#unbuiltarchitecture

[normally0]

Drawing the Unbuilt: A Reflection on Architectural Vision and Contemporary Relevance

In the late 1980s, I was a student in London, working at Skidmore Owings and Merrill, engaged in the design of open public spaces for the water courts of Canary Wharf. At the time, London was in the midst of an architectural transformation, one that would symbolize its global financial ambitions. The project was marked by collaboration with Gabriel Smith and Merritt Bucholz, and beneath the polished exterior of corporate architecture lay a deep undercurrent of political manoeuvrings, ambition, and creative tension.

The drawing I produced, now seen here, was never merely a technical document. It was a narrative, an expression of a vision that was as fluid and dynamic as the space it sought to represent—a market structure with opening roofs and sides, designed to create a flexible, permeable boundary between the interior and the city beyond. It was a conceptual structure, one whose design was as much about politics as it was about function, navigating the expectations of the Reimann brothers of Olympia & York, who sought a new, modern city within a city.

While the building itself was never constructed, the drawing lived on. Combining plan, section, and elevation into one composition, it became more than just a proposal—it was an argument for the role of architectural imagination in the public realm. The project manager, Jeff McCarthy, saw something in it worth displaying in his office. The piece transcended its utilitarian purpose and took on a life of its own, a visual essay that encapsulated a moment in London's architectural history.

Fast-forward to today, and the context in which architecture operates has shifted dramatically. The fluidity and openness imagined in that drawing now resonate in new ways. Contemporary architecture often finds itself caught between the demands of efficiency, sustainability, and rapid urbanization, with the creative process constrained by regulations, market forces, and an obsession with digital precision. The human hand, once the primary tool for interpreting space, has been partially replaced by algorithms and 3D modelling, distancing us from the tactile intimacy that pen and ink once afforded.

Yet, the drawing itself remains timeless—a reminder of architecture's potential to reimagine public space as a living entity, adaptable and responsive. In a world increasingly defined by smart cities and hyper-automation, the ethos behind that market structure—its flexibility, its engagement with the public, its openness—feels more relevant than ever.

Architectural discourse today is at a crossroads. We wrestle with the challenges of climate change, housing crises, and digital dominance. But perhaps the answer lies not just in future technology, but in revisiting the past, in recalling moments like this one, where the hand and the heart guided design. The market structure, though never built, stands as a symbol of architecture’s deeper responsibility: to imagine spaces that serve not just our functional needs, but our human aspirations.

We live in a time when the physical boundaries of architecture are blurring—when buildings are not just structures but platforms for interaction, collaboration, and exchange. That market, in its ideal form, was a precursor to this dialogue, and its spirit lives on in the designs we craft today. In reawakening this drawing, we are reminded that architecture’s greatest strength lies in its capacity to evoke, inspire, and ultimately, to adapt.

The real legacy of that drawing is not in the ink or paper, but in the ideas it fostered, and the possibility it represents for today’s architects—to challenge, to provoke, and to create spaces that transcend the physical, offering instead an invitation to engage with the city in new and unexpected ways.

[furrina]

_reuse the fallen church _Chiesa Diruta _La Chiesa Risorta •⁠ •⁠ •⁠ •⁠ •@_matthiaspabst #reuse #reuseitaly #chiesadiruta #kntxtr #youngarchitectsplatorm #unbuiltarchitecture #betaarchitecture #thearchitecturestudentblog #thearchiologist #archi_students #koozarch #architecturemodel #architecturemodels #mockup #lumion #render #photoshop #udkberlin @designstudio_mag Digital Architecture and Design magazine (presso Grottole) https://www.instagram.com/p/CP5SXWuLqe5/?utm_medium=tumblr

[torontodesign]

Project Toronto : Proposed: 1968 Fizzled: 1968 Why it wasn't meant to be: Buckminster Fuller's plan to build a waterfront university that would feature a 20-storey pyramid and "Pro-To-Cities" built in the inner harbour, would have profoundly changed this city's downtown core. With plans for Metro Centre arising at the same time, however, Project Toronto never really went anywhere. From Unbuilt Toronto #toronto #architecture #unbuiltarchitecture #design #whatif #blogto #unbuilt #buckminsterfuller (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFjdFd9MatP/?igshid=zcxn0tj7cc0s

[archdl]

UNIL University of Lausanne - Designed by @comamalaismail Visualization by @mammutlab New building for human science studies . ⭕ What do you think about this design and visualization? 🔻Tag your Architect Friends! . ❌Turn ON Post Notifications to see new Contents.❗ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Follow @archdlofficial for more! 🖤 Tag #archdl and #archdlofficial or DM your works for Featuring! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #concept #architecture #cgi #architecture_hunter #architettura #archilovers #archidaily #architectureporn #archviz #archiporn #perspective #cgtop #cgart #unbuiltarchitecture #concrete #render #visualization #rendering #renderlovers #renderoftheday #rendering3d #texture #mammutlab #instarender #swissarchitecture #swissarchitects (at Lausanne, Switzerland) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc_H58zMkeN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[undermangotree]

Urban farming in Lutyens New Delhi: Our featured proposal in @unbuiltideas examines the potential to bridge urban design, ecology and heritage, framing an intent to consider urban farming as a vital element in the physical transformation of cities. #undermangotree #urbanism #architecture #design Join @ghadiok for the Book Launch - She will be discussing Unbuilt, the book and beyond, with @gautambhatia_art, Bijoy Ramachandran / @hundredhandsblr and @ramukatakam8272 on Dec 16, 2021 at 5:00 p.m To register and for more information on the event, please visit www.unbuilt.in #unbuilt #unbuiltarchitecture #unbuiltideas #book #reading #architecture #indianarchitecture #indianarchitects #architects #ideas #designer #designbooks #event https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjYqN-PsSL-9EekFFzIweW_Hi1sbJwOX2UUys0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[chromedream]

Proposed United Nations Pavilion for the 1964 New York World’s Fair

[nonamearchitecture-blog]

LIBRARYNTH “Perderse en el conocimiento” Situación 4/4 https://nonamearchitecture.wordpress.com #architecture #arquitectura #arquitecturasinnombre #nonamearchitecture #projects #experimentation #architectureporn #architecturelovers #works #contests #archilovers #library #ciudad #biblioteca #habitar #sanfrancisco #allpossiblerealities #urbandesign #unbuiltarchitecture #visualization #archviz #archlover #archlife #amazingarchitecture #next_top_architects #architecture_hunter #design #designboom #proyectos #architecturefactor (en San Francisco, California)

[jvarenders-blog]

Small lighting test (70’s style) . . . . . . www.jvarenders.com #5srw #allpossiblerealities #render #rhino3d #rhino #vray #3dsmax #3d #rendering #architecture #arquitectura #urbandesign #unbuiltarchitecture #visualization #archviz #render_box #render_contest #instarender #cgartist #renderbox #archlover #archlife #archilovers #amazingarchitecture #next_top_architects #architecture_hunter #design #architecturelovers #architectureporn #designboom #instarender

[archimaps]

Competition design for a monumental lighthouse for the port of New York City

[archishowcase]

#022 SANKHYA: The National Museum of Statistics found it’s way in the brilliant compilation by @unbuiltideas @matter.co.in @ArchitectureLive! - Architecture and Design Design Plus won the national design competition for the project. Unfortunately it never saw its physical manifestation. Project Details: https://lnkd.in/dq3sZNj Thank you Rajesh Advani for the brilliant idea, so that this and several other such projects are available in the public domain. Unbuilt projects are strengths of any architecture studio. #unbuilt #unbuiltarchitecture #museum #museumdesign #museumarchitecture #designplus #published #recognised #indianarchitecture #indianarchitects. And SpaceMatters great cover. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7xHRy4D97Z/?igshid=gquhtbdfjd4i

[arhitektuurimuuseum]

Lovely surprise find from among our endless archives: an unrealised project for an unidentified building by Emil Urbel from 1990 in the now very hip (i.e. gentrified) district of Kalamaja in Tallinn. Would have been so cool if built... #arhitektuurimuuseum #arhitektuur #architecture #emilurbel #1990 #1990s #1990sarchitecture #kalamaja #tallinn #tallinnarchitecture #estonianarchitecture #perspectivedrawing #unbuilt #paperarchitecture #unrealised #unbuiltarchitecture #architectureonpaper #põhjatallinn #archdaily #archidaily #archilovers #architecturaldrawing #rendering #archidrawing #archirendering #render #architexture #archistory #architect #modernarchitecture (at Kalamaja) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ke6chJ3UV/?igshid=sr77q0idcetf

[meanderist]

Unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright tower #moma #artmuseum #franklloydwright #architecture #architektur #unbuiltarchitecture #rendering #nyc #barrybergdoll #meanderist

[equippedarchitect-blog]

LITTLE VILLAGE / CLIFF 🏜 by @anti__reality . . . . . . #antireality #cliff #birdfeeder #birdhouses #nextarch #thebestnewarchitects #thearchitecturestudentblog #soarch #critday #illustrarch #unbuiltarchitecture #archicage #koozarch #archisource #arc_only #archilife #renderlovers #arch_grap #archistudent #loversofarchitecture #architecturefactor #showitbetter #arch_cad https://www.instagram.com/p/BqPFbPtnwKJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11nhl85yxjeg7

[nestvandenken]

Proposta del comitato olimpico riunito di Venezuela, Brasile e Guyana per la candidatura a sede dei prossimi giochi olimpici invernali del 2026 con realizzazione di villaggio olimpico ad impatto zero sulla vetta del monte Roraima (2739m, 5°10′59″N 60°45′59″W). In DENSITY|INSANITY un progetto di Nest VanDenken, 2018.http://nestvandenken.com/ Proposal of the Joint Olympic Committee of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana for the nomination for the next Winter Olympic Games 2026 and construction of an Olympic village with zero emission on the summit of Mount Roraima (2739m, 5 ° 10'59 "N 60 ° 45 ' 59 "W). In DENSITY | INSANITY, a project by Nest VanDenken, 2018.http://nestvandenken.com

[smallstudiodesign]

The Best Laid Plans ~ Vancouver: The Built, Building & Unbuilt. [02:00 min #quicklook at what was & what will or could be in #vancouverbc ] #proposals #past & #present & a sprinkling of #theoretical #possibilities #unbuiltarchitecture with quite a few #comingsoon to this #cityofvancouver ~> #urbanarchitecture of #downtownvancouver ... The point being - Thank goodness for our great grandparents’ foresight & vision to put in place: #urbangardens & #urbanspace & grand #publicparks like #stanleypark with necklace of #seawalls for all of us to enjoy & get away from the hectic #urbanjungle ... #smallstudiofilms #smallstudiodesign (at Vancouver Downtown)

[artbookdap]

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From @neverbuiltny - Paul Rudolph's visionary / insane 1967 design for City Corridor and LOMAX between the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges. Opening @queensmuseum Sunday 2-5PM. Curated by Metropolis Books “Never Built New York” authors Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin with Queens Museum curator Larissa Harris and designed by architect @christianwassmann with lots of help from @genslernyc @columbiagsapp @gsappfablab @shimaharaillustration @visualvocalvr #neverbuiltnewyork #neverbuiltny #architecture #queensmuseum #artbook #artbookdap #dap #visionaryarchiteture #paulrudolph #citycorridor #lomax #unbuiltarchitecture #neverbuilt