Arch-ive

ARCH-IVE is online platform started by Dominic Eley towards the end of 2019, which interviews architects and designers about the literature that has influenced their practice. It aims to showcase architects’ relationship with books and the way in which they utilise, interrogate and display architectural resources. The first edition is due to complete at the end of 2020, with notable interviewees including Patrick Lynch, Tony Fretton, Assemble and Alpa Depani. Working from a set of prescribed questions, the interviews often digress into a conversational manner, whereby the practitioner’s life and work is unpicked through a literary lens. This aims to create a loose, yet productive dialogue on the role that literature can play in the creation of architecture and design, ultimately leading to the dissemination of knowledge. All interviews are available at https://arch-ive.xyz/, whilst various social media platforms are used to highlight specific conditions and highlights, as discussed in the interview process.

During lockdown, Arch-ive took part in the Architecture Foundation’s ‘100 Day Studio’, where a live interview discussed the literary influences of Níall McLaughlin. This discursive dialogue touched on multiple buildings throughout McLaughlin’s esteemed career, including the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford, Phototropic in Northamptonshire, and the Alzheimer’s Respite Centre in Dublin. The recording of the interview is available at the Architecture Foundation’s Youtube channel.