January 9, 2026 - Surjan Super School Weekly Newsletter

SURJAN SUPER SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

WEEK OF JANUARY 9, 2026

Theme: The Graphic City & The Copper Playground

INTRODUCTION: ARCHITECTURE AS TYPOGRAPHY

We are one week into 2026, and the resolution in the studio is clear: No more beige.

If last week was about "Fluid Brick," this week is about "Hard Graphics." The latest output from our AI explorations suggests a city that reads like a billboard or a comic book. We are seeing buildings that don't just sit in the background; they wink at you.

We are exploring a "Pop-Industrial" aesthetic—where the durability of brick and copper meets the whimsy of bright tiles and googly-eye windows. It is a proposal for a New York that takes itself a little less seriously.

01. THE SUPER-GRAPHIC FACADE

(Ref: The Tiled Typologies)

The most striking images this week explore the building envelope as a canvas for massive geometric symbols.

• The Blue & Red Graphic: In the Brooklyn study, the facade is wrapped in a "vibrant blue, red, and white tiled" skin that resembles oversized typography. Notice how the "Large, bold red and blue graphic elements" are not painted on—they are integrated into the brickwork/tiling itself. The contrasting wooden canopy with its "circular skylight" grounds this graphic explosion in warmth and tectonic reality.

• The Pareidolia Tower: We pushed this further with the "Pink Tower". The "Two large, round 'eye' windows" create a face that overlooks the street. It walks the fine line between architecture and character design. By lifting the mass on "rustic wood elements," we create a public porch that feels like the underside of a massive toy.

02. HEAVY METAL WHIMSY

(Ref: The Copper Studies)

To balance the brightness of the tiles, we revisited our favorite material: Copper. But we are using it differently now. We are treating plumbing as sculpture.

• The Heroic Gutter: Look at the brick facade study. Usually, we hide downspouts. Here, the "large, angular copper drain spout" and "textured copper guttering" become the primary ornament. It is an exaggeration of infrastructure—turning the mechanical needs of the building into a green-patina exoskeleton.

• Steampunk Sentinels: On the skyline, the "Retro-futuristic towers" combine red brick with riveted copper plates. The "circular windows framed with oxidized copper" act as fisheye lenses, capturing the city in a steampunk gaze.

03. THE ARCHITECTURE OF JOY

(Ref: The Pier & The Art Center)

Finally, we looked at how these materials touch the ground (and the water).

• The Floating Playground: The wooden pier project is a manifesto for public space. It uses "vibrant colors and arches" to create a maze that reflects beautifully on the water. It proves that simple plywood forms, when painted boldly, can rival any high-tech pavilion.

• The Candy-Stripe A-Frame: The Art Center study juxtaposes a heavy, copper-clad A-frame against a "vibrant striped facade." It is a collision of the sacred (the copper chapel shape) and the profane (the candy-colored stripes). The "blue circle window" punches through the stripes, tying the two languages together.

FINAL THOUGHT: SCALE UP THE DETAIL

The lesson for this week is about Scale.

A downspout is boring; a 10-foot wide copper downspout is architecture. A tile is standard; a two-story tile graphic is a monument. A window is functional; an oversized eye window is a narrative.

In your work this week, take one standard element of your building and scale it up until it becomes uncomfortable. Then, build around it.

Stay bold,

Surjan

Professor of Practice, ASU

Founder, Surjan Super School