We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Arkham Projects about their original and creative Housing Complex design work. Arkham Projects is an award-winning architectural designer, that makes our world a better place with their original housing complex works.
Arkham Projects ("AP") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Sonata Housing Complex. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
AP : A unique product (housing complex) that can be considered as "urban art" with a selling ticket similar to the competition.
AP : We believe it could be a wake-up call for new generations of architects to explore more innovative ideas where everything has a reason to exist and not so much into expensive unnecessary materials that could or could not be essential for the projects.
AP : The conceptual design was about a month, maybe a little more; the whole design process was about four months.
AP : The client asked for the project to be “different”, but economically accessible, in which "nothing felt extra"; any material or element that he felt didn’t have a functional purpose, was going to be removed at the time of construction. With a main facade facing south, in Yucatan, we knew that the protection from the sun was a must, however, a skin or lattice was no longer an option if we wanted to achieve what the client requested; it would be necessary to find within the architectural program a way to protect the user, and at the same time, turn this resource into a fundamental one for the success of the project, which without it, the project could not work. The stairs where the answer.
AP : The challenge of achieving what the client wanted/needed. It is no longer oxymoronic to say unique and low-cost.
AP : Many life teachers, but not one in particular.
AP : Young couples.
AP : Many people think that doing something unique, or different, usually is expensive; Sonata came to prove that wrong.
AP : Sonata, as in music, is a compositional procedure that uses two contrasting themes, complexity in its unity and simplicity in its repetition.
AP : Hands, brains and hearts.
AP : The intersection between the stairs.
AP : With structural engineers and lightning experts.
AP : It doesn't have a big role. We tried to look back at the basics, we wanted the design to be pure, a project that could live without cutting edge technology.
AP : Not really.
AP : Finding the mix between unique and low-cost.
AP : We've heard about the award before and always wanted to be part of it; we believe Sonata is our ticket to get in.
AP : The longer the quest, the better the result.
AP : In Arkham we believe in creating architecture with purpose, we believe architecture is a quest for projects to accomplish dreams, that create community and become transcendental. We believe Sonata is that.
