Design Inspiration

This post is part of a series exploring the places, people, and things our team draws inspiration from. Today’s design inspiration post comes from architect Chris Myers.

Asking an architect to write about his or her design inspiration is asking for trouble. This post could go on forever as there is no shortage of inspiration in the world around us, in nearly every architecture and design magazine, or in our history books. And while there is plenty of stunning architecture in our home state of Mississippi, much of it was built more than 100 years ago, meaning that in order to experience the avant garde we must often look to out-of-town visits. So, instead of focusing on specific buildings or locations, I’d prefer to focus on the qualities that inspire me; along with one building that embodies all three: light, texture, and time.

Light

The sun emits light in all directions and without discretion. 93,000,000 miles and roughly 8 minutes later, Earth gets a tiny little sliver. It fights its way through the atmosphere and clouds and trees and windows, pushing into every tiny space and reflecting off the sky and walls and car windshields, until finally it can’t go any further. The moments where those collisions occur can be quite beautiful, whether intentional or not.

United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado. By Walter Netsch. Photo by Nate Mann at tinytourist.net — United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
By Walter Netsch. Photo by Nate Mann at tinytourist.net

Texture

Texure can be constructed. In the case of the Clyfford Still Museum (shown below), the architect worked closely with contractors to develop a formwork that would allow concrete to seep through in a controlled but unpredictable manner. Special instructions were given to workers onsite in order to let imperfections remain.

Texture also can occur naturally, and usually does so in conjunction with time. In the photo shown at the bottom of this post, the wood siding on an 1850s house in north Mississippi was originally exposed and later covered with asphalt siding. As water and insects creeped in over time, a patina formed.

*Clifford Still Museum, Denver, Colorado. By Allied Works Architecture*

Time

Time is a factor we don’t often consider in architecture – we typically like our buildings to be crisp and new. And for corporate headquarters or hospitals, those qualities are generally the appropriate choice. Clients, understandably, tend to like shiny buildings and they like their investment to stand out. What happens in 100 years, as sun causes materials to fade, and rain wear away at surfaces? Despite our best attempts, these are effects that we can’t predict or control and when we try to imitate them, it comes off as inauthentic and fake.

*Photo of weathered wood paneling by Chris Myers*

Light/Texture/Time : National Assembly of Bangladesh (Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban)

It took 22 years to build what some might consider to be Louis Kahn’s finest work. Not only did the 200 acre complex provide a home for Bangladesh’s government, but it also became the crowning jewel for a country without many jewels. The heavy concrete facade gives little preview of the light, open spaces of the interior.

The building itself is not traditionally beautiful. The spirit of the space it contains is what most inspires me.

In the film My Architect, a documentary made by Kahn’s son about his father’s life and work, the Bangladeshi architect being interviewed choked up when describing what that building means to him and his country. Most architects can only dream of eliciting such a response.