Caulen Heil
About
Caulen Heil is a designer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Penn State’s Stuckeman School of Architecture in 2021 where he worked intensively in the Wood & Metal Shop exploring a vast array of materials and processes as well as assisting fellow students in their own exploration. This shop experience and architectural education provide key influences in his work.
Statement
My work analyzes socio-economic and natural systems through synthesizing the industrial and organic. My background in architecture informs my process, which merges architecture, art, and craft. My sculptures envision an alternate future for humanity.
Smoggy Heath
is a collection of work focused on synthesizing the industrial & organic.
Black smog drifts over our rooftops & settles miles away upon the heath. This is where those unspoken truths dwell. What happens when humanity's creative & destructive force meets those ancient ones beyond the outskirts? What happens in this liminal space where titans meet?
Philosophy
I am enthralled with the Gesamtkunstwerk: The Total Art Work; Architecture & Craft synthesized. Designing at all scales from the floor plan down to the silverware. A movement that executed this synthesis was the Wienerwerkstätte (Vienna Workshop). At turn of the century, this short-lived cooperative of craftspeople channeled architects, artists, & designers to create artifacts of all kinds & at all scales from jewelry to houses. They stood for quality & longevity rather than quantity & disposability. This kind of design, the synthesis of craft & architecture, is not at the forefront today. This Master-Builder tradition is not the standard & it should be.
It has long been my dream to reinvigorate the long-standing relationship between craft & architecture & bring this synthesis into the modern consciousness. With my unique role in straddling craft & design this dream could be a reality. I wish to establish a new kind of practice which promotes the interweaving of architecture & craft, the industrial & the vernacular, rooted in tradition & dynamism. Together, we could forge a new path for architects & craftspeople to embody the Gesamtkunstwerk, the role of the Master-Builder, & to envision new plans for a more connected & sustainable future.