CRAFT
MAKE DESIGN
BUILD C R E AT E
OSA MAGAZINE
craft Editors Adrian Alexandrescu Daniel Bianchi Sophia Edwards Dafydd Jones-Davies Nadhira Halim Graphics Editor Harriet Garbutt
Contributors
Printing GREENPRINT Room 1/OARC, East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street, OX4 1DD
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James Barrell Elena Bartis Charlie Edmonds Jason Geen Fiona Griffiths Rosie Helps Robin Partington Dana Raslan Dale Ratcliff James Redman Ioana Tamas Contact t: @OSA_Mag w: www.osamag.co.uk e: osazine@gmail.com
Collaborators from OSA Radio Jordan Watt Katie Reilly Sonia Tong
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Matt Gaskin - Head of the School of Architecture Beth & Deborah - Oxford Greenprint Andi Kercini - Robin Partington & Partners Leo Cripps - Robin Partington & Partners Rekha Giddy - Programme Administrator, School of Architecture Marcelo Gunther - Architecture Technician Matthew Betts - Binding assistant
With many thanks to all our supporters that made this magazine possible
03 // Editorial 04// Eclectic Bow Ties 08 // Craft by Proxy 12 // Crafting Legacies 15 // Getting Crafty 16 // Illustrated Journal: Linocut 18 // Interview with Ruth Emily Davey 24 // Personal Reflection: Craft Defines You 28 // Iterating on education 32 // Interview with Tonic Architecture 34 // Fossilised 38 // The Welcomed Return of Ornament... 40 // How to Fall in Love with Junk? 42 // Frontieres 46 // The Dying Crafts of Sarajevo 52 // Oxford Model Centre 54 // Cotswold Cruiser 58 // Women in Adversity/Artistry 64 // Craft as Process 68 // The Ownership Gained Through Craft 72 // Digital Craft and Poetic Fabrication 78 // Studio Mix
CONTENTs
01 // Foreward
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Foreword from our sponsors Robin Partington & Partners Craftsmanship
G
reat buildings are usually one off prototypes, their timeless elegance often belies the sheer hard work, tenacity, experience and intuition needed to wrest simplicity and calm from conflicting requirements. The imprecise nature of the construction process doesn’t help and the use of computers as a design tool creates an ever increasing disconnect between those designing to millimetre perfection and those trying to nudge several tonnes of steel into place on a cold wet winter’s day. In a world where we are encouraged to rationalise everything that we do, we often fail to exploit simple gut feel. Seize every opportunity to learn about materials, how they are created, worked, joined together and finished and the manufacturing processes involved.
Great buildings celebrate their materiality and delight the senses. The best concrete buildings ooze concreteyness, driving the acoustic, humidity, sense of temperature, taste and smell. The same is true of stone, metal, glass and more. If you close your eyes you know that you are in a library the second you walk through the door, and you can sense light, space, volume and materials. There is no single answer to great design, it is often complex, close up and personal. To succeed, you need to understand and absorb, look for ways to make the process your own, of yourself. You need to become a craftsman.
- Robin Partington, 2016
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Editorial I
n today’s mass produced consumerist society in which our clothes come from the far East, our flat-pack furniture is quickly and simply erected, and our language is increasingly confined to abbreviations and word counts, is craft still relevant to our everyday lives? Craft can be described as an activity involving handmade objects. As Amanda Game (curator of applied arts at RCA) describes it, it is the ‘expressive possibility’ that it unleashes that gives it extra vitality. Michelangelo used the hammer and chisel to construct, an evidently traditional practice of craft however today, as the computer becomes the norm, can the notion of craft be unearthed from the newly laid digital foundation on which society presents and orchestrates itself? Are they extensions of analogue means, involving equal measures of effort and endeavour?
This is the last issue that many of the main editors will be involved with. So from all of us, we’d like to thank you for supporting the OSA Magazine over the past year. We believe it’s highly important for an institution, such as Oxford Brookes School of Architecture to have a platform for students to discuss and progress certain agendas that they consider pertinent to their current situation. We hope for your continued support of the magazine as the incoming team venture to take it forward. With coffee stains, ink blots and bleary eyes we wish you adieu.
- The Editors
We’ve received a wealth of stimulating articles in response to this issue’s theme. We hope you find them as thought provoking and enjoyable as we have. So, here’s a chance to thank all those that have submitted articles and all those behind the scenes that have contributed with financial help or solid advice to make it all possible.
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Eclectic Bow Ties Year 3 architecture student Olive McAndrew sits down with OSA editor Elena Bartis to talk about her passion for bow ties and how she started making her own eclectic mix
T
he bow tie, the sartorial symbol of nostalgia for times perhaps more elegant: times of chivalry and good manners. Having maintained its status quo since the 1600s, the bow tie hints sophistication like no tie ever will. Its loyal devotees, clearly unphased by the sheer inconvenience that it is to actually tie one, often see it as a means of self-expression and eccentricism. The list of notable bow tie devotees is impressive, with Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs and even Doctor Who. When it comes 4
to famous architects who can forget Le Corbusier’s, Peter Eisenman’s, Louis Kahn’s and Owen Luder’s trademark bow tie s. The Harvard Graduate School of Design has kept six of Walter Gropius’ bow ties. Carrying on the trend, Olive McAndrew has crafted a line of eclectic bow ties made from recycled material found in charity shops around Oxford. We met with her and spoke about her vibrant designs.
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Along with her background in Architecture, Olive has always been into craft and appreciates the art of making. It wasn’t until the summer of 2014 when she stumbled upon a video on how to make bow ties. During the 1600s she tells me, bow ties were worn by soldiers and surgeons as a shorter more practical alternative to the ties. It was not until the 19th century where bow ties became the symbol of social etiquette and self-expression. Today, bow ties are a sign of non-conformity and
It was the simplicity, yet effective outcome that drew me to crafting bow ties. uniqueness. When asked about the return of the bow tie, Olive believes there is still a long way to go as the majority of the wearers only wear them on more formal events. Closely tied up to the middle/upper class culture of Britain, “the tradition of wearing bow ties is almost mandatory during formal events, as well as the type of bow tie e.g. a black tuxedo must be worn with a black-dark bow tie. However, making them acceptable for more leisure attire highlights the social means of us branching out of what is considered right to wear, as we as a generation are constantly seeking to breach out of the norm and create new ideas.” Wearing her bow ties, she says, makes her feel suave and dapper.
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CRAFT BY PROXY Hugh McEwen, Unit F tutor and partner at Office S&M, began this article as a review of Unit F’s field trip to Vienna, but it soon developed into an examination of the practice of key architects in the city, explained through ceramics, site visits and sellotape
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he craft of the architect is mediated through the process of building; it is not direct. This craft is in the approach and process, the drawings and writing of architecture, but could it also be seen in the buildings constructed by worker’s hands, rather than the architect’s? In short, how can architecture be crafted by the architect when it is mediated by construction? It was with a view to finding this crafted quality that we began to explore Vienna, where we first visited the work of Coop Himmelb(l)au. The composition of these structures seemed to owe more to 8
sculpture, and yet, as with sculpture, the necessity of casting and forming led to the use of professional makers and builders. While visiting the Coop Himmelb(l)au studio, the discussion with design partner Karolin Schmidbaur turned naturally to this point. How did they retain the architects hand in the work?
We were given an anecdote While making a physical model for a certain project, she noticed a particularly alluringly shaped piece of sellotape. The final building ended up with a window that is an exact copy of the original tape.
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By using analogue means to create, and then digital means to fabricate, the office had enabled a direct translation of the architect’s hand. As illustrated by this, the techniques of the translation through this mediation become so important to maintaining craft. This is through the material control or specification of what is built. It can also be in a more direct way, as we found out. As we toured the Kunsthaus in Graz, we were told an apocryphal story of the architect’s hand. While on a site visit to see the steel frame of the building going up, Peter Cook was so taken with a view up to the Schloss that – mid way through construction - he redirected one of the eyes, the nozzles, of the building to point at the castle’s clock. The craft of an architect was directly translated into the building, in a most unusual way. We had spent the previous term developing a social architecture, following a close reading of John Ruskin. Ruskin directly related the quality of architecture to the evidence of craft in its making. In his mind, if a building had been made with obvious collaboration of labour, then the building was “living architecture”. In this way, there was “value of the appearance of labour upon architecture” as well as value in the functional building itself. This craft like nature is from the builder, but also the
architect controlling the production of the architecture they have crafted, and the crafting of the building. These techniques, of both material approach and direct interaction, find themselves exemplified in the work of Hundertwasser. His work crosses the line between art and architecture, which seems so verdant again with the work of Assemble. The direct making of his architectural ceramics and the translation of his paintings – one project includes a large scale replica of his hat – into buildings, suggests that it is the techniques and also the position of the architect that enable this approach to be taken. But in Vienna, we also find the exactly opposite approach, that of Hans Hollein or Adolf Loos, where any craft-like quality is absolutely suppressed. Loos, who famously decried ornament as crime, stated that the way workmen added detail to their surroundings was tantamount to graffiti. As such, the quality of craft in the architecture, especially in Ruskin’s terms, is completely lost. Luckily for us however, the craft of making a good cocktail has not been lost in Loos’ American Bar.
The Unit F field trip to Vienna and Budapest was generously sponsored by the IBSTOCK brick travel award
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Kunsthauz Graz by Sir Peter Cook and Colin Fournier
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District Heating Plant Spittelau by Fridensraih Hunderwasser Photos courtesy of Hugh McEwan
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LINOCUT PRINTING
OSA editor and Year 1 MArchD student Sonia Tong attends the OxArch Linocut workshop, ran by Rosey Prints,and documents it in her illustrated journal
1. The image to be printed is first drawn on paper as a negative.
2. The sketch is then copied onto the linoleum in pencil
3.
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The lino is cut using carving tools of varying nib sizes and shapes. The deeper the cuts, the less ink would be printed in those areas.
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4. To print, the colour is mixed on an acetate sheet. When it reaches the right consistency, it is rolled evenly and thinly onto the linoleum.
5. Paper is pressed onto the block and smoothed with fingers or a spoon. Then the paper is carefully lifted off... Linocut printing workshop Š Sonia Tong
6.
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Interview with Shoe Maker Ruth Emily Davey Photos courtesy of Ruth Emily Davey
MArchD year 2 student and editor of OSA Magazine Dafydd Jones-Davies talks to Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship 2016 and Balvenie Master of Craft Award 2011 winner Ruth Emily Davey about her craft and passion for shoemaking in the Welsh town Machynlleth 18
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DAfydd JonesDavies: How long have you been
making shoes?
Ruth Davey: 10 years, almost 11 years now. I started when I was 18. DJD: What made you get into it? RD: I want to learn some skill and this was a possibility so, I just went with it and I’ve loved it ever since.
DJD: You always wanted to learn a craft or a skill?
RD: Yes, well I knew I wanted to learn to do something with my hands.
DJD: What is craft to you then? RD: I think Craft can be challenging, beautiful, tactile, sustainable, creating extraordinary objects which unite the eye. It can be energy, care and creativity of the maker behind them. Craft is about making things, a combination of technical knowhow and skill. It’s about employing the creativity of the mind and using the hands of the maker to create something, whether it’s a building, weaving cloth, a dry stone wall, a shoe or turning a bowl. Craft is a living connection with our past and cultural heritage, but it is also about innovating new ideas and techniques.. Here in the UK we have some incredible traditional skills; there are makers today that are picking up the threads of the past and bringing genuine economic and cultural benefits to communities all over Britain.
One of the best examples of existing ancient knowledge about craft arguably exists in Mexico, where I have just finished my fellowship. I have just returned from my fellowship to Mexico – it has one of the best examples of existing ancient knowledge about Craft. I was interviewing indigenous weavers to understand more about why it’s important to preserve their skills in today’s world. I learned so much from them about the value of craftsmanship. Life is hard out there for sure but there was such a sense of peace too, no confusion about what career to choose, just a calm knowledge that this is what they know and do, content in weaving their stories into their work and continuing their ancestral knowledge. Many traditions are still practised today; one such tradition, is that every baby born into the community is given a wooden spindle which they keep their whole lives, and are buried with it when they pass.
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DJD: Do you think there has been a revival in the crafts?
RD: There has been a gradual and widespread loss of family firms. The master to apprentice pattern has been broken down by the great rise of manufacturing and some skills have disappeared. There are some local and regional styles of workmanship that have been lost, but luckily we’re seeing resurgence in people wanting to learn traditional crafts once again. Due to the practices of mass industry and production, people seem to have lost that connection with the objects they own, and more importantly the people behind the objects. The people that I encounter want that connection with the person behind the object. I think there is a sense of empty-handedness or lack of purpose in people up and down the country which is why I believe you are seeing people wanting to learn more about traditional skills. Learning and developing a skill gives you a sense of purpose, and I’ve found people wanting to learn the skills for practical reasons and for more spiritual reasons. For example, a craft that use to be associated with relatives being rediscovered. It’s definitely an interesting time to be a Maker. Over the past 5 years I have noticed a big shift. Naturally people have become fed up with the millions of imported products and the lack of care, longevity and skill in the items they buy. There has been growing awareness that in time, hand skills will totally disappear if we don’t give recognition or value to them. There is a bit of a Craft movement going on, up and 22
down the country; There’s ‘London Craft Week’, there’s help and support out there if you look for it – mentoring programmes like ‘Crafted’. Then the internet and technology is actually driving people together and creating more awareness. Networks of craftspeople are being created and there is a definite rejuvenation in people wanting to buy items where there is either a story attached or a connection with the maker behind it. There is great power in learning a craft, as the act of learning a skill, whether its wood-carving, chair making, leatherwork or building a timber frame, you are creating your own autonomy. You are employing your own creativity, and you’re independent from anyone or any other system that exists. Your hands can absorb knowledge. It’s a peaceful way of life and it gives you a sense of fulfilment and connection to the material you are working with. Understanding what it actually takes to create something by hand makes us value items much more.
DJD: Does Craft always imply the handworked?
RD: Not always. There is an enormous amount of mixed opinion on this, and almost defiance between ‘contemporary’ versus ‘traditional craft’, plus a great deal of argument about using the term ‘hand-crafted’. Within the shoe trade for example, I know shoemakers that painstakingly sew every stitch by hand, whereas there are shoe companies who market their work as ‘handmade’, but in actual fact are made in their thousands in a factory on the other side of the world, and
Craft then ‘finished by hand’. Similarly people say they are a ‘Maker’ when actually they are a ‘designer’ who then contracts their work to be made – so does that mean they are the designer or the maker? I personally think one has to earn the title of ‘Handcrafted’.
The real meaning of ‘Craft’ is about the connection between the mind and hands of the maker. If the object employs the creativity and innovation of the person behind it, and is made by hand - that is Craft. I also think it’s very much down to our individual value. Within the craft industry there is a variety of workmanship and skill. The more original and intricate it is, the more unique and personal it becomes. I know some incredibly talented stone masons and wood workers, chair makers and leather workers, basket makers, weavers, and the truth is, it’s really down to the true dedication of the maker. It’s almost as if we’ve been accustomed to believing that a skill should be generated in an instant. I guess some people are put
off by the amount of dedication it takes to become a maker. Our perceptions have changed over the years as to what it actually takes to really master a craft. I started making shoes when I was 18, I didn’t really know what I was doing at first, my stitching was all over the place and I constantly made mistakes, but it’s by through making those mistakes that gives you the skill and experience. Now, 10 years down the line I don’t even think about it - my hands know the work so well that they just work away without thinking. And because I now understand what makes up a shoe, I can visualise new designs or perfect a technique, and gradually have made it my own. That’s what mastering a craft is all about. I have been lucky in that I gained some media coverage early on in my career which helped stabilize my work flow and paved the way for my business today. It took a long while to arrive at that and at times I remember moments of feeling like throwing in the towel altogether and getting a job where you actually know how much you are paid at the end of the week or month. But perseverance through all has really paid off, and perfecting your skill is truly rewarding. It’s something that I can hopefully pass down to the next generation.
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We are a Generation of both individuals and architecture students prone to approval fixation. Your craft is self referential, however it is not who you are.
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© Artwork by Robyn Thurston
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specific angle and point in time can trigger a change that rewires the entire system — an opportunity to flip the world on its head.
Education as craft These opportunities are everywhere; being open to them and knowing what to do next is the difficult part. It requires asking focused questions that lead both to introspection and further engagement with others — reflection and action built on values such as curiosity and flexibility, tools such as listening and observing, and a healthy growth mindset. And it requires many attempts to anchor the above values into tangible learning experiences, especially when the ideal output has both fluid and electric properties. A particular brand of 21st-century craftspeople is needed for this effort — an eclectic ensemble of teachers and learners who are not afraid to scrap an idea and start anew, who see in the process of failure & imperfect creation, a honing of technique, and kikkake aplenty. GAKKO is proud to be assembling one such community, and working through the inbetween spaces of education; our hope is that the sparks that fly out of this summer’s iteration will ignite something just beyond those spaces.
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© Images courtesy of GEKKO
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Š 2016 Tonic Architecture Ltd
TONIC ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE PROFILE From design to making, Louisa Preece digs into the work of Tonic Architecture in order to uncover some of their crafting secrets and processes
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xford Brookes architecture alumni Tobias and Nick both recently spent time designing an elaborate wooden staircase which winds through a large traditional home in the Cotswolds. When their drawings were physically carved, a connection occurred between the designer and maker. An understanding was reached through interpreting the transition from 32
the two dimensional drawing to the three dimensional form. For the same client they have also been 3D modelling historic elements and reinterpreting them. These designs are then sent to the client who 3D prints them to scale in order to understand the object more fully. In both instances the essence
Craft of craft is evident through the turning and whittling of ideas through time into a physical creation; both techniques are aimed at creating a lasting object. This is just one of the projects at their practice, Tonic Architecture. In a few questions Tobias and Nick elaborate on how craft is integral to their architecture and the different ways they work with modern and vernacular technology to craft the spaces they design.
Louisa Preece: In one of
your current projects, a private residential project in the Cotswolds, you have a strong theme of craft running throughout, especially regarding the approach the client wants to take. Is this an interest that developed out of this project or is the detailed design and construction of bespoke elements a theme that you have always explored?
Tonic Architecture: Understanding and working with materials is a vital part of our architectural approach. We consult and engage with craftsmen on all projects in order to maximise the potential of any design.The project is a sensitive Grade I listed building and we try to ensure that within budgetary constraints, the care, attention and detail we provide, is consistent with the approach that the craftsmen took to build the historic fabric in the first place.
LP: When considering the design of an object that will be crafted by another, how
do you put across your ideas when using a 2-dimensional space and when do you feel 3-d modelling needs to become a part of your design process?
TA: It is important to think in 3D even if you are only presenting e.g. planning drawings in 2D. There will always be an element of interpretation required by the craftsmen if 3D images aren’t available, but allowing craftsmen such as carvers some interpretation of the design can enable a more natural outcome, as they will have a greater tactile understanding of the material.
LP: A bespoke object requires time to design and time to make, is the time that it lasts a factor that you consider when choosing materials and the process? TA: Longevity is certainly an important factor, which is why we use the best materials and craftsmen wherever possible.
LP: What advice would you give students regarding the crafting of details in their projects..? TA: Try to obtain samples of materials, meet craftsmen and experience the process of crafting first hand. This will put you in a far stronger position to design and draw appropriate details.
Follow Tonic Architecture @ tonicarc on Instagram and Twitter to see more 33
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3D printed concrete model Š Alvaro Lopez
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The main idea running through our project was that of challenging the existing printing forms to achieve a new grammar for the material.
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The House -Architectonic Elements
of the entire community would help. A house was not just an economic and financial necessity, but had spiritual, customary and magic-ritualistic dimensions.
IT: Since we have arrived at the vernacular house, what were they traditionally made of?
IT: What did the typology consist of?
MP: Once the site was chosen, the area
MP: The vernacular house was a
would be cleared and the grounds would be raised and covered in clay, which was then set on fire, in order to set and create a platform. The walls, usually over 2 meters high, would be made of oak wood trunks, braided birch and then covered with clay. The roof was pitched of course, made from reed. Every man was his own farmer, architect and poet. The forms of the house were simple and functional, adapted to the necessities of family life. Wood followed man from birth (the cradle), through marriage (church) to death (the casket). In the traditional mentality, man had to live in perfect harmony with nature, so a house made of artificial materials would have been considered a great discrepancy. For the construction process, members
manifestation of the wish to live in accordance with the cosmic (seasons, day/night succession) and social rhythms (labour time/celebration time). Therefore, the space in the house would be divided between sacred and profane, the purified room (n.t. approximate translation) and day-to-day living room. The archetypal house was humanized and given attributes that would transform it into a reflection of the respective family, thus creating a bond between the construction and its dwellers. The house usually had three rooms,
The vernacular house was a manifestation of the wish to live in accordance with the cosmic and social rhythms. its entrance through the porch, the decorated threshold, which led to the living room, where the hearth was. On its side there is the purified room, facing the street, where guests would be accommodated, and lends the family its prestige, and another living room where the family life-cycle would unfold. All furnishings and decorative elements
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had the purpose of creating harmony and beauty and followed an established rule. The icons would enable spiritual communion and keep away the ‘evil eye’.
IT: What were some of the elements that had magic and symbolic value? MP: The door sill, for example, marks the passage into a new world, from the chaotic, profane world of the outside, to the sacred, ordered space of the house. When a family moved into a new house, it was believed that the snake of the house would also come and nestle under the door sill. In popular conception, every house has a snake, which protects it and brings good luck. The roof, a symbol of the sacred tree, would usually have at its tip a green branch of pine tied with a cloth and a bottle of palinka (the national drink) whilst the construction was going on, to attract good fortune and to ensure the good disposition of the master-builders, who would work cheerfully and carefully, not to make mistakes.
Dwelling Spiritual Attributes
IT: Mircea Eliade, a well known historian of religions, said that archaic architecture was as much a science, as it was a ‘sacred art’. It contributed to the spiritual development of its dwellers and it put them into the ‘center of the world’, so to say, into a meaningful reality, by cyclically re-creating the Cosmos and the Primordial Man. The myth of creation took Time to its beginnings and offered a ‘point zero’ from which everything that emerged was sacred. But in order for this to happen, there was a ritual, an archetypal model to be followed. What are some of the rituals and customs that were believed to consecrate the act of building in Transylvania? MP: The architecture of the house was an expression in stone or wood of the human body and it is the most complex materialisation of traditional culture. The house was not just a shelter, a ‘machine to live in’, but rather an ‘Imago Mundi’ and all the related rituals attest that. 45
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Craft furniture and decoration objects were made out of synthetic materials. Traditional carpets and wooden icons also disappeared to be replaced with replicas of Persian carpets and other Oriental themes but there was a certain conformity that was kept for organising the interior spaces.
IT: What influence has globalisation brought to these places? MP: After the fall of the socialist regime, people could now cross the borders. New cultural models have been imported, we see the rise of ‘palaces’ with 10 - 20 rooms, in Tara Oasului, imported materials of Mediterranean or Oriental influence are prominent. However, they have nothing in common with the environment or the spirit
of the place. Most of them are unlivable, yet they are redecorated and new furniture is bought roughly every three years and bought according to the latest fashion. The old folks tend to live in a small, one-storey house, with one main living space. In the same courtyard, there is another red/ yellow/orange trophy house. Some of them might have two or three trophy houses, made available for the family’s newlywedded couples. If they are not satisfied, they can move and build another one. For an outsider, the first reaction would be to say this is kitsch, but this is the reality for the village in the new millennium.
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The dying craft of Sarajevo Third year undergrad student and OSA editor Sophia Edwards writes an honest commentary on her field trip to Sarajevo, looking at the antagonism between authentic Bosnian crafts and imported tourist paraphernalia
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place with crafts as old as the city itself, Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was formerly a hub of skills and artisan techniques. The city dates back to around 1462, and was renowned as an area of independent guilds consisting of a variety of craftsmen. From coppersmiths and blacksmiths to saddlers and coffee grinders, individual streets were suited to each craft, known then as the Bašcaršija, known now as Old Town. As one of Sarajevo’s many municipalities, it became a winding maze of cultures and a place for craft to prosper and grow. 48
For locals, it offered them a chance to revel in their cultural heritage, as crafts became an inherent part of everyday life and an essential amenity to their economy. Whereas today, Old Town sits as a tourist hotspot, ridden with products imported from countries far from the origin of their craft. Albeit, there are existing stalls that provide a small range of original, genuine goods, however there is such an abundance of inauthenticity , the true crafts are not able to get the recognition they deserve. Products are imported from factories in the Far East rather than being produced locally in small family run workshops. The
Craft shops label their products ‘Made in …’ but evidently the mass produced items on display must be having an impact on Sarajevo’s craft industry. As their economy is falling further into decline and the corruptive influence of the government is ever present, is it any wonder local Sarajevans are trying to better their lives and their income? However it appears to come at a cost, a cost of authenticity by falling into the realms of the plastic paraphernalia of the tourist market.
it became a winding maze of cultures and a place for craft to prosper and grow. For locals, it offered them a chance to revel in their cultural heritage...
Although, there is hope for this dying culture. Small organisations are starting to pop up around Sarajevo, one of which being ‘The House of Crafts’. Established in 2013, it aims to reclaim traditional craft techniques, such as shoemaking and metalwork, and teach the locals about their heritage and how they can specialise in different artistries.
Set up to bridge the gap between an evident generational divide, they are enabling the youth to learn from their elders, something that will hopefully combat the remarkably high unemployment rate. There is also a Fine Arts University in Central Sarajevo that teaches a range of artistic disciplines, yet like many others it is a private organisation which many locals cannot afford. Therefore smaller organisations seem to be the way forward, most predominantly those who integrate local people with inherent craftsmanship and the younger generation, to educate through making in a friendly and informal way. Overall the city has great potential and development is brewing, however the political corruption appears to have put a halt on social development. As a result many young Sarajevans are moving abroad to prosper in alternative careers to ones involving craft techniques. As a result, Sarajevo remains an underrated tourist destination and its dormant atmosphere is purely due to the past turmoil the city and its people have faced. Perhaps only when the people have fully recovered will the crafts be retained, but for now the reclamation of Sarajevo’s craft techniques seems to be a slow process and will only be improved by the people’s involvement. Having visited Sarajevo in 2015, 20 years after the terrible siege, I witnessed a city with so much potential to rebuild itself. But it is easier said than done and with its current economic climate it may be a long time until craft can be found within its walls again.
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Oxford Model Centre Interview by OSA contributor Dana Raslan with Bryan Atkinson, owner of Oxford Model Centre.
Dana Raslan: What kind of
work do you specialise in and how did it all start?
Bryan Atkinson: I supply modeling material to make models for aeroplanes and some by-products are purchased by architects. The business started as a hobby as I flew model aeroplanes when I was very young. The interest in aeroplanes starts when you are very young and a lot of people in commercial aviation play with model aeroplanes. When you love what you do, perspectives are different. 99% of the time, it feels like driving a bus and 1% of the time, it is sheer terror. When you are really good, the terror is gone.
DR: Why do you feel that
making models
is important?
BA: The mistake architects make is creating a design that is brilliant and 52
out of the box, but when it comes to construction, they don’t know how their design can be built. This is why making models is so important. Models are important because you have to ask yourself a question, let’s take for example, the Concorde Plane; did the model come first or the real structure? The shape of the plane was also ahead of its time, the plane itself was ahead of its time, but that is why a model had to be made. It was then wind tunnel tested during the late 50s before the first flight took place in 1969. The plane was then introduced into service in 1976.
DR: In the last 25 years how has
aeroplane modeling changed and why do you feel this change has occurred?
BA: We have lost the ability to make models. We see less and less ability to create traditional models. Before, people would make models or buy readymade models, predominantly made of wood, and
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I have always seen craft as a process that is undoubtedly personal; a release from work that you have to do.
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Women in adversity artistry Leonie Smith reflects on the 2016 Oxford Brookes exhibition for the Human Rights Festival and her trip to Gujarat with Development and Emergency Practice to explain how craft and artistry is used by women to help overcome the adversity they face
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cuts in a way that engages more people and demands attention.
You are an Indian woman, your home has been destroyed in an earthquake and your husband has been hospitalised, you must find a way, amongst scarce resources and jobs, to provide an income for your family. You are a Palestinian woman, you have lived in a refugee camp most of your life and you fear that the traditions and stories of your homeland are being lost forever. You are an English woman determined to protest against the budget
For these women, like many women around the world who face struggle, utilising the skills and beauty found within traditional craft is the answer.
magine for a moment‌
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Craft Based on this notion, in February 2016 Oxford Brookes hosted an exhibition as the centrepiece for this year’s Oxford Human Rights Festival. The exhibition displayed intricate pieces provided by women who use artistry as means to overcome the adversity they face in life. One of the pieces, a bag decorated with hand embroidery, was created by the members of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) which was founded in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India in 1972. In January of this year, myself, along with 7 course mates and our tutor from DEP (Development and Emergency Practice), travelled to Gujarat where we researched the population’s long term recovery following Gujarat’s 2001 earthquake. In doing so, we visited projects that helped people to recover, including the those by SEWA which now has over 420,000 employed members.
We met Gauriben from a village called Dhokawada, the Indian women you were imagining yourself to be. She told us her story of survival after the earthquake which brought most her village to the ground. SEWA had been helping the women of Dhokawada create an income from embroidery since 1988 and in the aftermath of the earthquake, the value of this was truly realised. Jamoben explained how, shortly after the earthquake, the members of the community had a meeting where they decided “Even if we have lost everything, we still have our work, we still have our art”. Just 15 days after the disaster the embroidery began again with SEWA providing new materials and sewing kits. Beyond providing a much needed income, Jamoben said that it helped alleviate fear and stress at that time, with the psychological benefits of providing them with something to do and focus on. In another corner of the exhibition we are
Artwork exhibited at the Oxford Human Rights Festival 2016
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Traditional weaving by women in various countries
All are pieces of craft, carefully and expertly produced by women facing various forms of adversity.
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© Photo courtesy of Oxford Human Rights Festival 2016
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Whether sending a strong and lasting message, creating income opportunities or both; handmade items that are full of tradition and skill matter to these women.
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Craft as process Roxana Botezatu, MArchD first year student discusses Advanced Architectural Design’s unique design process and use of materials, and how this can translate into a craft of its own
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s architects in training, we as students have been exposed to a variety of crafts and have been interested in the creative arts during the course of our degrees. We (should!) know all about drawing with pencils and pens, we’ve painted, etched 64
and modelled and we’ve even had a go at digital drawing. All of this drawing and cutting and gluing has led to ‘things’, to crafted objects. But what happens when you aren’t trying to make something in particular, and instead use craft as a ‘briefmaker’?
Craft times, post-rationalised) briefs, and too often used to mask groundless and unsubstantiated design decisions. Our briefs start differently: Sat back to back with your peer, we are told to draw their description of a common object that they have picked, without knowing what the object is. The craft then becomes the art of turning these initial drawings into objects, without falling into the trap of over-rationalising the process. A more concise design decision was then directed without having an unsunstantiated story to fall back on.
During my time in AAD, I’ve been introduced to a new type of craft: craft as a design process, something that differentiates itself from stories or concepts. It does not mean that they are not important, as part of the big design picture, however they are used too often to create voluminous, overly rationalised (and many
Alongside this, a more traditional approach to ‘crafting’ is taking place. We work and experiment with materials in order to discover that our experiments are crucial to the progression of design. From plywood to liquid rubber, the material itself takes second place to the craft by turning it into something else. For example, a sculpture showing a beautiful flowing cloth might be recreated using 2-part polyester foam, a bird in flight could be 3D-printed, a skin graft could be made out of latex. The materials can change from week to week, and crafted objects are not precious; they are not the point of the exercise. They are merely stepping-stones leading towards an improved design. Crafting as a process gives us the freedom to explore design without being bound by constraints such as superfluous story telling or thinking that the final product needs to be ‘beautiful’. It allows us to pursue rational design decisions, leading to architectural objects that have no other claim, other than being created through the process of craft. 65
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OSA Vol. 2 Issue 2 In her work For Space, Doreen Massey’s connection of space and time reminds us that objects are given meaning through relations. (2) Buildings as objects are thus given meaning through the relations that occur within, around or as a result of them. A building as a container of activity which allows relations to be expressed and formed, becomes something with political agency. In our case the whole process of construction became part of that agency. In using the building for the workshop, even before it was finished, we started to activate the space. Furthermore, because Joiwit took the lead in this activity, he gained a sense of authorship and ownership. The building was eventually clad in bamboo panels which were made by a group of villagers headed by Joiwit. This has evolved into the establishment of a micro-enterprise selling woven bamboo panels. When I revisited the project, the villagers all noted that the bamboo panels were their favourite part of the building, not only because they were beautiful but because they had been involved in the process of making. 1 At the time I thought that this was quite an original idea, but furniture/ craft workshops have been used in a variety of forms by many architects working in a community setting. For example see: Elizabeth Martin and Leslie Thomas, “Cityworks Los Angeles,” in Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism, ed. Bryan Bell and Katie Wakeford (New York: Metropolis Books, 2008) 116-121. 2 Doreen Massey, For Space (London: Sage Publications, 2005) 91.
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Architecture design using local craft and building methods Photo courtesy of Thomas Henderson Schwartz and Arkitrek team
Here was an example of a genuine collaboration; coupling his craftsmanship with our design skills we had managed to create a product which was more than the sum of its parts.
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Digital craft and poetic fabrication MArchD student James Palmer explores the notions of craft, digital manufacturing and the Deleuzian philosophy in architecture
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raft and ornament are intimate entities within architecture and their manifestation allows architecture to adopt a multitude of political connotations, crucially those surrounding methods of production. Are designer and worker both to be submitted as servants to an order or style? Perhaps the worker may instead be set free from these shackles to pursue their own craft. But is it necessary to separate the worker and the designer into two camps if “workmanship and 72
design are extensions of each other” (Pye, 1968, p.139)? In an environment of digital fabrication, code can also become craft. Through this, designer and craftsperson become indistinguishable, their hierarchy is dissolved. What does this mean for the pursuit of ornament and luxury in architecture? This becomes particularly relevant with the “deterritorialisation” of the drawing, where it is detached from its original significance and adopts a new meaning. As the drawing
Craft or model becomes a digital entity, it is given the agency to control a machine and directly craft materials. The contemporary designer who digitally fabricates finds themselves in a position where their role is to produce information for machines - they are not limited to the drawing. Instead their role becomes to generate information through which their design can be fabricated. This information may be a 3d surface from which points, tangents and normals are derived or it may be something entirely more abstract such as angles to fold or the speed and vector of a cut. From this we are presented with a mode of making where “fabrication drawings are not defined by boundaries of representation” (Sheil,
2012a, p.15). Instead we are liberated from the tyranny of the drawing board, guided instead by the morphogenetic capacities of the materials we will craft in much the same way that, prior to computational modelling, structural innovators such as Dieste, Gaudi, Candela or Otto turned to physical models, construction methods or mathematics to define their ornamental forms. Their methods instead engaged directly with the act of making and elevated this act above that of drawing. It is important to distinguish between that which is difficult to draw yet possible to make and that which is possible to draw yet difficult to make (Sheil, 2012b, p.137). The architect as digital maker has no use for the latter.
In striated space, one closes off a surface and ‘allocates’ it according to determined intervals, assigned breaks; in the smooth, one ‘distributes’ oneself in an open space according to frequencies and in the course of one’s crossings. (Deleuze and Guattari, 1988, p.481) 73
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Burry, M. (2011). Scripting Cultures : Architectural Design and Programming. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Calefato, P. (2014). Luxury: Fashion, Lifestyle and Excess. London, UK: Bloomsbury. Colletti, M. (2013). Digital Poetics : An Open Theory of Design-Research in Architecture. Farnham, UK: Ashgate. Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. (1988). A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. London, UK: Athlone Press. Sheil, B. (2012a). Manufacturing the Bespoke: Making and Prototyping Architecture. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Sheil, B. (2012b). Distinguishing Between the Drawn and the Made. In: Menges, A. (ed). Material Computation: Higher Integration in Morphogenetic Design. London: Wiley. Pye, D. (1968). The Nature and Art of Workmanship. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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studio mix 1.
Track: Don’t Mess On My Thing Artist: The Poets of Rhythm Album: Practice What You Preach Released: 2006 Label: Daptone Records In a sentence: “One from back in the day”
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Track: Blurred lines Artist: Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell Album: Blurred Lines Released: 2013 Label: Star Trak/Interscope In one sentence: “Obnoxious”
3.
Track: Beautiful Escape Artist: Tom Misch ft. Zak Abel Album: Beat Tape 2 Released: 2015 Label: Beyond the Groove In one sentence: “Easy listening”
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Track: Don’t (WSTRN remix) Artist: Bryson Tiller Album: Original song from T R A P S O U L Label:RCA Released: 2015 In one sentence: “I would never listen to it, it just sort of happened”
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Track: Revelry Artist: Kings ofLleon Album: Only by the Night Label: RCA Released: 2008 In one sentence: “Shenanigans of summer #nostalgia”
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Track: Iron Artist: Woodkid Album: The Golden Age Label: Green United Music Released: 2013 In one sentence: “The video for Iron is fucking wicked”
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