William Mulvihill: hidden perspectives, evident perspectives

03/09/2025

Perspectivas ocultas, perspectivas evidentes

Seashore Library, Vector Architects

In some cases, the architect begins to design with a sequential series of views and perspectives in mind, while in others, they rely on plans, elevations, and sections to bring their work to life. This projective imagery is often recognizable in the perception of the finished work, but in many cases, the architect’s initial visions remain hidden from the user’s view. Such is the case with the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa: a project clearly conceived in plan.

Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, SANAA

The intention of this photographic series, by architect and photographer William Mulvihill, is to reveal these “evident yet hidden perspectives.” These are viewpoints that aim to highlight the geometric and compositional rigor of the overhead gaze. Suspended in the void or floating above the buildings, the camera unveils façades and forms that, until now, only birds and angels had enjoyed. These framings help us understand the work in relation to a larger entity—its context—while recovering the vision and even the intuition of the project’s earliest stages. Angles that frame beyond the project, yet synthesize it… privileged perspectives.