Lecture: Bea Martin

Machinic Assemblies | Tell-tale Scores and other Strange Things

"There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion" 

In his short story "Ligeia", Poe suggests that true beauty is not found in perfect symmetry or conventional standards, but rather in something that is unique, unconventional, or even a bit strange. The lecture revolves around the idea of translation, not as mere reproduction, but as a process of reincarnation—estranged from architectural canons, where original form takes on a new life, a fresh language, and an entirely new mode of expression. 

The methodological nature of the work addresses the construction, interpretation, and transformation of meaning through assembled visual constructs. Drawings that transverse and transcend conventional boundaries, becoming an active participant in the creation of unexpected architectural moments. Embracing the strangeness that adds depth and complexity to both the artistic and technical processes. 

Such visual construct, in this context, implies the action of drawing an architecture that is materialised rather than represented within the drawing where it can be pursued, found, and experienced.

BIO

Bea Martin is a Portuguese born, British architect. She is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture where she is the Inscriptive Practices and Future Processes Lead. Bea received her academic qualifications from the University of California at Berkely and University of Lisbon, and she is currently pursuing a PhD in Architecture by Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture. Bea is also the founder of Speculative Assemblies, an experimental design lab exploring the visual construct in architecture. In her role as a visual theorist and experimentalist, her focus is on a conceptual investigation, digital and analogue, of the apparatus and practice of drawing. Her work questions and reiterates the mission of drawing through continuous research, intense interrogation and devotion to craft.

https://arch.usc.edu/events/bea-martin-fhea-riba-arb-oasrs