Through the Lens by Aida Ali Bakri is an exhibition design architecture project about Fred Herzog, Brick Lane and the tactile process of analogue photography.
The project works because it does not treat photography as flat content on a wall. It turns the camera, film roll, darkroom and industrial site into parts of the visitor experience.
Project gallery
The gallery shows project material from Aida’s thesis, with the Brick Lane exhibition setting and photography-led spatial ideas kept close to the opening.
Project overview
The original article introduced Aida as an Interior Architecture graduate from the University of Westminster. Her thesis reimagines the Old Boiler House on Brick Lane as a tribute to street photographer Fred Herzog.
The site matters. The Old Boiler House has an industrial character that supports the analogue photography idea: texture, process, light and memory all belong together.
How the exhibition idea works
- Fred Herzog’s street photography gives the project a clear cultural subject.
- The Old Boiler House gives the exhibition a gritty, material setting.
- Projected images onto suspended film rolls make the act of viewing spatial.
- A working darkroom brings process into the visitor experience.
- The design encourages people to move through and around images, rather than only look at framed prints.
Why analogue process matters
The strongest part of the exhibition design architecture is the link between medium and space. Analogue photography is about waiting, developing, light, touch and uncertainty. Aida’s project uses those qualities to shape the exhibition itself.
Showcase an exhibition or interiors project
Architecture Social can feature student interiors work where the visitor journey, display strategy and site context are clearly explained.
- Explain the subject of the exhibition before the visual style.
- Show how people move through the space.
- Connect material choices to the story being told.
- Use project images and captions that make the experience easy to understand.
Connect with Aida Ali Bakri
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s recruiter view is that interiors portfolios need to show more than atmosphere. The reader should understand the brief, the visitor journey and the design decisions that make the experience work.
Next step
Explore more student projects, use the portfolio guide to sharpen your interiors project story, or submit your own work.
If this project has made you rethink your own portfolio or next move, browse current architecture jobs or contact Architecture Social for a recruiter’s view.
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