Dwayne Oyler
Jenny Wu
Lineworks
In his well known, ”Translations from Drawings to Buildings”, critic Robin Evans articulates that architects are challenged by the fact that, unlike other artistic pursuits, we don’t directly manipulate our medium —we don’t build buildings— and that, therefore, we develop complex traffic between drawings and buildings. Oyler Wu Collaborative, an emerging practice based in Los Angeles, has challenged that notion in two ways. First, they extend the design of their work well into the fabrication phase by constructing many of the projects themselves. Secondly, they have expanded the notion of lines to operate beyond a 2-D drawing by literally constructing lines in 3-dimensions to become architecture.
Their work can be thought of as an inhabitable line drawing that applies
layers of material intelligence and density to create enclosure and form. The lines are not indexical nor merely representational, they are embedded with material logic, geometric exploration, and tectonic details. Most recently, this exploration extends into their larger projects in Europe and Asia.
Both graduates of Harvard, Jenny Wu and Dwayne Oyler both currently teach at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (Sci-Arc).