ANNA MAHNKE M A R C H C A N D I DAT E 2 0 1 6
STAT E M E N T OBSERVATION AND IDENTITY IN DESIGN
Like many who find their way to the field of architecture, I grew up studying the world through a pencil and paper; I loved to draw. I fastidiously drew recreations of objects, photographs, or tangible environments I could observe. For me, drawing –and art in general– was meditative, calculated, yet liberating and rewarding; it delivered a physical outcome, one I could measure against the original observation. It wasn’t until I went to undergrad at St. Olaf College to study Studio art that this process of observing and re-presenting the world changed. I soon realized that to recreate something –and make it impressionistic at best– undermines our richly nuanced abilities of, yes observation, but more so expression and interpretation, a generative dialogue through art and design. As most art majors are wont to do, I learned a great deal from studying modern expressionist art in that it illuminated the reality that realist representations are static, frozen in time, while the work of abstract expressionism is dynamic, it is unreal and therefore continually questions and challenges the norms and paradigms that surround us. To challenge, question, and interpret through design requires a greater breadth of observation and awareness, be it cultural, economic, sociological, or phenomenological. These considerations propagate my fervor for design, and are what have brought me to the all-inclusive field of architecture. Even before beginning my education in architecture, I worked as a graphic designer, specializing in brand identity. I worked mostly with clients who were first-time business owners. That experience was especially formative and influential in my process as an architectural designer. The notion of identity –of the client or the people that a piece of architecture services– is the foundational question for any designed and habitable environment. In my view, it’s at the root of what our talents as designers seek to understand, define, and redefine. The invigorating challenge and driver in my career as a designer, is thusly to never cease the design process once something –an identity– is understood or observed, rather, once we’ve defined and redefined what’s at stake, then we can begin our work that contributes or starts a greater conversation.
thank you