Articles by The Leewardists

We all know the typical architect’s look: a black turtleneck, slim fit pants, pointed toe boots, and minimalist jewelry pieces. Almost all of us, at one point or another, have tried to imitate the style of our favorite architect. Perhaps it was by sporting a pair of Corbusier and Philip Johnson’s iconic round glasses. Maybe it was through a chic statement haircut, or it could even have been by adopting the unofficial uniform of designers with the all-black outfit. If none of these sound appealing to you, there’s no need to worry- there are still plenty of other ways to look like your favorite famous architect.

Pritzker Prize Laureate, Balkrishna Doshi, has imparted many lessons through his poetic architecture. Drawing upon local craft and culture, he has created buildings that focus on community and humanity. Doshi once described design as “nothing but a humble understanding of materials, a natural instinct for solutions, and respect for nature,” the philosophy evident in his architecture which combines the natural environment with a focus on the human. Here, The Leewardists illustrates one of his famous quotes and show how B.V. Doshi has inspired generations of students and practitioners in the universal values he displays in his architecture.  

This here is an architect. The architect is a strange sort of a creature. Typically nocturnal, it survives purely on an unhealthy work-life imbalance. After years of primary research, our experts have finally succeeded in dissecting The Architect…

In order for doctors to make a diagnosis, a patient needs to show symptoms. But what if the affliction in question isn’t an illness, but an extraordinary lifestyle? Almost everyone can agree that architecture brings with it a distinct way of living. The grueling hours, sharp design sensibilities and studio experience shape more than what we make – they define who we are as people. Architecture’s quirks and eccentricities become our adopted quirks and eccentricities. When it comes to spotting an architecture student on campus, it’s more than our clothes that give us away. Comic illustrators The Leewardists have drawn up some classic symptoms that serve as dead giveaways – check them out below:

Learning to adapt and be flexible; it’s something that comes in handy both in an architecture firm and yoga studio. The everyday motions you go through as an architect can sometimes feel like a strenuous physical routine. Whether it be performing tasks for work or sneaking ways to get some precious shut-eye, architects need to learn how to be nimble to get through the long days and nights (coffee doesn’t hurt either). Take some deep inhalations and exhalations as you check out, in four easy to follow steps, some common positions architects find themselves in. 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. David Bowie was right when he sang it – life’s full of so much uncertainty, variables, and excitement that half the battle is riding the wave and adapting as best as one can. Some adjustments are self-directed and others are forced upon us, but regardless of this, change allows us to reminisce, regret and reflect on what once was. 

Modern technology; when it works, it’s brilliant. Even the cell phone, primarily a communication device, can now transform our face into a dog or let us throw angry birds at pigs. Computers really do separate us from the animals. 

Confidence. It’s a journey, isn’t it? But when you’re in architecture school that journey turns into a high speed roller coaster, complete with the double loop. And that would make sense, as the sheer amount of knowledge, variety and level of information that gets absorbed at us year by year only increases with each new group entering the mysterious and complex world of “the studio”. As we’ve gone up that long and winding path that is our education, our emotions go through it with us. From sheer bewilderment in first year (WTF is a 2-point perspective???) to the pride when handing in that final dissertation (tears of joy), to the fear of jumping off that deep end after graduation (real world?!), we go through it all.

“Look up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane?” Nope, just another sketch model flying out of the studio window, armed with powers of frustration and rage of its creator: the architect.