Did any architect, in particular, inspire you? Carlos Scarpa. He did something that no architect I’m aware of has been able to do, which was to fuse ancient techniques of forging and metalwork into a modern vocabulary. I was lucky enough to see his work in print in New York, but then I went to Verona, Italy and was able to see a lot of his work there in person. One example of his work was a renovation of a medieval barracks, which was turned into a small museum. Wherever his work stopped and the existing structure started, or vice versa, he celebrated that edge with a flourish. You’d have this brick building with walls that were two feet thick, and then he’d put in a piece of bronze and start a hand-thrown plaster partition. He was able to forge, literally, iron railings for that job and insert bronze pieces into them. Where they touched, he made a keyhole, and they fit together. When I was in Venice, I knew he’d worked on that museum and built a bridge across one of the canals to get to it. We wandered around a tiny plaza for hours, looking for the museum, until I saw something sticking out behind a church’s nave that could only be his work. And sure enough, it was his bridge into this building. The building was designed so that when tidal surges come, the lower floor floods. He allowed it to flood, and it became a water feature in the building. When the waters recede, it’s the lobby of this museum. I was thrilled when we finally saw it. Carlos grew up and lived in Venice. I think, as an architect in Italy, your role is challenging, because you’re surrounded by stuff that’s classical and ancient. But he found a niche, and he made it more compelling intellectually by putting his work in that context. I have never seen anything that left me slack-jawed like that. It was really something to see. What career accomplishment are you proudest of? I hope I haven’t done it yet. That’s my answer. But there is one project that was kind of a breakthrough for us: the Warsaw residence in Jackson Hole. The client was interested in something not typical for Jackson Hole, and they owned a lot in a really restrictive CC&R environment, if you will. They wanted me to explore the possibilities, so we designed a building that was decidedly modern, but also could have been built 200 years ago. I learned a great deal when I presented it to the Architectural Review Board. They were steely-eyed, and as soon as I showed them the first drawing, I knew they were going to say no. But there was one influential member of the board, Mike Hammer, who became my patron saint of architecture in Jackson Hole. The rest of the review board hated everything about the house; they hated the concrete, the inverted butterfly roof, everything. But after the brouhaha died down, Mike spoke up and said to the board, “I understand all your comments, but the local architecture here should respond to the natural environment.” He pointed out how the design was oriented to get south light and pull it clear into the house, and to maximize the view of the Tetons on the north side. He said, “This house responds to the natural resources on this lot in spades, and I think we should approve it on that alone.” And because of that, the rest of the board agreed and approved it. So that particular house was kind of groundbreaking, and it’s one that I’m particularly proud of because we took a big chance. What is the most important lesson you learned over your career? Is there anything you would have done differently? I would shut the hell up and listen more. When I have managed to curb my enthusiasm a bit and listen, I have always gained some neat insights. But when you’re busy talking, trying to market yourself, you don’t always hear that. Shutting up is a big deal because then you can start hearing people’s stories. And if you’re thoughtful about it, you can formulate questions that are relevant to their life experiences and have a dialogue that makes for a meaningful and mutually fulfilling project. There’s an architect marketer who doesn’t really appeal to me, but he said something interesting about the architects’ process. We architects love to talk about process, even though nobody really cares about it or understands it. But this marketer said, “You don’t want to know how to make sausage, but you want to appreciate the sizzle.” Nobody wants to learn how to stir eggs, but they want a perfect omelet. The proof is in the work and how you execute it, so focus on that. What are some of the challenges you see currently facing the profession, as opposed to when you became an architect? Carbon issues. I have a biochemist friend who says, “It ain’t the carbon, it’s what it took to get it.” We’re bombarded on a daily basis with greenwashing; manufacturers and marketing people will use any tactic to get us to buy their products, including portraying them as green and socially conscious — even when they aren’t. The fact of the matter is that we live in a highly industrialized world. I’m not a tree hugger, but what we’ve done to Mother Earth is pervasive. The Snake River is considered a pristine ecological watershed because it only harbors native fish, but those fish are full of nitrates. They’re polluted right down to their living and functioning. I think we’re all trying to get a handle on what we’re doing to the planet, but I don’t think the answer is the latest and greatest building materials — it’s being smart and using what we have responsibly. I think we need to start looking at building projects and talking about lifecycle costs, as well as how to make things durable and easy to maintain. Building is such a gigantic commitment of time and energy. You ought to plan it carefully and build something that can last, so you don’t have to do it again anytime soon. What advice would you give a young architect? I would tell them to do it for passion. It’s a lousy business to be in if you’re solely interested in making money. But if you have a passion for it and it clicks, there is nothing that clicks as loudly and perfectly. It’s a big responsibility we take on every day, so take it seriously. We once tracked the number of people who worked on one of our projects from start to finish, and it was over 300. We have to tell all those people what to do to some degree. It’s the kind of job my grandpa told me he wanted me to have when I was a kid, so I think he’d be proud. 39
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==