Alternative Histories
Great Ambitions
An unconventional exhibition catalogue in magazine format from the architectural drawing collection Drawing Matter, based in Somerset, UK, skilfully transforms the exhibition concept into book form to create a novel visual experience. Drawing Matter invited 85 architecture firms to build a model based on a historical drawing from the collection. For the catalogue, just one section of each model was photographed very close up, giving a highly abstract result. Each of the photos is placed fullbleed on a page, complemented by the historical drawing (with a white margin) on the page opposite. The drawings are printed on a different paper from the photographs, while the individual sheets are interleaved alternately and held together by a very simple thread binding. In the middle are six sheets containing an index and small black-and-white renderings of the models. The result is an inspired insight into architectural history that has appeal beyond a specialist audience. The magazine format and interleaving of the 100 relatively thick sheets question the book form, underscoring the ambitious nature of the publication.
