SK Architecture is a fictional brand created to give an identity to my portfolio website. Using a fictional brand allowed me to present my videos as if they were being unveiled by a company. Using a brand also allowed me to spend time creating logos, project reveals and trailers.
Where It All Started
My initial interest in Architecture came from playing Minecraft and creating large cities. This interest soon evolved into creating buildings in SketchUp where my first building was the creation of a simplistic corner shop design, shown to the left.
My First Design
After a work experience week at Pozzoni Architecture in July 2021, I was challenged to create a cafe/pavilion for the park near their offices. This led to the creation of the Sketchup model shown. I was also introduced to Twinmotion, a rendering engine by Epic Games. Through some teaching from Pozzoni and some of my own exploration, I learned how to use Twinmotion. This led to the creation of the final render.
After the week of work experience had finished, I continued to develop my design further, adding more detail and refining existing features. Further exploration into Twinmotion allowed me to further populate the surrounding environment. The final design became known as the Cylinder Pavilion, and more information with a final trailer can be found here.
Timeline of SK Architecture
2021 – The Beginning
July The SK Architecture brand was created as a way to title my videos and give them more of a ‘promotional trailer’ feel, as well as allowing me to refine my software skills.
August SK Architecture launches with a promotional video featuring the improved design of what became known as the Cylinder Pavilion.
September Inspired by Renzo Piano’s Shard, I decided to create my version called Fragment. This video is where the first SK Architecture logo appears, where the ‘A’ is replaced by a drawing compass.
November In an attempt to solve London’s cramped tower block living conditions, I created Convergent Flats, which was given this name due to the way the flats converge to the centre stairwell.
2022
March In March, I created L.E.A.R.N. as an exhibition centre in the heart of London, designed to host exhibitions and fairs. This design features a prominent geometric glass window that provides lots of natural light and cast interesting shadows. I also began this project using Ray Tracing for my video renders.
July After a work experience week with Robert’s Limbrick, I created the STAM Centre as part of a set challenge. This design was my most detailed and thought-out design to date. This design was also where I began utilising artificial lighting in my designs to provide detail and improved aesthetics.
November The Jig Project was released, A set of flats that also feature a large geometric pattern on the side of the building. These flats provided large rooms and outdoor space for more comfortable living, whilst also being located by a Tube station for easy transport to London city centre.
November was also when the first SK Architecture website went live, compiling all current projects into one place whilst also providing extra details about each project.
2023
To celebrate the start of the new year, I created a short video to showcase the last 2 years and my plans for the year ahead.
March Almost 2 years after creating the original pavilion, I redesigned another Cylinder Cafe. This project was the start of a new era for SK Architecture, in terms of branding and video style.
June Bullen Stadium was released in June which, as of writing, is my most recent project. This was the largest project I’ve embarked on, and this led to many issues with Sketchup and Twinmotion during the design process. This video was also where I began using Path Tracing, a new form of rendering over Ray Tracing.
July The new website for SK Architecture is launched. This website features a new domain (skarchitecture.co.uk), improved branding and design and more pages of extra information. This is also when I began to learn Revit, but no finalised models have been created yet.
September I began to learn Adobe software like After Effects and Premiere Pro. This led to more improvements in the branding and design aspects of the website. It also improved the editing quality of future videos.
2024
January To mark the start of 2024, I created a short video to summarise the past years and the year ahead. This video was also my first chance to utilise my new skills in the Adobe suite for the first time.
May SK Architecture moves to a new domain (skarchitectureuk.wordpress.com) which allowed more control over the site, particularly in the future.
December SK Architecture moves domain again (bit.ly/skarchitecture), utilising a URL shortener to allow more flexibility. This allowed the site to access more features and improve the viewing experience of different projects.
2025
Janurary SK Architecture moves to a new domain (samknight.uk), allowing expansion of the website, including a scrapbook page to document interesting buildings and features from architecture trips.
August The SK Architecture brand goes through a refresh, presenting a more professional style with a logo and colours that reflect the brand’s focus and direction. SK Photography also launches to showcase more of my creative portfolio.
