1st Edition

Asking, Looking, Playing, Making A nature-focused design process

By Mike Tonkin, Anna Liu Copyright 2025
144 Pages
by RIBA Publishing

144 Pages
by RIBA Publishing

Design is a process requiring both rigour and freedom; focus and expansion. Yet how does the concept - the 'intention' - become a built project? This accessible book acts as a storytelling toolkit, taking designers through a tried-and-tested process for taking an architectural project from thought to built project. Based around four main sections - Asking, Looking, Playing and Making - the... Read more

Overview A nature-focused design process Exploration and evaluation ASKING Exploration Nature People Place Evaluation LOOKING Exploration Nature People Place Evaluation PLAYING * Exploration * Nature * People * Place * Evaluation MAKING * Exploration * Nature * People * Place * Evaluation CASE STUDIES Singing Ringing Tree Water Tower Tower of Light Three Waves Swing Bridge Heritage Quad Louis Khan Conclusion

Biography

Mike Tonkin is an architect with 35 years of international experience, and founded Tonkin Liu with Anna Liu in 2002. He has lectured and been an international visiting critic, most recently in the role of External Examiner for MArch at the Bartlett and is currently a teaching fellow at Bath University.

Anna Liu is an architect with over 18 years of experience, encompassing practice and teaching in the UK, China, Japan, the US and Taiwan. She founded Tonkin Liu with Mike Tonkin in 2002 and leads the studio's public landscape and sculpture projects.