Raphael Angelo Gannaban
The University of Auckland
We’ve just got a message, and its from Raphael! Today Raphael is sharing his design work, from his humble start inspired by Blues’s Clues to digital graphics, laser cutting and animations! Despite only being in his second year of studies, Raphael offers a strong portfolio and some strong advise about how to make the most of your time at architecture school!
SANNZ: Kia Ora Raphael, Thank you for discussing your work with us! Can you tell us what inspired you to study Architecture?
Raphael: You may find this funny, but when I was about 5-6, I really liked Blues Clues and whenever he draws something on his book - he makes it come to reality. As a kid, I’ve always wanted to do something like that - I began drawing on a piece of paper magically waiting for what I’ve drawn to come to life.
Another factor on why I chose architecture - my DVC teacher gave me ‘the talk’ when I was in Year 11 at Rosmini College. I still remember these very words: “Young man, I see potential in you, I see you as a designer and I hope the fire you have in designing never quenches. Always seek your true potential” - as I spent hours and hours in the design room finalising my work.
SANNZ: At what point in your studies did you start assembling your portfolio?
Raphael: I started assembling my portfolio late last year, just gathering up the works that I really liked.
SANNZ: CAD and Technology seem to play a large part in your work, what appeals to you most about this approach towards architecture?
Raphael: I guess with the use of CAD and Technology it makes designing a lot easier. Although it is our nature as architects to start off with sketches for conceptual reasoning, I tend to work better, faster and a lot more efficient using technology.
A concept based on designing an Ornithology Center at Rangitoto Island, inspiring the younger generations and giving collective information about the field of Ornithology.
SANNZ: What is your favourite project you have worked on since starting at architecture school, what made it so enjoyable?
Raphael: My favourite project so far is “Flightless Flyers”. My tutor for this paper wanted a combination of poetry in our concept and design, we had to create poems for our concepts (which I found difficult) but regardless, this paper allowed us to explore a variety of different ways on attacking design. We also had a trip to Rangitoto Island for this paper as that was our site - giving us the ‘Site Visit’ experience on our first year.
SANNZ: Conceptually what was the most challenging project you have worked on so far, how did you resolve it?
Raphael: I guess it was “The Cats House” that I worked on design for Semester 1, 2020. The paper revolved heavily on importing international designs here in New Zealand. The goal was to recreate that environment complying to the needs and requirements of the client. My client was pretty tough, an elderly couple in their 70’s with a cat colony. My concept for the design is to “create a space that is playful, with its playfulness, it can adapt to the users playful characteristics”. It was hard considering the age of my clients - I battled thinking practically and rationally, I had to make the space playful but had to always remember the clients. I resolved the problem through the help of friends and my family, they played a pretty big role.
SANNZ: How does animation work within your practice?
Raphael: Animation is just an extra side that I do. I carried on this practice since high school - my DVC teacher pushed us to have a variety of ways to showcase our work and producing final renders/animations was my favourite of all techniques.
A playful carnival and the concept behind is "What is it like for us to stay inside during lockdown, while our architecture remains outside of our own bubbles? Are we as people becoming the building? Or the buildings now becoming people?".
SANNZ: What was it like doing the Second year in Lockdown? Did you find more or less inspiration from your time at home?
Raphael: That’s a tough question. I guess it had both a positive and negative impact towards my progress as an architecture student. I say positive as of I don’t have to get up as early as 6am to catch a bus, also saved money on fares and food (but Uber Eats has been gaining a lot from me HAHA). Negative side, I guess it was very hard to learn as I am more of a collaborative learner - I tend to always ask my friends on how they find this question and how. Then from there I can gain a few tactics on how they eventually solve those questions, etc.
SANNZ: What aspects of architectural school do you like the most?
Raphael: I like the bonds created. It really helps develop character and our being. This bond can change a shy, not outgoing person (like me) to be more open and eventually a more confident person. The bond created in architecture school made us a family, whenever we’re stressed about the workload, we know that there are people out there to brighten up our days.
I also love the ability to interact with people a year or so above us. I can sit down with a masters/thesis student and learn from their experiences and how they tackle design - it’s one thing I love the most about architectural school.
SANNZ: Thank you for doing this interview, where can we see more of your work?
Raphael: You can see my work on Instagram, or you can find my portfolio online!
