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1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/4028Chapter 2 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 9:02 AM Page 49
Developing a concept ›Klein Dytham architecture: Billboard Building› Finding a processKlein Dytham architecture was founded in Tokyo in 1991
by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham. Their multi-disciplinary
practice encompasses architecture, interiors, public
spaces and installations. They also lecture and teach
internationally. This case study illustrates their approach
to developing an architectural concept and applying
it to both develop a design and communicate it to the
building’s client and users.The projectKlein Dytham architecture work in a rapidly changing city
with an appetite for stylistic innovation and few aesthetic
restrictions. Their response to this demanding environment
is to create architecture that is memorable through the ideas
it communicates: the building may be short-lived but people
will remember fondly the positive message that it projected.
This approach requires the creation of inventive and
engaging architectural concepts that convey a clear
message about what and who the building is for.
In their book Klein Dytham architecture – Tokyo calling,
Astrid Klein explains that ‘We don’t want to be elitist and our
approach is far from academic. Architecture is all about the
visual; you never find a note inside that describes the
concept. Just look at it. See it.’
The Billboard Building demonstrates very clearly how
architects can make creative use of an architectural
concept. Every architect will give you a different answer
to the question ‘what is an architectural concept?’, but in
essence, a concept is the idea behind a project that elevates
the building from just being a building towards being
architecture. This idea should be understandable not just to
the architect but to the people who walk past and who use
the building.Text
1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/4028Chapter 2 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 9:02 AM Page 49