the story behind the "architecture collection" designs

architecture is my passion. the soul reason i became an architect. a beautifully designed building makes my heart race. it is a constant inspiration source. that’s why, when i sat down to design my very first notebook collection – architecture was the first thing i thought of.

the final 3 notebook designs are very geometrical and abstract - they can look different for every person – that’s another thing i love about them.

for me, they represent 3 architectural elements that we use and pass by on an everyday basis.

the stairs

the stairs are one of the most frequently used architectural elements and a very sculptural one. in my design, they are depicted as they’re drawn in elevation plans – imagine a staircase on the outside of the building, where the railing is the only thing you see.

also, if you look closely, you can see a little person standing on one of the stair landings.

here's a picture of a similar kind of staircase in the real world, with my original design process for the stairs cover.

left - leutschenbach school, christian kerez, zürich, right - cover design process

the windows

the windows are also (mostly) one of the unavoidable parts of a building and a very poetic one. windows are like the eyes of a building (or the eyes are the windows to the soul ;) ). in this design, the windows are depicted hidden in the shadow. it creates a subtle 3d effect – can you see it?

school in klaus, dietrich untertrifaller architects

office building, baumschlager eberle architects, lustenau

the arches

this is an element that is not found in every building… but when found, it really makes the building special. sometimes the arches serve as structural support, sometimes as windows, the possibilities are endless. also, i love the 3d effect they create on the notebook.

if you wondered how this architectural element looks like "in the wild" here are a couple of beauties:

tanzhaus, barozzi/veiga architects, zürich

leutschenbach school, christian kerez, zürich

for me, architecture will always be an immense source of inspiration. after all "architecture is art that we live in".