A Manifesto For An Invisible Architecture

Something Old

Architecture does not arise from a vacuum; there is always something there from the start. Whether the site is a striking seaside plot, an old farmhouse, an apartment in the heart of a metropolis, a stony desert, or a 1970s detached house in different shades of brown, there is something to connect to, frame, refine, transform, or expand upon. It is our task to acknowledge the qualities that this "old" embodies. Engaging with an undeveloped site is a privilege. As there are soon not many undeveloped places left, this prompts architects to approach existing built environments with both curiosity and critique. Just as we humans are both culture and nature, our buildings should also be regarded as such. With sharp eyes and an open mind, the architect should embrace, enhance and engage with the existing.

Something New

Every project is about adding something new, otherwise we would not be needed. A new whole, a statement where life can continue, slightly improved, or perhaps in an entirely new way. The new can be a building, a piece of furniture or just a different way of relating to a place, through a small but meaningful intervention. The new is the opportunity. A chance to explore and disseminate ideas in an open field. An unyielding pursuit of an architecture that responds and poses questions in return. We must never stop searching and may never find anything other than a clue. The new creates value but must also be substantially better than the existing.

Something Borrowed

As humans, we collect impressions and expressions. Together, they form a catalog of references that lead further into art history, out into our immediate surroundings, or on journeys to distant lands. These fragments occupy space in the world we construct. They are woven together in a continuous fabric of conscious and unconscious allusions. Sometimes outright copy-paste, but more often through a subtle search for a contemporary expression, which becomes apparent only much later when the present has moved on and left architecture as period-specific and passé. Therefore, architecture should not believe it stands apart from history but instead embrace the canon from which treasures are to be plucked and reused with imagination and due respect. Copy, but always cite the source. What would literature be without quotes?

Something Blue

Architecture should not only solve functional problems in a beautiful and sustainable way. It should also open up new worlds, challenge the familiar, and question our prejudices. By leaving room for randomness and contradiction, a depth is created that sharpens our presence. The creative process, which is open to the unexpected, the imprecise, and the ambiguous, will lead to complex and innovative statements. The blue exists above us, below us, and all around us, if only we have the time to pause and let it in.

Malmö, September 2022