This event was part of the MPavilion 2020 season at MPavilion Parkade
A few weeks ago, on my 25th Birthday, I stepped forward with a mic to host a public event.
It’s been a while since I’ve found myself speaking publicly in front of an audience, not to mention standing on my own and chairing a conversation. Even though I’ve been through the process of coordination of events - this was the first time where I was able to take ownership of a subject I’ve cared deeply about for a long time.
As mentioned in the description - The Lost Narratives: A Live Reading was spawned from my curiosity and desire to understand more about the architect’s relationship with an architecture that has been realised or yet to ever manifest. Through the events of last year, trudging through plenty of online virtual discussions, zoom presentations and lectures - I found myself noticing a common thread in their presentation, materiality, design decisions and clients brief were the main principles.
Yet I have no clue as to the kind of relationship the architects have with their projects.
Often in architecture school, we’re partially programmed to form a narrative and relationship with our project. Through observing other presentations and remembering the types of feedback I’ve had for myself, there was always that question from guest architects on our personal relationship with our project. Oddly enough, a few years later and becoming an assistant tutor, I found myself unconsciously search through words and presentation style of my students and their relationship with their project.
One Perspective on Decolonising Design Education - Adrian Fernandez (2021)
Illustration by Kimberley K. Hui
Thinking back on my ‘professional/ practical’ projects, I was becoming less personal or attached to my studio projects as each semester progressed. True, I cared about a lot of my projects, but rather the outcome - I found myself drawn to the methods and design decisions that would impact the outcome of my project. Sometimes there were a few late nights and an occasional destructive squabble with my tutors - and that became a telling sign that I may have become too attached to my work.
However, after working in various fields within the design world - coordinating design events, writing architecture reviews, and finally working in an architectural practice, I found myself prioritising something else beyond the design. It was ensuring that the instructions delivered by others were delivered clearly - and that the project would be perceived as a thoughtful process. Evidently, our rose-vision lenses were gradually fading with the complexities of the professional practice, however, because of the plethora of knowledge that is waiting to be recovered and uncovered by us - the romantic hue will remain.
The Moorabol Colony - Paul Morgan (2021)
Illustration of the Trunk House by Kimberley K. Hui
Looking back at the event - in which I have invited five then four architects and designers to share a narrative that reveals their emotional link with an architecture project of theirs. Paul Morgan - wrote about a thoughtful narrative on his beloved Trunk House; Elle McFadzean shared her complex relationship with her grandmother’s house; Adrian Fernandez challenged our teachings of architecture and the philosophies that our work is built on; and Elizabeth Campbell wrote about her observations towards her very first project - the North Melbourne House by NMBW Architects.
What are Houses Made Of? - Elle McFadzean
Illustration by Kimberley K. Hui
A writing project that was five months in the making - it’s clear that everyone had their own approach to the brief that I assigned them to write about something that tells us who you are. Each piece was almost a leaf out of their journal in their own way - and it’s obvious how working in the industry for a certain number of years can shift your perspective when looking back on a project. However, the level of reflectiveness gently revealed each writers’ attachment, it manifested a type of communication that many could relate to.
As there was a space for discussion towards the end, I could only lament on my own performance and inquisitive nature that catalysed this live reading and forum. Each sentence has left my audience in awe, and in silence - and my friend suggested that it was the personal reflection that created a space for us to simply listen and silently consider the blurred boundaries between personal and professional work.
There is a dangerously fine line - to allow emotions to be interlaced with our work. Although, perhaps it comes down to the scale and scope of work we are exposed to, and the emotional investment that we’re willing to contribute as well that impacts the relationship we’d like to have with our work.
Diverse Dialogue - Elizabeth Campbell
Illustration of NMBW’s North Melbourne House by Kimberley K. Hui
There is still a larger lesson for me to learn about the relationship between the architect, designer and their own work. Given that I’ve only just begun my professional career - I’ve still yet to fully witness something I’ve completed from start to finish. Perhaps my heart will swell in pride or that my cheeks would hurt from smiling in knowing that the lines I’ve drawn have been realised physically. Or it could result in waterworks - for something that I’ve wanted for so long is finally tangible and tactile.
We’ll see how I write about it in a few years’ time.
Special Thanks
I’d also like to thank the following who have assisted me to make this project a success:
Special thanks to the MPavilion team including Molly Braddon, Jen Zielinska and Robert Henningham.
Also thank you Daniel Moore, Mat Ward, Dini Lee, Louis Anderson Mokak - for your advice, support and recommendation.
Thank you to my lovely writers and collaborators:
Paul Morgan, Elizabeth Campbell, Adrian Fernandez and Elle McFadzean - for allowing me to read and edit your words.
Related works: Alexithymia: Please Don’t Get Up Close and Personal (2018) , MPavilion - The Lost Narratives: A Live Reading (2021)
Mentions:
MPavilion Event - The Lost Narratives: A Live Reading (March 2021)
The Trunk House (2011) - Paul Morgan Architects
North Melbourne House (2016) - NMBW Architects
About MPavilion
MPavilion is an initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.
More information could be found here.