DANIEL MARSHALL ARCHITECTS

18.11.11 by Nick Sayes

… and sometimes we make dragons

Mike’s 2011 AAA Cavalier Bremworth Unbuilt Architecture Awards entry – receiving commendation by judges Kerry Hill, Andrew Patterson and Nat Cheshire.

Job # OC-27 – m y   d r a g o n

OC-27. my architect

Dad?
Yes, my boy?
Can you be my Architect?

It is not an individual act, architecture. You have to consider your client. Only out of that can you produce great architecture. You cannot work in the abstract. – I. M. PEI

OC-27. defining the brief

What do you dream about Cam?
Well, sometimeS I like to slay dragons when I am asleep.
Cool! Would you like me to design a dragon to slay when you are awake?
yes, a good one. one i can fly and chase bad dragons away with.
Does your dragon have a name?
yes.  I will be a brave knight and ‘toothless’ will be my dragon and we will save knighties who are in trouble.
Great! Where does your dragon come from?
AH, A KIND OF DARK AND FIRE. A FORREST IN A VOLCANO.

Architecture is an art when one consciously or unconsciously creates aesthetic emotion in the atmosphere and when this environment produces well being. – Luis Barragan

OC-27. fee negotiation

So ah… can you pay me?
Yes, I’ve got gold money!
Deal…

Architects are pretty much high-class whores. We can turn down projects the way they can turn down some clients, but we’ve both got to say yes to someone if we want to stay in business. – Philip Johnson

OC-27. procurement

Have you had any thoughts about how you would like this dragon to be constructed?
GRANDPA IS A BUILDER… BUT YOU’RE AN ARCHITECT.
Yes.
SO, I THINK YOU SHOULD BUILD IT.

You’ve got to bumble forward into the unknown. – Frank Gehry

OC-27. design

WHAT ARE YOU DOING DAD?
I’m kinda drawing in three dimensions.
ARE YOU MAKING MY DRAGON?
Yes.
HOW ARE YOU MAKING IT?
Hmmm, good question. See how the wood bends…
YES.
Well I’m making use of the way it bends and then seeing and feeling what forms I can achieve by binding them together. It’s a kind of intelligence of the hands…

My hand is the extension of the thinking process – the creative process. – TADAO ANDO

OC-27. family & friends counsel

DAD, MIA SAYS THE DRAGON SHOULD HAVE SKIN.
Everywhere?
SHE THINKS SO.
Do you think so?
NAH! JUST WHERE IT’S NEEDED.
Okay, I’m thinking skin will needed on the head, the ears and the tail.
WHAT ABOUT IT’S TONGUE?
That’ll work too.

Less is more. – LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE

OC-27. documentation

WHAT ARE YOU DOING DAD?
I’m writing Cam.
What for?
I’m documenting the process we went through to construct your dragon.
WHAT ARE YOU WRITING?
What you said.
WHAT DID I SAY?

Design is in everything we make, but it’s also between those things.  It’s  mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda and philosophy. – ERIK ADIGARD

OC-27. territorial authority

Dad, can the dragon breathe fire?
Not sure Cam, we’d better ask Mum about that one…

Architecture is politics. – Mitchell Kapor

OC-27. construction

ARE THOSE THE WINGS?
That’s right.
COOL. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?
Not too sure… maybe the head… with eyes.
WOW. BIG EYES WITH FLAMES, AND A MOUTH THAT GOES… SNAP-SNAPPH!
Yeah I was thinking maybe ping-pong balls with red slits.
LETS BUY THEM!

Commodity, firmness, delight… – VITRUVIUS

OC-27. contract instructions – E.O.T.

SO DAD. IS MY DRAGON FINISHED YET?
Sorry my boy. It’s going to take a wee bit longer.
WHY DAD?
Well, I’ve been working hard…
WHAT ON DAD?
Your dragon, there’s a few tricky bits that I want to get just right.
WILL IT BE READY FOR MY BIRTHDAY?
Yes, I promise it will be ready for your birthday.

Have no fear of perfection; you’ll never reach it. – SALVADOR DALI

OC-27. post occupancy evaluation

Hey Cam, can you fill out this spreadsheet please.
Why dad?
It will tell me whether you like what we’ve designed.
I love it!

So… is your dragon architecture?
NaH! It’s just a puppet.
Could it ever be architecture?
Maybe, if we train it…

Architecture is a social act and the material theatre of human activity. – SPIRO KOSTOF

OC-27. chasing the dragon

What is an architect Cam?
Architects are people, Dad.
What type of people?
AH, architects have a lot of love in their heads…

Design is not making beauty; beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love. – Louis Kahn