Incidental Architecture

Lyon St, North facing, 08/05/20

Incidental Architecture is a meditation on the inadvertent architectural expression found within substantive construction projects. In turns playful, somber, or otherworldly, this expression is inevitably ephemeral. Configurations emerge only to be entombed within the sarcophagus of the completed structure.

The first time I stepped onto a large construction site was a revelation. It is an intense, multi-sensory experience and the scale of material reorganization going on is hard to fully grasp. In a state of constant change, a construction site has an ongoing allure. Each site’s progression is a narrative, with attendant chapters and story arc. I return to sites regularly to avoid missing out on key developments in the unfolding tale. The fleeting nature of any given composition is a source of inexplicable amusement to me.

There is a commonly accepted architectural language in building composition, with shared grammar and vocabulary. In contrast, architectural compositions incidental to construction and formed under the regime of operations have an unconstrained freedom and an air of abandon. They are without rhetoric and are indifferent to the profession’s current motifs - neither conformist nor rebel. Sudden, passing, fulsome, and with a wide emotive range, this architecture is worthy of attention.

Sample Works: