TopoArtic
TopoArtic is a series of computational topographic artworks by Ibrahim Joharji, developed through contour modelling, geometric cutting and deliberate colour composition. A three-dimensional construction becomes an image whose apparent flatness can conceal the depth held within its layers.
The earth’s fingerprint
TopoArtic begins with real contour information: a record of the changing elevations of a particular terrain. Joharji treats this record as the earth’s fingerprint, a visual metaphor for the specificity of place. The artwork develops through the selection of a terrain fragment, its translation into a layered model, and the deliberate introduction of a cut. Its identity emerges from the relationship between the inherited landform and the artist’s intervention.
The resulting layers are a constructed interpretation of elevation. They should not be read as a geological survey of underground rock strata. The model makes height and section visible at the scale of an image, allowing architectural operations to become compositional decisions.
Artist Ibrahim Nawaf Joharji
Series TopoArtic — Volumes 1 through 21
Medium Computational topographic art; digital modelling and image composition
Style Cut Contour
Year 2024–2026
Scope Art, Architecture, Topographic ResearchNew studies · 2026
2026. A near-frontal viewpoint compresses the relief into colour fields; shadows at the angular cuts reveal the model’s depth.
2026. Inspired by the shape of a donut carved into rock, an orange ring interrupts blue and near-black contour bands. The familiar circular form becomes a topographic intervention, defined by its opening, layered edges and shadow.
2026. Pale sectional faces interrupt olive, sky-blue and brown layers. Retained wire lines expose the constructed edges and continuity of the model.
Constructing the image
The process moves between topographic information, three-dimensional modelling and image editing. Contours establish the boundaries of the model. Extrusion gives them thickness, while geometric cuts introduce new faces and voids. Working views, monochrome renders and shadow passes allow the artist to examine different aspects of the same construction before resolving the final composition.
A change of viewpoint can bring the layered model close to flat abstraction. The diagram separates the construction and image components that make this reading possible.
Working colours identify the layers; relief and shadow are examined separately before colour and linework resolve the image. The panels record distinct operations on the same construction.
The artist’s composition and a rejected generative trial are compared through contour continuity, layer thickness and cut profile. The trial changes local geometry; this records one tested result, not a general claim about AI.
Colour is assigned through a selected palette and a deliberate sequence. In a continuous layer, its upper surface and exposed thickness share a base colour; illumination changes their tone without changing their identity. Cut faces can also receive a separate graphic treatment. In the olive, sky-blue and brown study, the pale sectional faces and retained wire lines distinguish the intervention from the surrounding terrain.
Shadows are evaluated against the model’s geometry rather than added as arbitrary depth effects. The artist adjusts their strength, the visibility of the linework and the balance of colour fields. A plan view may bring the work close to flat abstraction, while an oblique view exposes the thickness and continuity of the same layers.
Colour and shadow in motion
Authorship and geometric fidelity
The specificity of TopoArtic lies in a sequence of decisions that can be traced through its working material: what terrain to select, where to cut, how to frame the model, how to organise colour and how much depth to reveal. Digital tools carry out these operations, while the artist establishes their purpose and judges the result.
The demanding part of this digital practice is maintaining relationships across the whole construction. An edit to one contour affects neighbouring faces; a colour choice must remain legible across both the top of a layer and its exposed thickness. Revisions therefore require repeated checks between geometry, lighting and composition. The working records make this otherwise hidden labour visible.
During development, generative image editing was tested as a means of recolouring existing model images. The trial shown here produced a plausible terraced image but changed parts of the contour, the cut profile and the relationship between neighbouring layers. It was not accepted as a faithful recolouring. Visual resemblance alone did not meet the requirement to preserve the constructed geometry.
This comparison records a limit encountered in this workflow, rather than a universal claim about artificial intelligence. Assistance is useful where it preserves the work’s intended structure and remains subject to review. The working model, the artist’s composition and the rejected trial are shown separately so that the distinction remains visible.
The series and its development
TopoArtic presented as a framed work within a gallery setting.
The early volumes establish a vocabulary of contour, colour and section. Vol.1 explores the flow of the contour; Vol.7, The First Cut, places the intervention at the centre of the series. Subsequent works develop different relationships between depth, shadow and colour. The 2026 studies extend this investigation through circular openings, angular cuts and increasingly explicit records of the modelling process.
A view of a TopoArtic work through a gallery corridor.
Site cuts and excavations informing the project’s exploration of terrain and section.
The colour system departs from conventional cartographic gradients. A selected palette gives each composition its rhythm, contrast and atmosphere. Colour may follow a continuous layer or distinguish an introduced cut face, allowing the viewer to read both the inherited contour and the artist’s intervention.
Layered contour bands establish the series’ exploration of topographic form and colour.
Orange and grey contours meet geometric interventions in the terrain.
Bright nested contours emerge within a dark field of topographic lines.
Vol.8, Human Form, explores a visual correspondence between terrain and the body. Contour lines can describe changes in either surface, allowing the image to move between landscape and bodily association. This is a compositional analogy, rather than a claim that topography and biological identity are equivalent.
Pink, yellow and mint tones follow the contours in a soft, interwoven palette.
Dark red, brown and pale bands articulate a continuous topographic pattern.
An orange field frames a dark, layered section and its exposed depth.
Vol.9, For the Upcoming Mansion, considers the cut terrain as the beginning of an architectural proposition. By holding the building in abeyance, the work directs attention to the section itself: the chosen intervention, the remaining landform and the shadow produced where they meet.
A cutaway view exposes a sequence of coloured layers above a green contour field.
An oblique view reveals the thickness and continuity of the coloured layers.
A variation within Vol.12, exploring terrain through layered colour and depth.
Separated layers reveal the spatial relationships within the contour model.
Strong colour bands trace the terrain around a sharply defined intervention.
An elongated geometric intervention crosses a pale topographic field.
2026. A three-dimensional cut through a modelled mountain sets an angular incision against flowing contours. Melon-orange, deep blue and white distinguish the stepped layers, while grey cut faces and fine wire lines reveal their thickness and continuity. The altered palette and composition give this study a distinct reading of the terrain.
An oblique terrain model combines layered earth tones with a central geometric cut.
2026. A conical cut interrupts blue, grey and terracotta contour bands; shading reveals the sloping surface.
2026. Six repeating colours trace the contours around a central geometric intervention.
2026. Coral, blue and purple bands reveal the depth and rhythm of stepped terrain.
2026. Peach, green and pink layers surround a deep circular cut.
© INJ Architects
Volume index
| Volume | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vol.1 | The Beginning | The inception of the idea — organic contour flow rendered through five foundational color codes. |
| Vol.2 | Childhood Hues | Pink and yellow read the contour as memory, the mountain’s form held in the palette of innocence. |
| Vol.3 | Aubergine Gradient | A deliberate break in the contour line, its deep purple referencing 2024’s material color culture. |
| Vol.4 | Heart of Orange | The mountain’s center treated as a heat source, its warmth radiating outward through the contour bands. |
| Vol.5 | Pure Colors | The contour stripped of complexity — form and color held in their most direct relationship. |
| Vol.6 | New York Vibe | The American flag’s chromatic energy applied to terrain, the landscape of a city read as landscape. |
| Vol.7 | The First Cut | The inaugural section — the moment the mountain is cut and its shadow becomes the subject. |
| Vol.8 | Human Form | A visual correspondence between topographic contours and the human form. |
| Vol.9 | For the Upcoming Mansion | The cut terrain as foundation — the section that will become someone’s site. |
| Vol.10 | Earthy Tones | The mountain’s own palette returned to it — soil and rock as chromatic source. |
| Vol.11 | American Terrain | The rugged landform character of the American west held in a single section. |
| Vol.12 | For the People | A mountain open to interpretation — the contour section as public territory. |
| Vol.13 | The Mountain for Two | A double cut designed for two mansions — natural form and human habitation as a single proposition. |
| Vol.14 | Kharq Cone Shading | 2026. A conical cut interrupts blue, grey and terracotta contour bands; shading reveals the sloping surface. |
| Vol.15 | Six-Color Sequence | 2026. Six repeating colours trace the contours around a central geometric intervention. |
| Vol.16 | Tri-Color Terraces | 2026. Coral, blue and purple bands reveal the depth and rhythm of stepped terrain. |
| Vol.17 | Sunken Terraces | 2026. Peach, green and pink layers surround a deep circular cut. |
| Vol.18 | Top Light Study | 2026. A near-frontal viewpoint compresses the relief into colour fields; shadows at the angular cuts reveal the model’s depth. |
| Vol.19 | Donut Carved in Rock | 2026. Inspired by the shape of a donut carved into rock, an orange ring interrupts blue and near-black contour bands. The familiar circular form becomes a topographic intervention, defined by its opening, layered edges and shadow. |
| Vol.20 | Section and Linework | 2026. Pale sectional faces interrupt olive, sky-blue and brown layers. Retained wire lines expose the constructed edges and continuity of the model. |
| Vol.21 | Chromatic Mountain Cut | 2026. A three-dimensional cut through a modelled mountain sets an angular incision against flowing contours. Melon-orange, deep blue and white distinguish the stepped layers, while grey cut faces and fine wire lines reveal their thickness and continuity. The altered palette and composition give this study a distinct reading of the terrain. |
TopoArtic develops within the practice’s continuing exchange between architecture and art. Further context is available in how we work. For enquiries about the series, commissions or applications of its topographic language to architecture, see bespoke architecture.