Federico Babina's ARCHIPLAY turns famous architects into set-design illustrations

Federico Babina’s ARCHIPLAY turns famous architects into dramatic set-design illustrations

November 3, 2016

When we think about architectural drawings, fanciful illustration is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, illustrator and architecture-fan Federico Babina continues to surprise us with his wildly creative and intelligent drawing series that playfully explores the crossover of architecture and illustration. His newest set, ARCHIPLAY, depicts 27 of history’s greatest architects as if they were theatrical set-designs characterizing each one with signature elements from the designers’ most notable works. ARCHIPLAY includes favorites like Zaha Hadid, Walter Gropius, Frank Gehry and many more.

In this series the artist tried to “transform some famous architects in set designer of his own work.” Babina explains his process, “I imagine spaces set up for a performance of a show that relates the architects’ work. Stage machinery that simulate architectural illusions, which draw from the language of the characters to represent an architectural metaphor. The architecture dress up, wears makeup and is transformed to play herself in a show where the volumes and forms write the dramaturgy and relating stories.”

ARCHIPLAY, federico babina.

While in previous sets Babina has transformed bodies into buildings and famous architects into playing cards his intention for ARCHIPLAY was to create “a virtual theater where the scenography, the architecture, the light, the shapes and the objects create a tiny show to make a short trip with the imagination and fantasy through an aesthetic universe inspired by architecture and some of its protagonists.”