The Truth On Architectural Imagery
Reading time ~10 minutes
Introduction:
The latest developments of evolutionary psychology teach us that our sensory perception of reality is not the window into the truth that we’ve assumed it was for a long time. Rather, it’s more like a metaphorical desktop on a computer, where the reality of the computing power if hidden behind symbolic representations of reality (e.g. the file folders on a virtual desktop). That helps us accomplish our tasks without being burdened by the minutiae of the computer’s inner workings, which would never allow me to easily and effortlessly write this piece as I was able to do, if I had to literally try and understand how everything works in a computer, down to micron-sized transistors.
What that means in concrete terms, is that evolutionary psych. tells us that we don’t see the world as it really but rather that we interpret it, these interpretations being a reflection of our evolutionary fitness. I.e., we have evolved interpretations of reality that allowed us to survive and thrive.
By the same token, since there is no such thing as an accurate perception of reality, the same goes for how we create visual media that represent the world around us. I would go as far as saying - in the example of a photograph or video of a space - that the very act of creating and designing an image of a space or building is in itself an interpretation of the object itself, influenced by the mind creating it. Not to mention the fact that we lose the 3rd and 4th dimensions (the 4th being time) and reduce the representation of the space to a 2-dimensional plane. Therefore, there can be no accurate representations of the physical space, as it’s always going to be incomplete, due to the missing dimensions.
As we just demonstrated that we cannot by design, perceive - and therefore - represent the world around us in a truthful manner, we cannot expect an imperfect representation, or rather approximation of reality to be truthful. Not to mention that visual media in architecture is further removed from reality due to the subjective interpretation of the creative mind crafting the media, reality and truth is a myth that can never be reached.
Now that this is out of the way, what does it mean with regards to the truth and narrative in architectural media? Well, I’m glad you asked and we can proceed to answer to this question from two different perspectives, each considering a discrete aspect of the architectural documentation process.
The commercial aspect:
Architects are professional service providers and as such, have to be able to show their work in its best light, in order to convince prospects to hire them. To do that, a portfolio of images is a critical tool in the sales process. Much like any other kind of commercial photography, one can make a case that doctoring images in order to rid the iconography of the things that don’t convey the vision of the architect is fair game, and that’s the opinion of one of my peers. If you look at food or automotive photography, these guys routinely cheat in order to get images that represent the ideal of the product they’re selling and not the product itself, as you and I would experience it.
Even though what other industries are doing can be pretty dramatic in term of how far they’re willing to go to make a product look better than it actually is, nobody is ever accusing them of lying or being dishonest. That’s because if you go buy that burger or that car as a result of seeing an idealized version of it in an ad, you will still get the same thing, it just won’t look as good in the physical world, but it’ll still taste the same or perform as promised.
The same can be said of architecture and in this context, I think it’s OK for architects to fairly dramatically alter images if the end result is not quite what the original intent was. For example, I have more than once digitally “stained” wood finishes on a building’s exterior that was initially supposed to be a very dark stained finish, but had never been finished and was therefore showing up as a much lighter tone of wood than the architect intended. In that context, I personally have no qualms making such a change.
We also routinely remove electrical outlets, smoke alarms and exit signs that are both unsightly and create visual clutter. What we end up with is a clean, more focused imagery that better conveys the sense of space in my opinion, which in turn serves the commercial intent of these images.
All those changes do not fundamentally alter the physical experience of the space and do not speak to its performance. Again, let’s keep in mind that we are talking about 2 dimensional interpretations of a space the we experience in 4 dimensions and that there is no substitute for an in-person experience. In that sense, any image, doctored or not, is always going to be a somewhat deceitful representation of the space.
The ethical aspect:
Now, from an ethical perspective, one could convincingly argue that doctoring images is dishonest and does not represent the project as it is. Ignoring for a moment that a photograph (or a movie) is an incomplete representation of the physical space because it lacks 1 or 2 dimensions, an argument can be made that architectural media should take on a more documentary-like approach to the craft.
Supposing that this is feasible and realistic, I think it’s a weak argument because even a documentary medium -especially film- tells a story that is a representation of the author’s thoughts and opinions. While the media may not be altered per se, it’s the narrative that expresses an inherently biased opinion. And I think that’s the crux of the issue, that short of directly experiencing a space or a building, any other form of representation, doctored or not represents the artists’ biased view through a narrative. It is therefore very difficult to say that a photograph (or movie) is a truthful representation of reality
A few years ago, and incident with the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) made the news when it was revealed that an award winning building image set had been doctored, where unsightly (and very visible) air handling units on the roof of the building were removed in post production at the behest of the architect. In the article quoted above, Blair Kamin, the Chicago Tribune’s architectural critic described the oversight as follows:
“So the honor award puzzled me. How could a jury of respected architects from out of town have missed this glaring misstep? Easily, it turned out.
Unlike the AIA's national awards, which require that at least one juror visit a short-listed building, or the Pritzker Architecture Prize, whose jury travels extensively, jurors for the Chicago AIA honors typically don't inspect buildings firsthand. There simply isn't the time or money. The jury meets for just one day. In the distinguished building category, there are scores of entries (134 this year), and they consist of projects from all over the world. So according to people who administer the contest, the jurors consider required materials (design statements and photographs) as well as floor and site plans, which are optional.”
To me, the issue is only partially the responsibility of the architect and/or the photographer. In this case, it’s clearly the jury process itself that created conditions for a doctored image set to allow for Juan Moreno’s building to win an award.
The AIA has since issued new rules for their award submissions regarding retouched images, although I couldn’t find these rules in my research. I think it’s great change, because when it comes to awards, we step outside of the realm of strictly commercial photography and that we can and should reasonably expect images to not be purposely deceiving. It can easily be speculated that the building wouldn’t have won the award, had the images not be photoshopped. Since awards don’t have as much of a commercial component (although some privately-owned award competitions are huge money makers for the organizers, but that’s a debate for another article) and are supposed to be an objective assessment of the entries and determine the winners based on the merit of the work, there should be an expectation that images not be modified and in my opinion, it falls on the organizers to demand more truthful imagery.
Similarly, publications reporting on architecture, have a moral duty to ensure that the projects they publish are not overtly deceiving as it erodes the reputation of both the magazines and the designers, especially when it comes to publicly accessible architecture that can be experienced by the general public. It would be very damaging for a magazine to talk up an innovative building only to find out that half the innovations are being impeded by some unsightly design element.
Conclusion:
I don’t believe that the conclusions we can draw from this topic are either black or white. Ultimately, each player in the process, be they photographers, architects, publications, award organizers or critics have a duty to ensure that they’re not purposely deceiving their public.
I think the amount of doctoring that should be tolerated should fall on a spectrum from heavily retouched, to very slightly retouched and that were the imagery falls on the spectrum is dependent of what one is comfortable with and what is appropriate for the intended usage of the images.
Some architects and photographers will have specific opinion in favour for the more honest side of the spectrum while others will unabashedly put out images that have less to do with reality and more with the commercial aspect of their practice. Azure published a very well thought-out article on the topic last year and their conclusion was thoughtful and fairly accurate representation of the variety of opinions that are out there.
I personally do a fair amount of retouching but I do draw the line at doing work that would alter the architecture and represent the space in a way that could never happen in reality. Outlets, exits signs and smoke alarms are all fair game and so are blemishes on a wall, reflections in glass, etc. I am also a little more liberal for residential work as the issues we fix are often a matter of the construction process not being faithful to the original vision or the client making changes without the architect’s knowledge.
I would generally say that restraint and common sense are ultimately our best allies. I’m a big fan of trusting my gut when it comes to making decisions that aren’t easy and the science backs me up on this.
I think the biggest takeaway from this discussion is that we ought to be very conscious of the impact the decisions we make will have down the road and act accordingly within the boundaries of what each of us is comfortable with. The rest is just noise.
Arnaud Marthouret is the founder of rvltr and leads their strategy, visual communications and media efforts. He has helped numerous architects and interior designers promote themselves in their best light - pun intended - in order to help them run more effective practices and grow in a meaningful way.
If you have questions about this article or rvltr, or want to chat about your strategy and communications, you can leave a comment, share with a friend, or reach him at arnaud{at}rvltr.studio.
A guide to getting published for architects, part I - The traditional way.
How is it going to help me achieve my goals?
We will assume for the sake of this article, that you’ve already established, as a part of a larger business development strategy, that getting your work published is something you actively want to do. You already understand the value and simply want to go ahead with it.
While you could be a Generic Gerald - more on that later - and start pitching your projects to publications right away, it’s a good idea to sit down and think about your business objectives and how getting published with help you achieve those.
Strategy, strategy, strategy.
This is where strategic planning comes in. You will want to identify your business objectives and where you would like to grow. For example, if you have a residential practice and get plenty of good residential work, but you would like to grow your institutional portfolio, it may make sense to emphasize the institutional work and try to get published in that area, even though you’ll still want to get your best residential work out there to maintain that side of your practice.
This is where the projects to be promoted are discussed and you can start to form an idea of how you’re going to go about this. We are looking at long term goals, so really try to think about your practice in 5 or 10 years. Whether that vision may change or not, does not matter at this point.
Based on these business objectives, you can put together a list of completed projects in order of priority. This will form the basis of your publishing endeavour.
Did I say anything about strategy?
This is where you need to be bold and brave with your goals. The more off-beat and unexpected, the more likely you are to attract attention. It can be a scary proposition, but it’s a necessary one. This is where you have an opportunity to shine and express an opinion, something unique to yourself, that represents you and your company.
Being bold is a valid strategy. Heck, in my opinion, it’s the only way to consistently attract attention. The most successful architectural practices are the ones that find a way to stand out. That doesn’t mean that they mindlessly jump around like an over-excited child high on sugar. It’s more about speaking to the audience’s interests and desires and that may look very different for each practice.
Choosing the right hook.
Now that you have a strategy and know which projects you want to promote, it’s time to find the right hook, a.k.a. the angle of your story. You will want to tap into what makes your company unique. If you already know this and have an established company culture and set of values, this should be pretty straightforward. If this is not clear, you may want to spend some time figuring that out.
Then, onto the project. What is unique about it? It is a great space? Does it reflect the personality of the users? Is it particularly well suited for a specific use? Does it have a unique story? You want to reflect on the project and really nail down what its unique attributes are. Many publications, though not all, are interested in the way the space is lived in and will want to have access to users on the record as part of the story they will write. Not only it’s a good idea to include that in your pitch, but you may want to go a step further and prep your clients by letting them know that you want to get published and get their consent to be contacted by the media should they bite, as getting the users on record is a very common condition for publications, and a deal breaker if they can’t.
Picking the publications that fit with your strategy and angle.
Most editors like to be fed with stories that not only fit their editorial stance (that’s where you need to do your research and find out more about them) but also are compelling enough and well put together so that they can determine right away if that’s a possible fit before they spend any more time on your submission. I’ve heard first hand from editors that they get hundreds if not thousands of submissions and helping them sift through them quicker is very valuable to them and will give you brownie points with regards to increasing your chances of getting published.
If you’ve managed to get past the first line of defense, a succinct, yet thoughtful and most importantly, well put together submission will also play in your favour. Magazines get many submissions following the traditional press release format, which tends to focus on the project itself and the designer, generally following this formula: “Our project is awesome + we’re awesome, so please publish us”. Don’t be a Generic Gerald and do what everybody else is doing. The biggest missed opportunities when submitting projects for publication is when firms fail to speak more in-depth to their projects and how they function, enabling their users to live better lives and instead focus on the aesthetics.
How to be a winner
Being published is never guaranteed, as we will always be subjects to the unfathomable whims of editors and journalists. However, if you thoughtfully spend the time to strategize, come up with a catchy hook and be deliberate about the publications you choose to target, you will likely start seeing publications pick-up your stories more and more.
Keep in mind that this is a long game, and the more you can establish trusting relationships with media outlets, the less resistance you will find on your path to greatness and lack of success early on should not deter you from continuing as you will get better at it over time. Publications will start recognizing your name and give your submissions more attention. Like real life relationships, this takes effort to create and maintain.
Once you’ve submitted your project, the work doesn’t stop here. As everybody else is, editors and journalists are busy people. While it’s a common excuse around these parts to not give someone the time of day, we have to put ourselves in their shoes for a minute and imagine how many hundreds of submissions they have to go through for each and every issue. Sometimes, an otherwise perfectly suited submission will slip through the cracks just because.
Instead of giving up by assuming that since no one responded to your submission, they’re not interested, it is critical to pick up the phone and call that editor (easier to do if a pre-existing relationship exists) or even just send a follow-up email asking for an answer and/or feedback. It is not rare for a follow-up to lead to a yes, so this is low-cost, near effortless opportunity to increase your chances of being published. And don’t forget to ask for feedback on why they didn’t see a fit anytime you get a chance, it will help you improve both the quality of your submissions and strategically target them to the right media.
When it comes to doing this type of work, my personal mantra is “I’m not giving up until they either say, yes, no or tell me they never want to talk to me again”. If you behave like a polite, civilized human, the latter will be very rare. Most people value persistence so don’t be afraid to follow-up multiple times.
This traditional way of getting published, is still effective, albeit very time-consuming. I believe it is worth investing into if you can afford it, as paper-based publications are still very much alive and carry a lot more weight in terms of brand image. Telling someone you’ve been published in Architectural Record is way more prestigious than telling them you’ve been published on ArchDaily and for a good reason. Online publications have a place in your marketing efforts and for different reasons, but that’s for another article.
révélateur wins best of Houzz 2015 award
révélateur studio of Toronto Receives Best Of Houzz 2015 Award
Press release:
révélateur studio of Toronto Receives Best Of Houzz 2015 Award
Yorkville residence by Audax.
Over 25 Million Monthly Unique Users Rated Top-Rated Home Building, Remodeling and Design Professionals in Canada and Around the World
Toronto, Canada, January 19, 2015 – révélateur studio of Toronto has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” for Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The architectural photography studio was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.
The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 25 million monthly users on Houzz, known as “Houzzers.” Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2015” badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional’s work to learn even more about that business’ popularity and satisfaction rating among their peers in the Houzz community.
"It is a tremendous honour to be recognized as a top professional in the industry, especially after all the hard work we have put in the company in our first year of business. It means we are bringing value to our clients and are looking forward to what new and exciting projects 2015 will bring to the business." said Arnaud Marthouret, Founder of révélateur studio.
“Houzz provides homeowners with a 360 degree view of home building, remodeling and design industry professionals, empowering them to engage the right people and products for their project,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize révélateur studio among our “Best Of” professionals as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”
Follow révélateur studio on Houzz.
About révélateur studio:
révélateur studio is a Toronto-based photography studio specializing in architecture and art-directed interior photography.
About Houzz
Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin and Sydney. For more information, visit www.houzz.com
Yorkville Residence on the cover of Designlines Magazine
révélateur is proud to announce its first magazine cover! Our shoot of the Yorkville residence by Audax Architecture was featured in the the Spring 2015 issue of Designlines magazine.
Spring 2015 cover
Interestingly, this is our first ever commissioned project and turned out to be a client favourite from day one. This reno of a 70's modern house turned a very dated dwelling into a sleek, contemporary, state of the art dwelling that reflects the personality of its owner, a 30-something successful entrepreneur from Toronto.
Click here for full article.
révélateur in Award magazine
Our shoot of the Buckingham Arena by WGD Architects was featured in a recent issue of Award magazine.
The article covers the story of the PPP process the various stakeholders had to go through in order make this project a success. Read full story below.