Columns possess structural significance, encompassing both tension and compression. They can be loaded or lightweight, thick or thin, symbolically meaningful or abstract, decorative or ordinary. They represent order and disrupt it, holding political implications as they reinforce cultural ideas or serve as tools of liberation. Columns consist of a base, shaft, and capital, although they do not always incorporate all these elements simultaneously. They evoke a sense of awe and sublimity, appearing in cast, carved, or paper-thin forms. They can manifest as fields, fragments, edges, or centers. Columns carry the weight of heaviness, hollowness, being hewn, or being hung. Paradoxically, they embody contradictions and endless jokes. Columns encompass everything and anything—they encapsulate all these attributes and more. Our objective was to unravel the underlying principles in previous works where the column assumes a pivotal role as a critical and conceptual component. Through 100 drawings, ranging from comically abstract to intricately detailed, we explored the infinite possibilities inherent in columns.

These four plus one publications aimed to showcase the 100 columns designed by KSA students. The design approach was direct and reminiscent of an encyclopedia. We crafted the format and employed Roman numerals, drawing inspiration from our perception of columns as lofty, structural elements adorned with vertical decorative lines—a perspective largely influenced by our studies of Greek civilization.

Client: Kingston School of Arts
Service: Book Design
Location: London, United Kingdom
Year: 2022
Edited by: Matthew Phillips, Camiel Van Noten, Laura Evans and Matthew Wells
Texts by: Christian Dehli and Andrea Grolimund, Lara Borgonovi e Silva, Nadine
Helm, Emma Letzia Jones, Michael Badu, Timothy Smith, Eagles of Architecture,
Colm Moore, Olivier Goethals, Marius Grootveld.