Tag Archives: sculpture

OUR DESIRE FOR NATURE

February 15, 2019

Park Royal, Singapore (photo from geekchicblogger.blogspot.com)

Biophilic Design refers to our instinctive association to nature and the resulting architecture that enhances our well-being. It has been suggested that Biophilic Design offers a healthy and productive existence, as well as happiness and joy.

Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas (photo from inhabitat.com)

Goals for this prevalent design movement include the generous use of landscape inside and out, abundance of natural and artificial light, organic materials and textures, good indoor air quality and ventilation, and thermal and acoustic comfort—just to name a few. And our biophilia, meaning our love of nature, extends beyond architecture.

The Spheres at Amazon, Seattle, Washington (left photo from aarbmagazine.com; right photo from ar15.com)

Monster companies, such as Amazon, Facebook and Google, use Biophilic Design to offer a healthier, happier and more productive work environment. This we know; so let’s expand our discussion of design and the creative arts, beyond the built environment.

Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, by Ansel Adams, 1944

From photography to vintage botanical prints, from classical painters to amateurs—capturing nature in two dimensions have driven artists for centuries.

Botanical art, left: giclee prints (photo from etsy.com): right: Sweet Orange (art from thegraphicsfairy.com)
(photo by Polina Belyaeva)

Similarly, sculptors are drawn to the forces and mysteries of our natural environment. Here, installation artist/sculptor, Patrick Dougherty, combines his love of natural materials with his background as a carpenter.

left: Na Hale ‘Eo Waiawi,’ by Patrick Dougherty 2003 (photo by Paul Kodama); right: artist at work (photo by Smithsonian Magazine)

Looking to the surrounding landscape for ideas, the world of fashion and glamour draws upon themes, patterns and colors in our natural world.

Shoes by Pierre Hardy, Summer 2015, from “Force of Nature” at the Museum at FIT (photo by Eileen Costa)
Dresses of nature: left by Yiqing Yin, Fall/Winter, 2012; right by Alexander McQueen, Spring/Summer 2012

A popular icon of body art, flora/fauna is prevalent in the tattoo culture.

Nature in tattoos (left photo from Pinterest; right photo by Little Tattoos)

Similar to tattoos, the two-dimensional imagery of nature and its associated visual power provide graphic designers an infinite palette.

Nature in graphic design (left photo from amazon.com, right art by Peter Fox)

In baking a cake, rarely are these flowers real. They are usually just cream, butter and sugar. The origin of this longstanding decorating theme is unknown. Why does a wedding or birthday cake need to have flowers all over it? Why not birds and butterflies?

Nature in baking (photo from weddbook.com)

With his Sixth Symphony, known as the Pastoral Symphony, Beethoven choose to compose in a countryside setting, allowing the comforts of nature, its vibes and currents, to move him to write classical music. Other composers, such as Vivaldi, captured the abstract character of each season through melody, harmony and rhythm.

Music inspired by nature, left: The Four Seasons, by Antonio Vivaldi, 1723; middle: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, by Claude Debussy, 1894; right: Pastoral Symphony, by Ludwig van Beethoven, 1808

Whether a painting or a wedding cake, whether a building or a tattoo, Biophilia and biophilic design occupies our every day. In his 1984 book, Biophilia, Harvard professor, E.O. Wilson, introduced the concept, that we all have “the urge to affiliate with other forms of life.” Then he gave it a name, associated it with architecture and design, and we now have the moniker to label our innate love for nature: Biophilia.

Final note. Not everyone chooses biophilic design. In my article, White on White on White , we see that some do not seek a comfy house made of rustic wood and covered in vines. Rather, some individuals desire the modernity of a steel and glass, white house—ordered, abstract, simple, removed from the common traits found in our evolving nature and its living organisms.

ARCHITECTURE IS

April 18, 2015

Tools from Anthony Poon’s art studio

Architecture is not a painting because it is three-dimensional. Architecture is not sculpture, because it is more than an object that you engage by walking around, at an imaginary perimeter. Akin to installation and experiential art if it was permanent, architecture is a space and a place that one moves through in time—maybe once, maybe over and over again.

Architecture is a journey and a work of art that exists to attract and serve. Architecture has beauty, has form, and has function.

University Library, American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt, by Anthony Poon (while w/ HHPA)
University Library, American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt, by Anthony Poon (w/ HHPA)

In its making, architecture can be created slowly and methodically like a surgeon working on a painstakingly complex procedure. Architecture can be created strategically, like a general preparing for a battle. Or architecture can be created impromptu and improvisationally like a jazz musician sitting down as his keyboard playing a tune of which he has no idea where it began and where it will go.

Architecture is about persistence, courage, optimism, and passion, and perhaps, a bit of insanity. What other field is the intersection of art, science, business, and even human survival? What other field provides emotional, spiritual and intellectual responses, as well as put a roof over our heads?

W-V Mixed Use Project, Manhattan Beach, by Poon Design, photo by Gregg Segal
W-V Mixed Use Project, Manhattan Beach, by Poon Design (photo by Gregg Segal)

We need places to live, and we want these places to be warm and welcoming. We need places to go to work, and we want these places to be comfortable and efficient. We need schools, and we want these places to be inspiring and safe. Our neighborhoods need places to gather and socialize, and we want these places to be democratic and energized. Our communities need churches to worship in, and we want these places to be aspirational and uplifting. Our businesses need places to thrive and grow, and we want these places to be strategic and informed. Our rulers need places to create and debate policies, and we want these places to be powerful and influential.

Architecture is all that. And more.

© Poon Design Inc.