Architect Alvin Huang and Silhouette pair up
Alvin Huang is sitting in Silhouette’s design studio having his eyes tested; debating form-finding equilibrium and the allowable tolerances of titanium with Silhouette’s head of design Roland Keplinger; and making parallels with his favourite examples of mid-century modernist buildings back in Los Angeles in a way that only a serious-minded architect and designer can.
Travelling from his home in California to the Silhouette HQ on the edge of Linz, Austria, via London, Huang has come to observe the intricate spectacles manufacturing process close-up, and to be fitted for a bespoke pair of sylphlike, rimless ‘Titan Minimal Art’ frames, customising them thanks to the brand’s extensive programme of options.
Having garnered significant experience working for the likes of Amanda Levete Architects, Future Systems and Zaha Hadid, Huang founded his own practice, Synthesis, in 2011. Current projects include a huge shopping centre in Bangkok, a 2,000-seat performance hall in China and a rapidly deployable solar-powered charging station for a new, alternative-fuel Volvo.
‘I am really interested in form and its relationship with performance,’ says Huang. ‘So it’s completely fascinating to see how glasses like this are constructed, how Silhouette uses both handcraft and state-of-the-art robotic fabrication to make something that is highly digital and engineered, but also very definitely bespoke.’
That bespoke process starts with a mathematical map of Huang’s face and some intense discussions about geometry and how it relates to the way the glasses sit on the eyes. There are preliminary pencil sketches, some detailed 3-D CAD imagery generated on the computer and an inspirational factory tour.
Making the transition to the world-famous rimless aesthetic of Silhouette proved a revelation.’ Before today, Huang would wear what he calls ‘frame-heavy’ eyewear, ‘where the frame defines the form and the profile of the design.
You are always very aware that you have glasses on with that type of frame. ‘But this is an entirely different experience. The Silhouette glasses weigh almost nothing and have a very light footprint on your face. It’s like my glasses have all but disappeared.’ Huang’s newly fashioned interface between the human experience and the wider world are carefully cleaned with a soft cloth and put in a case, ready for their trip back to the modernist cityscape of LA.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Aston Martin DBX707 SUV is updated with a new interior and infotainment
The new Aston Martin DBX707 has better tech, better design but the same raw power, keeping its spot at the top of the ultra-SUV tree
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Dark watches show it’s time to embrace an inky palette
Discover new dark watches from brands including Audemars Piguet, Omega, Chanel and Tudor
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Maruni's new collections combine Japanese skills with humble functionality
Presented at Salone del Mobile 2024, Maruni's new collections include furniture by the brand's art director Naoto Fukasawa as well as Cecilie Manz and Jasper Morrison
By Danielle Demetriou Published