Paris-based architect Brendan MacFarlane, of the firm Jakob + MacFarlane, spoke to us during our visit to the FRAC Centre in Orléans for the ArchiLab 2013 exhibition and conference. MacFarlane, who studied at Sci-Arc in the 80s and later received a degree from Harvard's GSD, successfully combines theory and form, placing him among the few architects that have been able to harmonize this balance.
Jakob + MacFarlane’s special and precise handling of the grids generates projects that, while outwardly complex, are actually deceivingly so. Based not on strong computational muscle but actually a more simple deformation of grids, their projects can appear nearly impossible or too complex to realize. Yet they are able to make these buildings a reality.
Along with his partner Dominique Jakob, the duo’s consistent methodology doesn't rely on constant innovation. MacFarlane posits that “sometimes it's about doing something simple that’s kind of obvious.“ This has yielded a stylistic variety that evades singular typecasting.
They are not afraid to combine existing structures with their proposals--in fact, they welcome it. What they do is strategic: a kind of rational deformation of otherwise uniform and uncomplicated geometry, with the computer acting as a tool (but not a generative one).
Be sure to check out the interview, as well as Jakob + MacFarlane's projects on ArchDaily.
