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Summary
Phillippe Fouché looks at the wall as an instrument of relationship between inside and outside, openness and refuge, people and place. He explores how height, depth, material, glass and light change our experience of space, why walls should serve a purpose, how architecture can respond to historic fabric, and what happens when a wall moves, disappears or becomes something else.
This episode concludes The Gyaan Project’s three part series with The Drawing Board, an international architecture competition hosted by Rohan Builders and Mindspace Architects.
About the guest
Phillippe Fouché is a Principal at SAOTA in South Africa. He joined the practice as a project architect in 2008 and works across residential, urban and commercial architecture. His approach explores the relationship between architecture, context and SAOTA’s principles of light, space and life.
Who should listen
Architecture students and young architects interested in how walls shape space, light, movement and experience.
Architects and designers thinking about openness, privacy, shelter and our relationship with the outside world.
People working with historic buildings who are interested in how new architecture can reveal and respond to what already exists.
Anyone curious about how something as simple as the height, depth or material of a wall can completely change how a space feels.
Topics discussed in the episode
00:00 Introduction
01:35 What does a wall mean to you?
02:53 Is a wall a surface or a structure?
03:50 Balancing porosity and safety
05:46 How does a wall become intimidating?
08:50 How do beauty and function connect?
10:02 How do topology and location shape a wall?
10:55 Balancing openness and privacy
14:17 Balancing private and public life
16:02 Can a wall give new life to an old place?
19:07 How can one small detail change a wall?
23:12 If walls can move, do we need boundaries?
Reference links
A wall can protect us, open us to the outside, frame what we see or completely change how a space feels.
When does a wall make you feel protected, and when does it make you feel confined? Would love to know your thoughts.
