HomeDesignStudio Esinam: Elevations and Landmarks The Essence of Cities Around the World Condensed into Architectural Drawing Format Josefine Lilljegren and Sebastian Gokah are the art direction & architecture duo behind Sweden-based creative studio, studio esinam. In celebration of the endless possibilities and ways to experience architecture, the pair created elevations and landmarks, a print series which captures the unique feeling of various cities around the world, by deconstructing some of it’s most prominent buildings and recognisable façades, in a refreshing architectural drawing style. So far Josefine and Sebastian have portrayed 7 cities: Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Stockholm, Brooklyn, Göteborg and London. ‘We see the architecture of the different cities as stories, each with its own unique touch,’ Josefine and Sebastian told us. ‘It’s hard to compare one to another but sometimes one story is more in line with how you feel and what inspires you at the moment.’ We asked them more: The Plus: How has studio esinam developed since you founded in 2013? What kind of projects are you working on? Josefine Lilljegren: The studio still consists of the two of us, me and Sebastian. We are working on a few projects at the moment, including a book and a new section of our homepage, which would fall within the category of portraying architecture. We believe the studio will move towards the creation of spaces with time. The Plus: What does your creative process look like, when working in your studio? Sebastian Gokah: You sometimes hear designers describe how products came to life in a schematic and logical process, as if created by thought. To us creativity and creative processes is nothing like that and rather about having the thinking mind step aside. Although the logical, thinking mind is very much a part of the creative process as whole it is only creativity itself that can add the deeper quality and the touch of magic to a design. TP: You are also interested in writing stories about your relationship with architecture. Could you tell us a little about your relationship with the cities in your series? JL: The relationships we have with the cities are very different from place to place. However we are not too interested in our history with the places even though you can’t deny that it to some extent affects the way you look at things. Instead we want to derive from the experience and impressions of the architecture we get when visiting the place and try to look for unique characteristics that speak to us and that we think carry the spirit of the city. In Tokyo it was the contemporary minimalistic and futuristic approach to architecture and the fascination for the work of some Japanese architects that we fell for. In London it was something completely different. TP: What’s the next city on your list? SG: Copenhagen. Click here to buy their posters.
