Artists in Collaboration

For a long time, architects and artists have maintained an ambivalent relationship – collaborative work between the two is often seen as a process of transformation for both parties within their respective fields. However architects and artists share a lot of similarities, both share the ability of transferring what’s on their minds into existence. They both deal with the same lines, shapes and forms. They also both deal with the same elements of nature; color, light, space and time.

SHAPE Architecture have been privileged to collaborate with variety of artists from various backgrounds over the years. The iterative process of each artist’s work is always of interest to us and often mimics that of our own. The images featured here represent a small snapshot into this process and output. At Newton Recreation Centre, Sean Alward has ceramically etched a repeating fern pattern onto the curtain glazing to respond to the adjacent grove of trees whilst creating a dappled lighting condition internally. While Brendan McGillicuddy’s ‘Veil’ artwork on the glazing at South Haven Cemetery poignantly helps to create a reflective atmosphere and space for people to mourn.

The inclusion of such works in our projects can be seen as being mutually beneficial; the architecture hosts or frames the artwork just as much as the artwork enhances the experience of the architecture.