Yesterday’s lunch time lecture by Brian Cavanugh of ABC was quite enjoyable. Although the projects presented were not doing anything too out of the ordinary, they still possessed a quality that made the design concepts very clear. This was most evident in the plans.
He opened up with saying that the mission of the firm was to execute projects keeping in mind that they are architects first and foremost and that when they design they are looking for an architectural solution. (sorry if i miss interpreted this). Basically meaning, we go to school to become architects lets not forget the certain skill sets we have acquired, hence distinguishing them from the utilitarian architect that just makes space because he has to.
It is debatable if ABC actually holds up to this statement because architecture is subjective, but I think that this mission is something important to remember as we make the leap from student to professional. The architectural market has been reduced to most projects needing to meet strict budgets and tight schedules and in the end creates a legacy of built projects that are not very distinguished.
He also mentioned that his firm approaches all project without any predisposition about the site, program, etc… It is through a rigorous amount of research that they arrive at a solution. I heard this type of process before from other architects and I wonder how do we turn of the intuitive switch in our heads when we begin a project. It is so hard to approach a project with an open mind because as designer when we are presented with a problem we quickly begin thinking of a solution. It never surprises me when I look back through my sketch book once I have finished a project and see how different my first schemes look from the final.
How can we cope with these strong feelings and urges to say, “yes! I have the solution”? I think research will prove or disprove these assumptions we make, either allowing the project to progress more smoothly or difficult. I think it is time and experience that will allow us to honestly say that we arrive at a solution that was non biased, but ultimately as designer we have to weigh what is important and not important and therefore that is arguably the process of us being biased.
Lasly, I really enjoyed the addition they did for the Seattle residence. By designing around such a large dinning table demand from their client, they ended up creating an interesting dynamic between the home and its side yard. Good work. I look forward to seeing more work from ABC.
Thanks for posting this cogent lecture review. I felt that Brian Cavanaugh did a good job of connecting his values and passions to his projects. His words made the otherwise abstract cool modernist images more palpably about connecting to human behavior. I also liked how he explained his work as part of a professional journey – it gave the lecture a personal quality and helped us care about what he showed.
Good ideas. I went to college for Interior Design, so I have got a lot of style magazines, but I still have a very tough period opening them up as well as getting something out of them!