Architectonics of Typography
Richard Meier
Pritzker Prize Laureate, Richard Meier, is a renowned American architect who believed in the power of contradiction and expectation. Much of his work challenges preconceived notions of architecture in what a building is supposed to be or where it may stand. He utilizes the binary relationships of big versus small, soft versus loud, and solid versus transparent to create conversations about the structure and its surroundings.
I applied Meier’s belief of confounding the viewer’s expectations to challenge the conventions of tradition by altering the physicality of each component. Each component is folded down to a 2” x 3” rectangle, enclosed in a box that fits right in the palm of your hand. As the viewer unfolds each piece, they expand and increase in size. This experience provokes the viewer into thinking about their expectations of convention. Meier famously quoted “An important work of architecture will create polemics”.
Architectonics of Typography was an exhibition showcased at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where the designer was required to create a set of materials based on the design philosophy of a Pritzker Prize Award Laureate. The set includes a poster, book, cards, and a case.
Book: 2.25" x 3" (Unfolded: 3” x 49.5”)
Cards: 2.25" x 3" (Unfolded: 4.5" x 6")
Poster: 2.25" x 3" (Unfolded: 18" x 24")
Package: 2.45" x 3.25"x1.5"
