lectures

Asking, Looking, Playing, Making

Architectural Association School of Architecture

May 14

AA Bookshop, 33 Bedford Square

Event linkcalender

Design is a process that requires freedom and rigour, expansion and focus. But how can a place be transformed through a tangible, meaningful vision? This insightful guide from leading architects Tonkin Liu offers an insider’s view of a proven framework for architectural design. It breaks down the design process into four essential stages: asking, looking, playing and making. As a nature-focused storytelling toolkit that questions, abstracts and amplifies a project’s particularities, it reveals how a design process can generate buildings rooted in a sense of place, drawing principles from nature as the basis for design. Case studies of six built projects show how the method works in practice.


Mike Tonkin established his practice after leaving the RCA in 1989 and founded Tonkin Liu with Anna Liu in 2002. Mike has taught and lectured at numerous schools of architecture, including the AA and the Bartlett School of Architecture (University College London).

Anna Liu is an architect with experience working in the UK, China, Japan, USA and Taiwan. She taught at the AA with Mike Tonkin for four years, exploring patterns in nature. We are delighted to welcome Anna and Mike to the bookshop.


The launch will feature an introduction by Chris Pierce, Head of Visiting School at the AA, and includes an opportunity for questions, refreshments and book sales.

The book will be sold at the special price of £22 (RRP £28)