2. Asif Khan

Architect and Maker
London - UK

‘Vehicles of Flight’

Could you give us a brief introduction to your library?

The library is centred around books on making, especially traditional and folk craft. I’ve had a long standing interest in craft, particularly Finnish and Japanese Mingei, which ties directly into my way of working. The library is quite literal in that sense - we did an exhibition called ‘A Different Perspective’ in Germany so there are a number of books on African ceramics. There are architectural books in the library, but the focus is on the tradition of making; the human tradition of making. These books are critical to our studio.

The library has developed as a collection of books originating from certain projects in many ways, helping you to expand on specific interests. There are definitely themes we are interested in, some of which haven’t been formalised as projects yet. Hopefully they will because they form significant parts of our thinking.

I am quite literal when it comes to references. Rather than using the reference as a means of abstraction, I am looking at books to directly learn from. We then test ourselves through an investigation into how to apply that method.

Literary references being used in an instructive way.

Most definitely. When we first started working in Kazakhstan, we started a collection on Central Asia: geography, fabrics, nomadic ways of living, felt pavilions and so on. A broad collection of resources that we could make reference to throughout the design process. The library grows quite organically, developing roots related to the work we are undertaking. It is inherently work we are interested in; people, or places that we want to work with.

Seemingly often with a basis formed around craft, folk, tradition...

In a certain way, yes. I am particularly interested in the polarity between folk craft and the role of technology; what impact can this juxtaposition have on the future of humanity? I am constantly questioning how these two forces, seemingly at odds with one another, can be brought together. Do you hybridise them? Is one used to inform the other? Do they overlap? Do they mirror one another?

It is interesting to delve into how you use books; how do you go about drawing directly from traditional methods of practice and applying that to a contemporary scenario? What literature sits alongside that?

There are a few important books on Japanese Mingei that I return to. Japanese Folk Art and Design by Sonobe Kiyoshi (Keiyusha, 1964) is a 4-volume set, dealing with a wide variety of material. I bought this to try and understand more about the objects that we live with. Another interesting book is Design and Craftsmanship of Japan: Stone, metal, fibres and fabrics, bamboo by Takeji Iwamiya (Bijutsu Suuppan-Sha, 1963). It contrasts elements of Japanese design, showcasing both architecture and objects next to one another. A shrine next to sake boxes.

How has the literature helped in marrying these various elements?

I am potentially contradicting myself here, but it feels like the way we work has more to do with re-composing, rather than abstracting. We don’t remove the meaning. We think about a certain material, for example, thatch, and question the existing knowledge before investigating how we can look at it in a different way.

Has this focus on materials always been something you have been interested in?

I developed an interest in materials in a meaningful way when I was doing an art foundation at the Prince’s Foundation - an amazing one year course called ‘Built Environment and Building Arts’. The breadth of the course was fascinating - brick making, stone inscription, wood carving, joint making, welding, all alongside fine art.

One thing you won’t find in the library is architectural theory. I can’t stand it. I don’t doubt its importance at certain moments in history, but I find the idea that knowledge is excluded from certain people very troubling. It is a real issue in our profession - trying to dress up architecture in complicated, esoteric language is unnecessary and creates labour for its own pleasure. I find someone like Christopher Alexander’s writing much more valuable. A way of writing that includes, rather than excludes...

It is much more practical.

Exactly. There are a number of books on engineering. I set a task for someone to try and find every book in the ‘IL’ series, which explores structural materials and techniques. This one, IL 31 Bambus - Bamboo (Institut für leichte Flächentragwerke, 1985) by Klaus Dunkelberg is about tension structures and bamboo. The series traverses a wide range of scales. We looked into buying the set, but they are about £250 each and there’s 30 or so. Some of them are impossible to find.

We also have a number of journals. Ja 95: Idea of Emerging Structural Designers (Japan Architect, 2015) asks architectural practices in Japan to pick an engineer who they have collaborated with. A lot of the famous Japanese projects have only been possible because of the engineer. Toyo Ito’s work is a good example. The National Taichung Theatre is a vast and challenging project, in which the structural engineer will have been responsible for a lot of the solutions to the trickiest design details. Without them, Ito’s work never would have been realised. It is a book that should be done in the UK!

How are you organising the library? Is it based around key topics?

We use the standard library system to organise the shelves. It was previously arranged intuitively but it became too difficult; with the most intimate knowledge of the library I became the only one who was really able to find anything. So 2 years ago we catalogued it. This is about half of it, with the other half at home. It is also catalogued, but not ordered in that way.

Even still I tend to put things back in the wrong place. I find it fascinating when a book gets put back in the wrong place and different references are pulled together. That is a really interesting phenomena. It is more like a home bookshelf. I think it is better if it is intuitive; you put books where you feel like they belong. More recently, we’ve been trying to display books on tables and make use of a ‘shelf of recent interests’.

Yes, the idea of books migrating around the library is interesting; a stack of books or a portion of a bookshelf offering a snapshot into a particular period of thinking. However, with so many books, like you said, it is hard to create an intuitive library but one at the same time that is usable and workable for the Studio.

Exactly. I think we have somewhere between 1000 and 2000 books so it is difficult. Recently, I’ve been particularly interested in food and the culture that it is formed from, but also that forms around it. How has hospitality developed through the evolution of humans and toolmaking? The Origins of Cooking: Palaeolithic and Neolithic Cooking (Phaidon Press, 2021) is written by Ferran Adrià, who was Head Chef of El Bulli restaurant in Spain for a number of years.

Is this interest forming out of a specific project?

No, not at all. I think it is important to have books on culture in the office - to broaden our perspectives. I suppose it extends from this interest in folk art and making that I have already touched upon. What are the tools that have allowed families to survive in certain areas? What processes of making, such as preservation and pickling, have fed directly into culture? These are important questions to ask because they are the fundamentals of material behaviour and visual language. Whether it is language or symbolism, colour or paint, it is hardwired into us because it has been occurring for thousands of years. This in turn leads to questions on the fabric of our communities today - how have the fundamentals of living changed? This book analyses processes of living through the lens of cooking. It also touches on what creativity is; what are the processes that led to people creating in the first place?

Food is the medium, but the overarching topic is creativity.

Exactly. There is a comparison between alimentation and cooking, identifying the key differences. One is driven by instinct, whilst the other is a creative desire.

Cooking is also related to joy and pleasure; the ritual that takes place alongside cooking.

All of our projects are trying to connect with people on a deep level. We want people to feel a certain way in our projects, be it safe, or energised, and so on. The Origins of Cooking questions the key to creativity in the Palaeolithic period; what was the role of instinct versus creativity? The book is complete conjecture, but conjecture based on artefact. I think this is an important way of thinking about things.

Another similar book that questions the role of creativity is Florencia Colombo and Ville Kokkonen’s Man Matter Metamorphosis: 10 000 Years of Design (The Finnish Heritage Agency, 2018). This book accompanied the exhibition at the National Museum of Finland. Similar to Design and Craftsmanship of Japan, images are placed next to one another in an intriguing manner.

Is the story told chronologically?

It is not, which is interesting in itself. An Aalto vase placed next to a fishing trap. I like this idea of a non-linear narrative as it relates closely to the way my brain works; a constellation of images and text. In that you find one thing and then relate it to something you have seen elsewhere?

Is this a typical way you work with your library?

Yes. I know the library intimately and spend time collating books to try and create a case for a project, or a part of a project. I don’t read the books cover to cover but use them in a non-linear way. This translates to the idea I mentioned earlier about my fascination with the way in which books are gathered together.

Which adds to this idea that you have already touched on, about seeing things in a different way. You use literature to help you look at architecture and objects in a new way, bridging that gap between the traditional and the contemporary; folk art and making alongside thinking on the future of humanity and technological innovation.

When you are working with literature in this manner, how are you recording your thoughts? Are you annotating them, taking notes..?

I don’t tend to annotate books. I used to put markers in but I’ve stopped doing this recently. I don’t have a photocopier either so I typically end up taking photographs of specific pages and sending them to someone in the studio. Pete is the longest standing member of the Studio so I send a lot of references to him. He has been with the Studio since 2010 and in that time we have developed a large collection of shared resources. Engagement with the library is helpful as it allows us to speak a common language.

Do you read many novels?

I do, but most are at home. Murakami is a favourite of mine, as well as Borges. The Library of Babel (Isha Books, 2013) is incredible and a useful reference for your project. It is a short story discussing an infinite library. Composed of hexagonal rooms, it is said that the library, due to its ownership of every possible combination of letters and words, holds all information - the idea that the sum of possible past and future knowledge is in the library somewhere. The expansive library is the physical manifestation of that, with a number of rooms stretching into the distance. This idea that many universes exist within a library is in itself very interesting. That is what makes collecting books worth it. When I am in my library, I see more than the contents of the books. Even with 1000 books or so, the number of potential connections is significant. The internet has diminished this idea slightly, dwarfed the physical library in its breadth. But access is a key issue. You do not have the capacity to search infinitely. You can follow leads but the brain does not allow infinite strings of thought. In a physical format, it is much clearer to visualise the permutations between books. Even in this relatively small library, there are more relationships and connections than we could get through in a lifetime. A million different projects you could stumble upon.

Exactly. If you took just one book from your library and looked at every other book or resource it makes reference to, it is going to spread...

Exactly. Another project that I have followed closely and am impressed by the level of detail is Brownbook (Brownbook Publishing) by Ahmed and Rashid bin Shabib. They interview members of the Arab diaspora; a cultural survey of those from the Middle East, both living in their country of birth, but also elsewhere. It started as a magazine, but they have since published this book of extended interviews, Diaspora from the Middle East and North Africa: Communities, Architecture, Neighborhoods (Lars Muller Publishers, 2019). Vladimir Tamari, a Palestinian artist lived in Japan for 50 years and became completely embedded in the Japanese way of living. He was 93 and they did the last interview with him before he passed away.

An amazing project. This idea of travel seems to be quite important to your work. I notice a lot of books on space in your library. Does this section stem from a project, or a personal interest?

This section on space travel appeared out of a personal interest but has also formed the basis for a number of projects. One of the oldest books here is from my childhood, Deep Space (Crescent Books, 1988) by Colin A. Ronan. It has a number of clear, legible diagrams that explain the fundamental principles of space travel and its science. It is a book for children, but the quality of the drawing has a clarity that makes it useful in a number of ways.

Are you still making reference to this book now?

Most definitely. I used this book a lot when working on both the Astana Expo and the Hyundai Pavilion. It is full of exploration.

Similar to this wonderful book, Inside the Atom (Max Parrish, 1956), which I recently purchased from Donlon Books. Another children’s book that is describing a very complex topic but in an incredibly simple way. It forms part of a lovely series, titled ‘Machines Which Seem to Think’. Amazing!

This is also fantastic, The Last Whole Earth Catalog (Random House, 1971), edited by Stewart Brand of the Long Now Foundation. Tools for living. I got this 3 or 4 years ago, again from Donlon Books on Broadway Market. Conor Donlon, who I have known for a number of years, knows exactly what I like. As a collector of books, those personal relationships are important. Booksellers are brokers of knowledge. Those relationships are very hard to build online.

The catalogue itself has it all; urban planning; planting and crops; musical instruments; astronomy; knitting; community activation; self-medication; LSD. It is an encyclopaedia, but with a contact attached to every product. You can retrieve information from any of these people. This version is from 1971 I believe, the last year they did it.

It is amazing. Like a whole earth Yellow Pages.

It is a good representation of the way I think about the library. Each book is a chance to engage with an individual from the past, to discuss their life’s thesis. The Last Whole Earth Catalog is an interaction with Stewart Brand; when you read a book by Kenya Hara, you are having a discussion with him; in The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller by Robert W. Marks (Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1960) you are speaking directly to them both. It is a way of interacting with people, offering a window into their world. A seance with them. When you read their book it makes you design differently. They are formatting the way you think. That is what I like about a library, it poses a multitude of thinking - ways that you can tap into.

A private dialogue with each author...

Yes. For me, it is important to try and understand what has come before us. Literature and a dialogue with the author is an important part of that. Whilst working on the Expo 2020 Dubai, we undertook a lot of research to try and understand the breadth of the expo as a topic. This book, Architecture as Media: From Rome 1760 to Osaka 1970 (The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, 2005) is interesting and quite unique. It explores the role of architecture as a communication device. How does the architecture set the scene for movement around the exposition site?

Another fascinating book on the topic is Expo ‘70 (Diamond, 2005) by Minami Nakawada. It takes all the physical outputs of Expo 1970 in Osaka, presenting them as one, singular design project - posters, tickets, maps... Historically, and as is the case with Expo 70 in Osaka, these design pieces are graphically independent from one another. A coherent style is often lost. I bought this book as a reminder of the process; a sort of guidebook to our future.

This thinking on Expos has stemmed from a lot of our exhibition work, a place to test our creativity. Das Kunstmuseum, das ich mir erträume, oder der Ort des Werkes und des Menschen (The Art Museum of My Dreams, or the Place for Works and People) by Rémy Zaugg (Sternberg Press, 2014) has been a useful guide throughout this process. This book is about the experience of space in galleries, particularly the relationship between wall and ceiling - the process of hanging. If you go to the Tate Modern you will see a lot of this thinking. When we started looking at art spaces we learnt a lot from this book. There is theory here but it is from the perspective of an artist. Zaugg has been an important collaborator for Herzog and de Meuron.

Theory, but told in a simple, diagrammatic way. It is not trying to be impenetrable.

Exactly. Zaugg is discussing theory in very literal terms, the organisation of space. There are a lot of lessons on gallery design.

You mentioned briefly the relationship between Zaugg and Herzog and de Meuron, over the years you have had some important collaborators, how did they come about?

I think you are drawn to people. Kenya Hara has been a massive influence on me, both as a mentor and collaborator. We first met in 2012 in Miami, where I suggested Kenya take part in a roundtable discussion I was doing with Swarovski. We have since collaborated on a number of projects but there was a process to get to that stage. This is his book, Designing Design (Lars Muller Publishers, 2015), one I reflect on a lot whilst contemplating his way of thinking. The book sets out various methods for conceptual thinking and its important role in identifying the fundamental intent of a project. Its reason to exist.

Finally, if you could re-discover one book, what would it be?

This book was on the shelf of my parents’ home, The Library Atlas (George Phillip & Son, 1960) by Harold Fullard. As a child I spent a lot of time looking at this. It was the basis for a lot of dreaming about geography, archipelagos, peculiar edges to territories, deserts and the way in which they are coloured, contours...All held in one book. As a child I found this fascinating. Temperature zones, economics, shipping lanes - so much information. It definitely framed my mind in a certain way and helped to shape my thinking. I would like to spend some time in that feeling again. I recently bought these, Aeronomical Maps for the Antarctic (American Geographical Society, 1964) by Penndorf, Noel, Rourke, and Shea. They are in poor condition unfortunately, but they offer a wealth of breathtaking information. They are part of a process of making an unknown place known; mapping the permanent condition of overhead aurora’s and their position on the globe, an event that can only be seen at the scale of the earth.

And completely relevant to the climate emergency and the melting of the pole caps. It is a view that we should be seeing much more often.

Absolutely. I found these in a second hand bookshop and there were countless others. This mapping event was a significant political event, the mapping of an unknown territory.

Going back to The Library Atlas, it is incredible to consider the impact that such a book had on your career. Those memories provided the information to help set the trajectory for your future profession. The way in which you think about things.

Memory as information is an interesting idea. When I was teaching with Kenya Hara on his course ‘Design Theory in Science’ at the Musashino Art University, we worked on a brief, which has a lot in common with this book, Ex-Formation (Lars Muller Publishers, 2015). It is based on the idea of information being reductive. Through the process of providing information, you are actually losing it. Instead, Hara discussed the idea of ‘ex-formation’. The process of creating new information, by not explaining everything - to create this feeling that what you don’t know is more valuable than what you do know. The projects in this book are about how you create that feeling, or reveal it. It is a collection of rich and detailed ideas, a completely different way of seeing and understanding the world.

I bought Kenya Hara Twofold (Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2016) by Peter Liversidge. It is a book of photographs - 2 Polaroids placed side by side, taken a second apart. There are minute differences between each photograph, forming unique moments in time. Some of them are identical, but some of them are clearly changing. The recording of seconds. A very simple idea, executed beautifully.

I gave it to Kenya Hara whilst we were having a conversation and he stopped to look through the book in silence. He did not miss one page. It is the amount of respect he gives both a book and a gift. Once absorbed it is in his mind and he can draw upon it. It was from this sort of process with Kenya

All photography by Tim Lucas unless otherwise stated.

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2. Asif Khan

Architect and Maker
London - UK

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2. Asif Khan

Architect and MakerLondon - UK

Index

Architect and Maker
London - UK