David Eskenazi (M.Arch '13): A House-Bath Appearing Twice, Crudely

Stories about doubles abound: the doppelgänger, the simulacrum, the reflection cast from water’s surface, or Eve herself. Give the narrative a slight nudge and suddenly it’s not merely a copy but an argumentative binary. In architectural terms, we compare the beautiful against the ordinary, art and craft, new and familiar, responsibility and indulgence. Where would we be without the filtering parables of right and wrong?

A House-Bath Appearing Twice, Crudely is a show about being on both sides of the problem. It’s a vulnerable position, really, to be both right and wrong. Everyone can see our weaknesses and our aspirations are laid bare.

In the gallery appear two side-by-side instances of a model constructed twice. One is a familiar frame and panel assembly with graphic coding, while the other is built like a taped-together paper model. Signs of architectural crudeness - leaks, stains, gaps, slumps, even yellowing and taping - proliferate indiscriminately. Alone, they’re craft-like and uncared for. Together, consistently deployed, each instance of crudeness is buffed into a vulnerable sketch of likeness, if not strength. We may disagree whether the model’s double appearance suggests strong opposites or near copies, but it’s trivial anyway. A double appearance reminds us that we don’t inhabit singular identities. We can be more than one thing at once.

Under the Tent: A Gallery Discussion
Wednesday, November 1 at 12:30pm
David Eskenazi in conversation Hernán Díaz Alonso and Mira Henry in the SCI-Arc Gallery

David Eskenazi Biography

David Eskenazi leads d.esk, a practice based in Los Angeles that designs buildings, installations, and objects, with completed projects in California, Mexico, and the American Midwest. d.esk’s work has been exhibited at venues that include the Cooper Union, Harvard University, the Architecture and Design Museum, and Yale University, amongst more than fifteen public installations and exhibitions.

In addition to the design practice, David pursues research through teaching and writing; he’s published work in journals including Log, Project, Disc, Offramp, and Pidgin. The research begins with open-ended inquiry centered on long-standing conundrums about conceiving architectural form. These ambitions characterize David’s teaching at SCI-Arc, where he is a full-time faculty leading design studios and seminars.

David received a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Architecture from SCI-Arc, where he graduated with distinction. He’s a recipient of the Architectural League of New York’s 2020 Young Architects Prize and is a MacDowell Fellow. David was previously the Oberdick Fellow at the University of Michigan Taubman College and the LeFevre Fellow at the Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture.