Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Infinite and the Immeasurable  —  
Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Infinite and the Immeasurable  —  
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“Empathy is a superpower in architecture” | 10 architects share their advice  —  
“Empathy is a superpower in architecture” | 10 architects share their advice  —  
Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Infinite and the Immeasurable  —  
Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Infinite and the Immeasurable  —  
Shop
Next
“Empathy is a superpower in architecture” | 10 architects share their advice  —  
“Empathy is a superpower in architecture” | 10 architects share their advice  —  

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01

interviews

09:43

Is Gaetano Pesce the Most Interesting Designer in the World?

"If I talk too much, I risk to repeat." Italian architect Gaetano Pesce's works of art fill the halls and walls of museums all over the world, but how has he remained so elusive, separating designer from the design? In 1968, he designed Foot "UP7" and began to carve out an artistic style uniquely his own. Now, at 82-years-old, Pesce speaks to his career, craft, and begs the question, is he the most interesting designer in the world?

02

interviews

19:51

Peter Marino

His signature “all-black-leather” look surely clashes with the purity, the lightness and the chic of his design. No surprise: it’s Peter Marino, the archistar who revolutionized the concept of the high end boutiques worldwide (Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Ermenegildo Zegna, to name a few), and created some of the most exquisite spaces for the rich& famous ( from Agnelli to Warhol and everyone in between). He is by all means a true study in contrast.

03

interviews

05:39

Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma is a Japanese architect and professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma is also noted for his prolific writings.

04

interviews

45:31

Balkrishna Doshi

“Architecture is an extension of life.” During his more than 60 years of practice, Indian Pritzker Prize-winner Balkrishna Doshi has made substantial contributions to the evolution of architectural discourse in India, as well as pioneering work on low-income housing. In this extensive interview, Doshi shares the story of how he became the architect he is today, and why he considers a building a living, growing organism. Doshi argues that the story of India is the story of finding your footing after a long struggle of dependence – and deciding to improve. Architecture is not only about housing but about creating understanding in people as to “what is the nature of what we had, what we are happy about, proud about? And what are we going to give back in return?” He compares this to a revolution, which begins with nothing: “And now we are facing the challenges of the new world, the technological world. And I think this is where the whole juxtaposition has happened, and I think this is where I was trying to play my role as an architect.” In connection to this, Doshi also talks about building low-income housing, where the residents – from all social levels – are given the opportunity to expand the house themselves. This, he argues, gives people roots, hope and aspirations: “Variety is there, diversity is there, but most important, identity is there, and community life is there.” In this way, architecture is also about creating a social change: “The moment you empower people, there is hope.” Balkrishna Doshi (b. 1927) is an Indian architect, who is considered a pioneer of modernist and brutalist architecture in India. Doshi has realized a wide range of projects, which include institutions, mixed-use complexes, housing projects, public spaces, galleries, and private residences, adopting principles of moderns architecture and adapting them to local culture, traditions, resources, and nature. From 1951-1954 he lived in Paris, where he worked under Le Corbusier (1887-1965). Upon returning to India, he oversaw Le Corbusier’s projects in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, which include the Mille Owner’s Association Building. Doshi founded his own practice in 1956, and selected projects include Indian Institute of Management (1977-1992) in Bangalore, Amdavad Ni Gufa (1994) in Ahmedabad, Aranya Low Cost Housing (1989) in Indore, and his architecture studio Sangath (meaning ‘moving together’) in Ahmedabad (1980). Among numerous prestigious awards, Doshi is the recipient of the Pritzker Prize (2018) (the first Indian architect to receive the honour), Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France (2011), Global Award for Lifetime Achievement for Sustainable Architecture from Institut Francais d’Architecture (2007), Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1993-1995) (for Aranya Community Housing), and Padma Shree National Award (1976). Balkrishna Doshi was interviewed by Khushnu Panthaki Hoof at his studio in 2018 in connection with the upcoming exhibition Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People at Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein in Germany in May 2019.

05

interviews

09:35

In conversation with Harry Nuriev

For the launch of the Valentino Garavani #UniqueForm boots, the Maison has partnered with Spazio Maiocchi to envision the shoes as a vector for creativity, unique to the person who wears them.

06

interviews

15:09

Architect Peter Cook on the Benefits of Drawing by Hand

“Screw you; it can be built." Meet British architect Sir Peter Cook who talks about the possible benefits of drawing by hand and explains why he disagrees with critics calling his architectural ideas utopian. “By the critics and the regular people saying it’s utopian, you put it into a pigeonhole that says: ‘Oh, those sorts of architects are utopian, but we are normal architects.’ So, the delight I get out of doing buildings is to say: Screw you, it can be built.” Peter Cook (b. 1936) grew up in the city of Lester in the latter part of the second world war. The town had a lot of cultural activities, and he accompanied his mother, a frustrated artist, to galleries, operas, and symphony concerts from a very young age. Around the age of eleven, he started reading books about architecture and was already fascinated by the modern by then. When he began studying architecture at art school, he was both intrigued and challenged by the practice of drawing.

07

interviews

03:53

Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Infinite and the Immeasurable

The Japanese photographer’s work spans decades and, rather than seeking to capture the magic of the decisive moment, aims to evoke ‘the infinite and the immeasurable’. ‘I’m going backwards; people are going forwards,’ he muses. ‘The gap between me and the world is getting bigger and bigger. But I don’t care. I just do what I want to do.’

08

interviews

14:16

“Empathy is a superpower in architecture” | 10 architects share their advice

Ten world renowned architects give their advice on the role of the architect in the 21st century. Renzo Piano, Tatiana Bilbao, Alejandro Aravena, Bjarke Ingels, Anupama Kundoo, Anna Heringer, Anne Lacaton, Norman Foster, and Frank Gehry was interviewed and produced by Marc-Christoph Wagner. Kengo Kuma was interviewed by Mette Holm and produced by Christian Lund.

09

interviews

27:27

Anupama Kundoo: More Common Than Different

“We all feel that human society deserves better.” In this personal interview Indian architect, Anupama Kundoo reflects on her way into architecture. Growing up in Mumbai, she had an early interest in both the arts as well as math and science. Due to a test, which a family member suggested to her, architecture came up as a profession. “I stumbled into architecture, but it was a blessing. The second I realized it, there was no looking back. Architecture and design would allow me to develop my interest in everything. But they would also ground me and allow me to be of service.” “I had a very strong intuitive voice telling me to just prolong whatever I was doing, even though it did not seem clear from the outside. I decided to leave Bombay and move to South India to figure out and understand my country. I didn’t know where I was going. But I knew what I was leaving. I didn’t know what I wanted. But I knew what I didn’t want. If you see something, you cannot unsee it anymore.” Kundoo ended up in Auroville, engaging herself for many years in a project that defines itself as a “universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.” Kundoo also speaks about time as the most important human resource. “I feel that a lot of the problems we have in today’s world have come because of that wrong notion that time is money. No, time is the only resource we have when we are alive.” While we’re saving other resources, Kundoo argues, we don’t seem to mind spending our own time freely on anything. This is why she encourages people to use their time wisely – to use fewer natural resources and more human resources: “Use more brain, use more muscle, use more time. Because people grow clever in the end when we do that.” Anupama Kundoo was born in Pune, India in 1967. She graduated from Sir JJ College of Architecture, University of Mumbai in 1989, and received her Ph.D. degree from the TU Berlin in 2008. Anupama Kundoo was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner in her studio in Berlin in March 2020.

10

interviews

08:15

Anna Heringer Interview: The Walls Are Dancing

The Anandaloy Building hosts a center for people with disabilities combined with a small studio for the production of textiles and fair fashion. It is mainly built out of mud and bamboo from local farmers, thus the biggest part of the budget was invested in local crafts (wo)men. Much more than just a structure, the building became a real catalyst for local development. In October 2020 Anandaloy and Anna Heringer received the Obel Award that honors and recognizes exceptional architectural contributions to human development. To Anna the Anandaloy project underlines the importance of including everybody in society and let them have their share in the local community. For Anna Heringer, architecture is a tool to improve lives. The strategy of all of her projects is the use of local materials, local sources of energy including manual labor plus global know-how. As an architect and honorary professor of the UNESCO Chair of Earthen Architecture, Building Cultures, and Sustainable Development she is focusing on the use of natural building materials. She has been actively involved in development cooperation in Bangladesh since 1997. Her diploma work, the METI School in Rudrapur got realized in 2005 and won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007. Over the years, Studio Anna Heringer has realized further projects in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Anna is lecturing worldwide at conferences, including TED and has been visiting professor at various universities such as Harvard, ETH Zurich and TU Munich. She received numerous honors: the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, the AR Emerging Architecture Award, the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s GSD and a RIBA International Fellowship. Anna’s work has been widely published and exhibited in the MoMA New York, the V&A Museum in London and at the Venice Biennale among other places. Anna Heringer was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at her studio in Laufen, Germany, in September 2020.

11

interviews

30:47

Thomas Heatherwick Dezeen Talks

Thomas Heatherwick explains his studio's "human-centred" approach to the design of public spaces in this filmed talk hosted by Dezeen and Second Home in Los Angeles. The British designer, whose studio designed the Coal Drops Yard shopping district in London and the Vessel centrepiece at Hudson Yards in New York, told Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs that his projects are open to users' interpretations.

12

interviews

45:18

Renzo Piano: On the Shoulders of Giants

In-depth biographical interview with the Pritzker prizewinning Italian architect Renzo Piano – known for celebrated buildings such as The Shard and Centre Georges Pompidou – who explains why it’s okay “to steal” as long as you give something back. “What keeps people alive is not what you’ve done, what you’ve been, but what you will be and what you will do.” Piano feels that one must avoid falling into the trap of nostalgia by thinking too much about one’s roots and past. Born in Genoa, he feels that the sea and its connotations are part of what shaped him: “The sea is like a mysterious place to go one day, so you grow up with this idea to run away one day, and to discover the rest of the world.” Moreover, compares the sea to a soup, “a consommé of different cultures.” “It’s very funny, because as an architect, at a certain age, when you travel you feel at home everywhere.” Piano, who considers himself to be a European rather than an Italian, feels that that travelling is extremely important, because it allows you to get away from what you’re doing, permitting you to see it more clearly when you return. As an architect, you can’t simply be “a tourist”, but you need to understand and listen – not only to people, but also to places, as places too have a story to tell. In continuation of this, he emphasizes that “young people should travel to understand how lucky they are to be born in a place where you live on the shoulders of giants. You live on the freedom that was build up in centuries.” If you don’t go away, if you don’t travel, you don’t understand how lucky you are. Moreover, it is important that you appreciate that diversity is a value, not a problem, and what makes us grow, learn – and steal: “Stealing, I know, is not nice, but if the condition is that you give back, it’s not that bad.” When young people come to work at Piano’s offices, what they’re told is to “take, take away – don’t wait for us to give you, take. But if possible, give back one day.” “Architects don’t change history, but they witness the change of history.” Architects give a shape to the change, which is why public buildings are so important and apart from being good craftsmen, architects need to master the social aspect: “You are not just a builder, you are also a civic person, so you make a shelter for human beings and human communities. And this becomes even more interesting, because then you make buildings that are for people to stay together and to share values, which is the beginning of maybe making a better world.” In continuation of this, though the war didn’t affect him directly, Piano (b. 1937) grew up with a pacifistic attitude, which has stayed with him ever since: “Making a great building is a civic gesture – a gesture of peace.”

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Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Infinite and the Immeasurable

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The Japanese photographer’s work spans decades and, rather than seeking to capture the magic of the decisive moment, aims to evoke ‘the infinite and the immeasurable’. ‘I’m going backwards; people are going forwards,’ he muses. ‘The gap between me and the world is getting bigger and bigger. But I don’t care. I just do what I want to do.’

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