Effort of Absence

A lecture with Darin Johnstone of Sci-Arc and DJA

“Architecture is the ferocious pursuit of presence to actualize absence. We put objects into the world to achieve some kind of resonance. We may be searching for timeless qualities of strength, utility and beauty or contemporary qualities of strangeness, ambiguity or the uncanny. We put forms and shapes into the world iteratively ad infinitum to test these resonances. It is a tireless pursuit and all the while the thing we are looking for is the very absence of things. Space. This lovely paradox is what drives all the work.”

Excerpt From DJA ‘Incomplete Manifesto’

Part I: Educator Architect

Build it to know it. 20 years of Darin Johnstone teaching at SCI Arc are encapsulated in two built works the gallery installation ‘drop’ and the affordable house IVRV. These built works demonstrate a mutual dedication to experimentation and innovation proven through building.

Part II: Architect Educator

Know it to build it. Among the projects Johnstone has taken on over the years, perhaps none have been more auspicious than his portfolio of work with ArtCenter College of Design (ArtCenter). In this role his experience as both Architect and Educator have influenced a reimagining its two campuses. Since 2014, Johnstone has led the design and redesign of approximately half of ArtCenter’s facilities including the Ahmanson Auditorium, the Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman Alumni Center, the Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery, the Terri and Jerry Kohl Commons, and the upcoming Mullin Transportation Design Center.