Projects + thought

DANNY HARRIS Projects + thought

ON ARCHITECTURE

Peter Eisenman once said that ‘as Architects, we practice 90 percent of the time and work on a project 10 percent of the time.’ His statement presents his own discouragement with the social constraints of design in the free-market economy. The modern day client has been empowered.

As a student learning how to project Architecture, I hope to continue the ethos of ‘projection’ throughout my career. The relationship with another human (client), entrusting you to express rules of aesthetics and professional knowledge, in their program of work raises the question: where do you start? I believe that creating a ‘space-order’ and being able to ‘express’ is fundamental; the realisation of a prerogative.

Understanding that all of my personal design philosphies are ingrained in the history and theory of Architecture informed my quest to find these writings. I reference Louis Kahn’s poetic buildings and writings most frequently. He said that ‘A great building must begin with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must be unmeasurable.’

For a long time, I made the common misconception that formal architecture belonged in the Renaissance and that Modernist functional architecture overarches our design thinking today. I would challenge that the functional aspects of Alberti’s ‘central plan’ in classical western humanism are still relevant now. I would also challenge that the formal elements of the contemporaries of our time, Peter Zumthor and David Chipperfield, are the reason for them being held in high-regard.

I think that the ‘information age’ has provided a new paradigm to the profession. It is now important to consider cross-programs and more extensive levels of complexity. Society remains in a metaphysical state fixated with the use of mobile technology. The question arises: can we re-engage them with architecture?

I believe that Sustainability should be approached with Integrated Architectural Design (IAD). These issues can be resolved in logical selections of buidling orientation, use of materials, form and function etc. The necessity of technical add-ons may not be relevant. Systems thinking is fundamental to this approach and should not be implemented as an after-thought.

To conclude, it is important to acknowledge Leonardo di Vinci when he stated ‘if you find from your own experience that something is a fact and it contradicts what some authority has written down, then you must abandon the authority and base your reasoning on your own findings.’ DH

TRANSGRESSION09/2012The normative rules of being able to stand up in a dwelling were broken with the use of pods to sleep and lounge in. The utopia scheme uses double-helix forms and concepts inspired by the Japanese Metabolist Movement of the 1960s.

RHOMBUS TRANSPORT HUB06/2012 - 08/2012The rhombic plan is informed by the topography of the site. The floor plates are elevated with four corner columns over an A-road. Wall-hang-ing elevators and external esculators emphasis the movement of people inside the central plaza

ART STUDIO (Adrian Morrow Architects)02/2012 - 08/2012The design was informed by Louis Kahns philosophy of ‘served’ and ‘servant’ spaces. The pitched and flat roof volumes reflect this concept. The studios brief was for Passivhaus standards with uses for an artist and a potter.

BOOKS + COOKS09/2010 - 05/2011The two cubic forms are stacked to give the appearance of one heavy mass pushing up from the earth and a contrasting lightweight structure floating above giving views over Castle square in Lincolns historic quarter

WATERSIDE MUSEUM01/2010 - 05/2010The gallery spaces are set around a 3 storey void circulation which operates as natural stack ventilation. The column setting out allows the base to float with vertical movement, whilst the upper levels are static.

11/2012Bristol, UK

This collection of projects documents the professional development of Danny Harris. The short essay accompanies the images and considers the thought process behind the illustrations.