Principals Breakfast: Design as Narrative
March 25 @ 8:00 am - 9:30 am
Start your morning with breakfast, connection, and a crucial conversation with AIA Austin leaders and your peers. This event is open to Architecture Firm Principals only please, registration required.
Design as Narrative: Visual Storytelling Strategies for Architects
Great design always tells a story, but communicating that story clearly and convincingly requires more than the standard-issue drawings and jargon-laden text. As an architectural communications consultant for over 15 years, Richie Gelles draws upon his professional experience working hand in glove with the world’s leading architects and designers, translating their groundbreaking design projects into visually engaging, story-driven presentations. Through real-world examples and behind-the-scenes insights, this course explores how to distill complex architectural ideas into accessible narratives and effective visuals that emphasize key design concepts and resonate with diverse audiences. Attendees will gain practical strategies for shaping the story behind their work, foregrounding key design concepts, clarifying intent, building emotional impact, and aligning message with medium and audience, whether for government approvals, competition entries, client presentations, or public engagement.
Speaker
Richie Gelles is an architectural communications consultant based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder and creative director of Playhou.se Animation, a studio specializing in architectural visualization and narrative-driven animations for the built environment. With over 15 years of experience, Gelles has collaborated with some of the world’s leading architects and designers including OMA, BIG, Sasaki, ARUP, MVRDV, Henning Larsen, James Corner Field Operations, SWA and Grant Associates to translate complex design concepts into compelling visual narratives that resonate with diverse audiences, including government agencies, competition juries, and the general public.
Richie studied architecture at Rice University, where he developed a strong foundation in design and a passion for visual storytelling. He also teaches design studio and animation at the university level having taught graduate and undergraduate level courses at the University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M University and Chuhai College in Hong Kong, as well as workshops focusing on integrating animation into the design process at Harvard GSD, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Syracuse University and University of Coventry.
Richie studied architecture at Rice University, where he developed a strong foundation in design and a passion for visual storytelling. He also teaches design studio and animation at the university level having taught graduate and undergraduate level courses at the University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M University and Chuhai College in Hong Kong, as well as workshops focusing on integrating animation into the design process at Harvard GSD, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Syracuse University and University of Coventry.
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