Skateboarding is apart of my DNA I can’t escape the passion of a kick-flip or cathin some big air off a service gap. It was once said in the move Johnny Tsunami “GO BIG, or GO HOME!” in the world of skateboarding each day you have to push yourself past your limits. Trick after trick, a skater mind is always focused on consistency and progression. Now as an architect student I find the two worlds combined. As a skater we are perfectionist of balance and laws of physics. I now understand when growing up, that architecture was my playground.
The Glamour Shot
The glamour shot every skater wants to have. A glamour shot highlights the impossible and extraordinary interaction between man and architecture. Skateboarding pictures become examples and proof that architecture can and should be looked at differently. If you think about it, Skateboard magazines help distribute the knowledge of architectural spaces in different parts of the world. Filled with articles on travels around the world and the discusion on how each country has a different impact or experience for skateboards. Architects can use the syntax behind skateboarding pictures and the explote them as means of exploration. We always look at architectural magazines for inspiration and help. What if you adopted the process and technique a skateboard magazine uses to communicate abstract thoughts within a project? One cool feature that skateboard magazines use to communicate to skaters and non-skaters alike, is "time frame shooting". Skateboarding deals with the elements of time and physical space. Therefore, this type of technique of communication is required for clarification and understanding. Instead of one picture showcasing the skater, the user is exposed to multiple frames of one trick, showing the whole process of the trick. What if architects looked at the creation of a building as the expression as a skateboarding sequence shot? Could there be a method of sequencing architecture? Would it positive or would it be negative? Where can the introduction of art and style come into play? Just like the magazine, can it be used to communicate to a client? Just the meaning behind a skateboarding trick requires balance, boundry, location, momentum, style, and process. I think the similarities between architecture and skateboarding are rich, wouldn’t you say?
Cites as playgrounds
As architects we all study streets, corridors, corners, walls, nodes, and plazas. Everybody knows this, but not everybody perceives theses elements as the genetic make-up of a playground. The urban context always provides skaters with opportunities for challenges and self progression. Who would have thought that skaters use architecture as means of emotional relief? It makes sense, there have been studies in the medical field that facing a hospital bed toward a vegetative court yard, a patience may show signs of early recovery. The built environment becomes a skater’s sense of Zen. I’m pretty sure that a business man walking down a set of 10 stairs doesn't feel that this is dangerous or a challenge. Skaters find the justification of accomplishment in doing a trick down 10 stairs. Within that one moment a skater will have emotions of fear, excitement, confidence, and joy all wrapped up in one trick. That is what I call a pretty extensive interaction between man and architecture in one space. What people see as boundary skater see as opportunity. You also can’t forget to realize that architecture and the materials we choose to create an object can become very unforgiving. It’s not the best feeling in the world when you fall or run onto a concrete wall or floor. Streets and buildings have given us the freedom of expression, an expression that most people will not find walking, or riding a car. Riding through a city can become very poetic to a skater, and the connection is more received and respected when on four little wheels. The video below showcases a skate boarding team traveling to Barcelona Spain. I like this video because it’s really shows how architecture can coexist with skating.
Re-using architecture
Maybe architects see us as little menaces to society; that we are the representation of destruction, or, as an unmoral, rebellious gang of hoodlums. I consider our selves to be what i'd like to call Urban Artists. If people only realized that skaters have the power to highlight and express architecture in a positive manner. So I pose a question; should architects, or landscape architects hate skaters? I should think that they would embrace skaters. Architecture and skateboarding really go hand-in-hand. Architects should give a close look at how skaters are using a space. Skaters are very resourceful in reusing abandon and broken spaces. Let’s face it, we have ugly architecture! But, ugly or not skateboarders hold no prejudice. We usually highlight unwanted space. When or where did you see a Wal-mart service area on the front of a magazine? The only place i have is on a Skate mag. I think this issue of lost space and unwanted space can be addressed with the revery of skating. Think, could a broken down “project” development become a positive heaven for inner city kids by creating skate parks??? The movie below highlights one of my favorite’s skaters and shows how he creatively re-uses architecture.
Here are so more videos of Chris using architecture... It's pretty CRAZY!
