I've just fiished a model and now I'm off to get a train to London to see my tutors. Would you believe me if I told you I was celebrating on the inside?

It's not that I'm not looking forward to getting back to work (did I ever leave?) but just that I'm going to miss home...the warm fire, the company of old friends, the free food. It's always a good time to take stock and see the big picture (of the project as well as re-entering the living world for a fleeting moment). However, for all the looking at big pictures I actually spent most of my time squniting at my tiny little prototype for part of an urban intervention I'm proposing. It really is fiddly (the whole thing is 128mm long from head to toe). I had what I can only descirbe as a 'something-about-mary moment' yesterday when I lost a drop of superglue somewhere and couldn't find it. All I know is that it isn't on my ear...

Sarajevo field trip - photo blog

2008-11-22T12:59:45-05:00

Sarajevo in the morning:

Big chess played by locals in the Old Town

One of the many graveyards in the city

Snap happy

Reminders of the war are still very present despite the fact that the city and people have clearly moved on

The reconstructed Mostar bridge, bombed during the war

View from bridge

Mostar's a beautiful place

Our road trip was pretty eventful. First - a police stop

Lots of awesome industy in the Bosnian countryside

Event no. 2 - Burst tyre on the motorway

We found this great church in the mountains

Bosnian coffee stop - thick strong and cheap at 1KM (about 35p in GBP)

We found a great derelict concrete building in a small town

Road trip day 2 - Driving high up into the mountains

Where we then got to an undrivable section of dirt-track and had to turn back. Not easy.

I'll put up some photos more relevant to my project later. It's just nice to get the holiday snaps done and dusted. :)

If you go down to the sewer today...

2008-10-27T21:28:23-04:00

My project this year is heading in an interesting direction. I have no idea where it's ultimately going to take me, but that's really the point. It's exhilirating to be able to just enjoy it as it develops. However, for all this enjoyment and desire to share my thoughts (archinect has always seemed like a good place for creative feedback), I'm still finding myself in the overly-precious phase.

I see it like a pregnancy. Final year of diploma is essentially a year long research project. Over time your idea matures. At this stage, though, it's still gestating. Just as you wouldn't smoke in front of a pregnant woman, I find myself not wanting to talk about my project with others for fear of contamination. Ideas get mixed around, focus gets lost and before you know it you have a baby with a face like a deflated basketball.

And yet I've suffered in the past from being too precious. I used to hate working in the studio. I hated people seeing things when they were only half finished; the...

Roger Hiorns installation

2008-10-21T14:42:19-04:00

Last Sunday myself and a few others from the unit went along to to Seizure - a new installation from Roger Hiorns. If you don't know this British artist, here's a brief summary:

"British artist Roger Hiorns makes exceptional use of unlikely materials: detergent, disinfectant, perfume, fire and copper sulphate crystals. Transforming steel poles, car engines and cardboard architectural models into crystalline forms, Hiorns effects surprising, physical and aesthetic transformations on found objects."
[You can read the full installation blurb here]

In this piece, he has taken the process to an architectural scale - waterproofing and filling a flat in South London then allowing copper sulphate crystals to grow. The top image is of crystals that have grown around a hanging light bulb.

Although you are allowed to touch the crystals and take photographs, the latter is nigh-on impossible without a tripod and SLR-level ISO. Still, after many attempts I did manage to get some passable sho...

3 lectures in 1 post

2008-10-15T22:15:27-04:00

I've been absent from my blog recently. This is mostly due to the lethal combination of a horrendous cold and the usual work load now that term has started. But add in the extra-curricular activities and it's fair to say that things are fairly busy. Of course, a large part of this is due to the lecture circuit getting going again. It's hard to walk a single block of London without discovering another lecture going on.

Ceci n'est pas un cône

So, while I wait for the Bartlett to send me a jpg of the lecture series poster, I'm afraid you'll have to make do with this rather pathetic camera-phone image:

Lebbeus Woods is also expected to be speaking at some point during the term. I get the impression it's hard to tie him down.

Unfortunately, I missed the CJ Lim lecture, but have tried to make up for it by attending the Peter Cook and Bryan Cantley lectures, as well as a Wold Prix lecture in the RIBA yesterday.

---------
Peter Cook

As per, this was quite a wide ranging lecture allowing P...

Unit Descriptions in Full (and gutting the studio)

2008-09-30T20:06:40-04:00

Ok, so in an earlier entry I got about half way through describing this year's Bartlett units before I got so tired I had to stop. It's weird - even though I worked all summer uni has hit me like a tonne of bricks. Anyway - the units in full follow (but if you want to skip the filler, head to Unit 24. Also, you can get the official blurb here.

Unit 10
CJ Lim/Bernd Felsinger
---------
Connections
I don't know these guys personally - our paths have never really crossed, but they seem friendly, hard working guys (most people in the Bartlett are). A couple of turn offs for me though: A lot of the work has seemed quite similar in past years which suggests a certain pressure to conform output to a certain style. This runs the risk that the output expected won't be appropriate for the project, or the project itself somehow conforms. Either way, it's not really what I'm looking for in my final year.
The field trip is a mystery which has to be solved be reading the clues hidden in the...

Intermission - This cabinet blows my mind

2008-09-27T23:33:11-04:00

Fractal 23 by Takeshi Miyakawa - see here

A cabinet that uses the entire volume of a cube by using corresponding drawers.

Testing Times

2008-09-24T21:42:24-04:00

We're now three days into the first week and the usual routine of Bartlett registration and unit presentations has begun. Though maybe 'usual' is the wrong word to use. It actually feels anything but usual. Since Unit 22 got decommisioned over summer a world of uncertainty has opened up. Comfort levels have been thrown out the window and the daunting prospect of ending up in a unit that you dont actually want to be in has started to look like a distinct possibility.

As always, the unit presentations were long, tiring and hugely interesting. Bob Sheil also hinted at some of the lectures coming this year, including Lebbeus Woods and Thom Mayne (a full list to be issued at some point soon).

So, to the units... They mostly stuk to what you might expect in general terms of approach, however for the benefit of those not familiar with the Bartlett, here's a brief synopsis.

Unit 10
CJ Lim/Bernd Felsinger
---------
Connections
I don't know these guys personally - our paths have never...

Another Serpentine Pavillion Entry...

2008-09-21T20:02:21-04:00

Well, it looks like Mustafa beat me to it when it came to blogging about the Serpentine Pavilion. But what the hey, you can never have too much Gehry, right? *cough cough*

I too had left it far too long before making the journey to Hyde Park to see it. I've been holding off on reading about it for that very reason - I like to see how my own instincts are first. Not in terms of how closely I align to the general consensus, but just because I find it easier to form honest opinions when I don't have the schizophrenia of past architectural critiques ringing in my ears.

It seems that not everyone has the same attitude. I felt at times like I had stepped into a Gehry-masturbation/crucifixion arena - the non-architects cooing about how it's unlike anything that has ever been done before while pouring over the big-man's words in the accompanying leaflet; the architects generally turning up their noses and quoting scornful words from a legion of critics. At one point, I'm convinced each ca...

Unit 22 no more

2008-09-01T20:05:18-04:00

You know when you have a day that starts off great then ends terribly? Welcome to Monday.

Today I went with work on a practise half day to the V&A museum to sketch. Of course, having just one and a half hours to see the exhibit and make a sketch or two didn't leave much time for either.

Luckily though the exhibit was tiny. Unluckily, I only had an A3 sketchpad and nowhere to lean. Nonetheless I managed to make my first sketch in years. I had forgotten how much fun it is to just sit (or stand) and draw something that is actually in front of you. Even if you only get about a third of the drawing done in 40 minutes.

A Sumatran Rice Barn, pre-1900 (do excuse the crappy scan)

And then Monday remembers itself. There I am, checking my emails on my phone as I wander back to my desk - and there it is: the message I didn't expect. Unit 22 at the Bartlett is no more.

Both tutors have apparently left the building - leaving us with no unit to go back to next term. It's fair to say it's a ki...

This advert blows my mind

2008-08-30T11:02:47-04:00

A brief history of 4th year

2008-08-23T22:49:58-04:00

As mentioned in my last post I'm going to give a quick description of 4th year at the Bartlett. I've had a few emails from people looking at/coming to the Bartlett looking for info. I too looked to archinect when I was about to start and it was so useful to get an idea of what I was heading into, so I'll try to return the favour with some up to date info.

Now, the Bartlett - as you may know - can be a pretty conceptual place. So much so in fact that a few years ago some concerns were expressed about the practicality of the diploma program. As a result the first year of the diploma now features a Design Realisation project which is a technical report on your 4th year design project. Those two and the history and theory essay (~4000 words) make up the three compulsory 4th year modules.

As thrilling as it sounds, it's actually an incredibly important stage to go through. Undergrad schools in the UK span the gamut from uber technical to out-there conceptual and I was situated firmly t...

Previously on 'Unit 22'... (and hello)

2008-08-20T19:53:43-04:00

Well, seeing as I'm about to enter my final year at the Bartlett I guess a brief introduction to myself and a recap of my first year at the school would be a good way to give some context to the highs and lows that will inevitably come over the next 12 months.

Last year - for those not down with the English education - was my 4th year. Before the Bartlett I'd studied in Edinburgh Uni followed by a year out (in addition to the 12 month placement period). I've worked for six firms now (from my 1 week of school work experience up to my current summer job) - some big, some small. In my year out I decided to do some non-architecture things as a kind of pre-emptive strike to the post-diploma crisis which makes people suddenly question whether it's all worth it. So I travelled to Sri Lanka then came back to Scotland and (somehow) managed to end up editing a scientific journal. But that's a whole other story. And the experience was enough to eradicate any doubts that may have come.

Anyway...