behind the lens: in-depth interview with architectural photographer iwan baan

at the 2018 venice architecture biennale, aaron betsky invited six of the field’s leading protagonists to debate the topic and design of ‘limbo spaces’ — the physical and virtual places where we ‘wait, tarry, or just wile away the time’. the discussion formed the third edition of the greenhouse talks, an event which has taken place during the biennale’s opening days since 2012, and brought together a collection of creative minds: architects maria claudia clemente (labics), nathalie de vries (MVRDV), elizabeth diller (DS+R), andrés jaque (office for political innovation), and marina otero verzier (director of research of het nieuwe instituut and curator of the 2018 dutch pavilion).

the final panelist, iwan baan, is no stranger to ‘limbo space’. ‘my life may seem adventurous as seen from the outside, as I travel to all these places. but in the end, I think I spend most of my time in these limbo spaces, in airports, in waiting rooms,’ explained baan during the talk. ‘it’s very interesting to see all these different limbo spaces around the world, and how specific they may be in the various countries or even continents.’

to learn more about the work of the acclaimed architectural photographer, designboom sat down with iwan baan after the debate to discuss a range of subjects, including his approach to shooting the buildings of the world’s best-known architects, and why he uses instagram to communicate a different side of his work. read the interview in full below, and see more photography on baan’s official website.

portrait of iwan baan by jonas eriksson | main image © iwan baan

designboom (DB): as a student and young photographer, were you always interested in the way people occupy the built environment?

iwan baan (IB): it was in 2005, when I met rem [koolhaas] and started working with him, that my architectural interest was piqued. I was mostly interested in documentary photography — people, places and so forth. when I started working with rem, it was an interesting moment in time. it was the start of the CCTV project, and he proposed to document it over a series of years — which is basically still going on, and not really finished! but, in a way, my photography didn’t really change. it’s still very much about people and how people occupy places. it’s just that the background suddenly became architecture.

DB: how do you think your perspective of a building or project differs from that of its designer?

IB: for my commissioned projects, I work very independently. I don’t take briefings before hand. it’s very much a personal experience of a place. it’s not just an architectural project, but I try to tell a story about the place — what is the significance of this building or site, the context, the aerial perspective, which is always very important for me, and an understanding of how the city around it grows. all these these things show the planning of the architect, even though they might be unplanned.

national museum of qatar by ateliers jean nouvel | see designboom’s previous coverage here
image © iwan baan

DB: how do you prepare in advance of an assignment? do receive a specific brief from the architect?

IB: I think it’s important for me to step into a project ‘blank’ and to be inspired by the place… to feel like a stranger in a place without knowing too much beforehand, because then you are open to everything that happens. an architect has been working on project for 5, 10, 50 years — they know everything about it. I think if it’s great architecture, all of these elements come out to me the moment that I see it. it’s better to know very little about it, and be surprised and influenced by all the unplanned things around it, than be briefed before hand.

selgascano’s floating pavilion for the 2018 bruges triennial | see designboom’s previous coverage here
image © iwan baan

DB: when you arrive on site, what is the first thing you do?

IB: photography is a strange thing. it’s very slow and very fast. it’s mainly observing your site, seeing what people do there and how a site changes throughout the day. you have to be present in the moment, and sort of visualize a lot of things. you hope for things to happen, you see things starting to happen, you position yourself in the right place, and you walk around slowly and try to collect that story. of course it’s always different per site, per place.

DB: how much work takes place after a shoot, before you are happy with the images?

IB: very little happens afterwards. I hardly do any editing in photoshop. I really try to capture moments in time. I like to take pictures, but I really don’t like to sit behind the computer and do all that kind of work. so it’s more about what I experience in that moment.

national kaohsiung center for the arts by mecanoo | see designboom’s previous coverage here
image © iwan baan

DB: you document an incredible range of projects, from high-end developments to communities where design is a lot more impromptu. is documenting this contrast important for you?

IB: definitely, it keeps you grounded to the world we live in. I think it’s really fascinating to see the full spectrum of what’s being built and what makes the world today: to see the great architecture and architectural minds of our age, versus places where people have no access to any planning or planned cities, and their governments are completely absent. but still, people — out of total necessity — have created very interesting places. I find a lot of similarities between these places where people have made something very specific out of nothing, because they’re as excited as an architect to show their new building, to show their own place, and how they solved this civic problem of how they want to live.

it’s also interesting to look at older projects, like modernist projects, and how they have aged over time. time is a very important part of my photography. a lot of architectural photography doesn’t have that certain element of time, but for me it’s important to show a moment in time — people, fashion, all of the things which make it today, and give it a specific place and specific context. also, aerial context and being further away from the site is interesting to understand how the city around it grows — all the things an architect is really unable to influence, but very much defines how the architecture has been built.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjjmbSzHoxG/

DB: you are very active on instagram. do you enjoy using this form of social media?

IB: it’s great of course! people always say, ‘the best camera is the camera you have with you’. nowadays, everybody walks around with a camera in their phone. I can’t wait for the day that I don’t have to carry a real camera around anymore! you can be a fly on the wall and capture real moments. for me, instagram is like a little diary recording unique moments, places, and things in time — experiences. the focus is not so much about architecture, but more about the things around it that I’m sometimes unable to show or share. it’s more about the other stories, and to show my other passion in photography: my interest in places, cities, and people.

DB: it seems as if you are always traveling, does it still excite you to visit new places and see new environments? do you ever feel tired?

IB: sometimes I’m a little tired! at the same time, it also gives me a lot of energy to work on these kind of topics with these people and see all these places. photography is incredible. it’s an incredible way to be at home in any place — you have a reason to be there. even if every two or three days I’m in another place, I haven’t gotten tired of it yet — not at all.

the third edition of the ‘greenhouse talks’ was offered by the dutch embassy in rome in collaboration with the het nieuwe instituut and organized by image media agency.