Design Inspiration
This is the first post in a series exploring the places, people, and things our team draws inspiration from. Today’s design inspiration post comes from intern architect Parker Anderson.
The Akron Art Museum Addition – Coop Himmelb(l)au
A memorable lesson on the impact of contrast, this building looks extreme and on its face is probably not relevant to most of work we do, but it is a major influence for me. The more relevant, and perhaps the most exciting, characteristic of this building is its relationship with the original 1899 brick building. The contrast between the new glass and steel addition and the original brick building it is nestled against brings out different qualities in one another. One is static and composed, while the other is unstable and erratic and they get along surprisingly well. This design shows that things don’t always have to match and that sometimes, a building just wants to be itself, whatever that might be.
photo by Parker Anderson
Tom Kundig
Tom Kundig’s work made me fall in love with modern architecture all over again. It often borrows the sticks and planes concept of classic modern architecture, but approaches it with a renewed sense of warmth and composure. It uses considered materials and details, often with an exaggerated industrial aesthetic, and is contemporary without being cold. It’s new, yet it’s familiar. Often, that hazy familiarity helps a person relate to a new building, as opposed to it being cold or alien.
photo by Benjamin Benschneider
Knowlton School of Architecture, Ohio State University – Mack Scogin Merrill Elam
There is a level of delight and playfulness to this building that I have yet to experience elsewhere. Unexpected experiences are around every corner, yet it feels timeless and natural – something I constantly keep in mind when designing. I always ask myself, “will this still be interesting 50 years from now?” “Will that element of discovery and excitement still be there?” While I was still in school, a book on the entire design and construction process written by the building’s architects was published. I wore that thing out and I am pretty sure the cover eventually fell off.
photo by Matthew Carbone
My Parents’ House
My childhood home was built in the mid-1940’s, a standard ranch style house for its time. It’s had a couple of small additions through its life and has been lovingly renovated multiple times by my mother and father. To most, it would probably just be an older home but to me, it’s more than that. It is my childhood and the accumulated experiences I’ve had there that make it special. To this day, I remember almost every square foot of the house, from the creaky floorboards to the imperfections in the plaster walls. It instilled in me the concept of “place,” and the importance of what that can mean to an individual and that’s a concept I always keep in mind when designing.
photo by Parker Anderson