The Easel

16th June 2020

Points of contact – a short history of door handles

The humble handle. Elaborate creations appeared in 17th century Europe although England seemingly preferred the plain knob. The 20th century concept of a building as a total work of art brought handles that reflected architectural aesthetics. Then (of course) the Bauhaus, which introduced the idea of elegant functionality. Nowadays, despite numerous good designs, “almost every door handle you will see … will be cheap and ill-considered”.

9th June 2020

A History of Architects Mistaking Design for Politics

A bucket of cold water over architecture’s more ambitious exponents. How often do grandiose projects actually provide solutions to social problems? Preordained ideas about design that are imposed on a community often become “projects of domination”. Architecture needs to propose buildings that “reflect the values of the cultures in which they are created.”