design / research
serial consign
periodic table of architecture
Having connections to web development and architectural practice (I've developed sites for two architecture studios), I'm rather opinionated about the manner in which firms archive and market themselves online. In general, I think the presence of most architecture firms on the web is tremendously underwhelming and the organization of an online portfolio almost always boils down to the "timeline vs. project typology" binary. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across the web site for LOHA: Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects this past weekend.
The LOHA site mimics the structure and appearance of the Periodic Table of Elements and proposes a classification system for pertinent information associated with architectural practice. As illustrated in the screen capture above, the interface for the site is essentially the project archives and entries are categorized into news, project types, firm recognition and publications—all the information you'd expect a firm to provide. What makes this site interesting is the fact that you have access to everything at once with a "viewer" for displaying related photo-content. The site champions information and access to it rather than photography and this is a welcome change considering the all-too-familiar strategy of tacking a sickly UI onto a glorified slideshow. The empty cells that currently separate clusters of nodes will allow for a fair amount of future expansion, so it looks like this site has a lifespan of several years before a redesign.
Given the idiosyncratic nature of this interface, it is accompanied by a mini-legend which explains the nomenclature used in tagging each cell. Each cell features an abbreviation of the project name, the year completed, the square footage and colour coded tags which denote project type (residential, commercial, etc.) and other information (i.e. if the project has been published or received any awards). When you scroll over the various cells you get an interesting reading of the connectivity within the work and information archived across the site - it is really quite a pleasure to explore this archive! Kudos to the sayFINN design agency for this work.
Some tangentially related links: this project immediately made me remember the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods and Catalogtree's site is another great example of an interface that champions an indexical approach and visual identity.
There is hope...
I completely agree with your sentiment and feel that many websites discredit the intelligence of their audience, and therefore are poorly executed. Websites are a tricky thing to do, considering most architectural ones range from failing to think like the end user - creating too much complexity, which some might find LOHA's - while others think too much like a generic end user, thus losing the character and creativity of the firm's work.
Perhaps, considering the end user on an architectural website is most appropriate. It is not generally a "consumer" audience, but clients and those with architectural interests. This can mean a lot if you consider a website's sole purpose as a marketing tool for business development. On the other hand, it doesn't mean much if you are view your website as a means of improving accessibility. Obviously, both is most appealing, and I think that territory is where LOHA belong.
This actually reminds me of the website for PLOT, before the couple separated. However, one of the offshoot firms, BIG, maintains the character from the original. You can even play a version of arkinoid with the graphic symbols on the site, just to throw in a little fun factor.
I would consider LOHA an evolution over PLOT, because as you mention, most of the information is visible at once and shows the connectivity across the work. The system they developed for simplifying information in a consumable manner is refreshing, and the manner in which they highlight related tiles when you mouse-over other tiles is the icing on the cake. Although, I suppose having some good work doesn't hurt either.
Nice find Greg, and kudos to them.
BIG
While I was aware of BIG, I hadn't spent any time with their site. It is pretty dynamic and definitely right on point with the LOHA site (but with some kind of ironic/superdutch "graphic flash" multiplier applied to it). Thanks for sharing the link! :)
Are there any other sites we should be discussing here folks? If so, please provide some links and/or commentary.