Transpost from Arcspace.com
Ken Konchel
architectonic: St. Louis
Angularity/1997
Exterior ceiling detail from the former St. Louis County National Auto Bank.
Arrangement/2005
In the right foreground, a portion of “Joe,” Richard Serra’s torqued spiral sculpture at the Pulitzer Foundation, by Tadao Ando, 2001. In the left background, a portion of the eastern exterior of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works 2003. In between, the fence that separates the buildings.
Contemporary/2000
The Center of Contemporary Arts, formerly the B’nai Amoona Synagogue, by Erich Mendelsohn, 1950.
Contour/2007
Profile of the West Campus Building of Washington University in Saint Louis, formerly a Famous Barr Department Store, by Marx, Flint & Schonne Associated Architects, 1948.
Curvilinear/2005
Detail of the Priory Chapel, a triple tier of thin-shell concrete ruffles, by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), 1966.
Diamonds/2008
Detail of the Religious Center, a geodesic dome structure by R. Buckminster Fuller, 1971, at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Divergence/2002
Detail of the walkway vaulting under the Brookings Hall tower at Washington University, by Cope & Stewardson of Philadelphia, 1899.
Immacolata/2008
Detail of the Church of the Immacolata, by Bernard McMahon, 1967.
Into Joe/2007
A perspective of “Joe,” Richard Serra’s Cor-Ten steel torqued spiral sculpture at the Pulitzer Foundation, 2001.
Parallel/2004
Detail of the overhang on the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, by the London based firm of Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners in association with Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), 2001.
Relationship/2003
Parts of two Washington University Medical Center buildings in the foreground with the McDonnell Pediatric Research Building by Perkins & Will of Chicago, 2000, in the background.
Ridges/2001
Roof of the First Church of Christ Scientist, by Kromm, Rikimaru & Johansen, 1963.
Roof Lines/2000
Temple Emmanuel’s roof, by Bernoudy-Mutrux-Bauer Architects, 1962.
Sculpturesque/2005
Detail of the amphitheater of The National Shrine
of our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL, 1960. This shrine is the largest outdoor shrine in North America.
Serration/2000
Roof of Christ the King United Church of Christ by Manske & Dieckmann,1960.
Threesome/2008
A portion of the Art and Design Building at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, by AAIC, Inc. (formerly AAI/Campbell), 1993.
Undulate/2001
The McDonnell Planetarium, part of the St. Louis Science Center in Forest Park, by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), with Albert Alper, 1963. The exterior is a thin-shell concrete cast in the shape of a hyperboloid.
Vaulted/2005
Cross vaults at Concordia Seminary, by Charles Klauder, 1926.
Wedges/2007
A portion of the roof & western exposure of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, by Robert L. Fisher & Associates, 1964.
Zinc Grid/2002
The stainless steel-clad former American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Company Building, by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), 1967. Part of a Drury Plaza Hotel project that opened in 2000.
Artist’s Statement
“My ambition is to raise awareness of and appreciation for architecture by presenting it as engaging and dynamic geometric arrangements and interactions.”
“As a photographer, i am drawn to the expressive power of buildings. Provocatively capturing architecture in an abstract, graphic way keenly interests me. My intention is to make compelling photographs that remove the context and distill architecture to nothing but relationships of shape, line, pattern, detail, tone and/or surface.
Architecture forms the physical environment of our lives. It connects us to the past, it helps define our relationships to one another, and it gives us a sense of place and identity. Architecture also embodies our values and expresses our individual and collective aspirations. And most importantly, architecture enhances and advances our creative legacy. Yet something so integral to the sense of who we are - something that contributes immeasurably to our quality of life – is often dismissed as mundane, taken for granted, or at worst ignored. My ambition is to raise awareness of and appreciation for architecture by presenting it as engaging and dynamic geometric arrangements and interactions. Through my photography, i hope to convey the value of patience and observation, and the power of making careful choices.”