Will Alsop is one of the most prominent architects in the UK, but he also enjoys painting and graphics. The master's expressionist works are exhibited in renowned galleries and museums along with his urban planning and architectural projects. Alsop was born in 1947 in Northampton, central England, and attended the London Architectural Association (AA) in the late sixties.
Since 1981, Alsop has been practicing with partners, first with John Lyall and then with Jan Stormer. In 2000 he formed Alsop Architects. Despite the large number of orders, the company's financial affairs were not going well. In 2006, the architect sold his business rights to the British design conglomerate SMC Group, which owns a dozen independent architectural firms. Creatively, SMC Alsop remains an independent and independent bureau with offices in London, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Toronto, employing 120 architects.
Alsop's buildings have distinctive, colorful organic forms, he calls them "blots" and "brushstrokes." His projects have never suffered from a lack of attention. Among the most famous and daring are the Hotel du Departement (a regional government complex) in Marseille, the Sharp Design Center (a box thrown into the sky on slender multi-storey stilts) in Toronto and the Peckham Library in South London, which won the prestigious Sterling Prize in 2000 as UK's Best Building of the Year. Alsop believes that buildings should evoke curiosity, inspire people, animate the landscape and provoke dreams of what could be and ask questions like "what if …"
I visited Will at his studio in London's Battersea borough. We settled into a cozy architect's office, located on an open mezzanine floor, from where a single studio space is clearly visible.
It employs about fifty people and they are immersed in work on funny structures, reminiscent of strange creatures on the legs, with beaks, wings and dressed in skirts and hats. We started with the Russian theme, to which we returned more than once.
Your bureau existed in Moscow from 1993 to 2000. Tell us about your Russian adventure and why did you leave Russia?
First, I'll tell you why I went there. I first came to Moscow in 1990 at the invitation of Moscow Architectural Institute to participate in a seminar with students. It was interesting for me to be in a big city that was going through such dramatic political, economic and even religious changes. Then I began to come more often to observe these changes. A little later, I opened my bureau with the Englishman James McAdam, who speaks a little Russian, and the Muscovite Tatyana Kalinina, who speaks very good English. They now have their own McAdam Architects practice in Moscow and London. The first step was to find a job and very soon we found it. In Russia, we have made many good friends and built some nice buildings. The first project was the Deutsche Bank building on Shchepkina Street. Another major project was the Millennium House on Trubnaya Street.
Did you collaborate with Alexander Skokan on the Millennium House project?
Millennium House was commissioned by a French investor with whom we worked earlier. The conceptual part of the project was developed by us independently. Then we selected and invited the "Ostozhenka" bureau under the leadership of Alexander Skokan to help in solving all bureaucratic issues. It was a very close and fruitful collaboration, and Ostozhenka took an active part in the design of the project.
And in 2000, due to the turmoil in the Russian economy, I closed the office and left. By that time, 20 people worked for us, mostly Russian guys. I came to the office every two months. Perhaps I should have cut people and kept the bureau. It was a very interesting and creative time. Employees, especially young ones, gushed with very original ideas about how best to survive in the current economic situation. Of course, there was corruption. I had nothing to do with this, but of course I guessed what was happening and how. It was a difficult time. It brought me an important experience of getting to know life in this city. I knew even before I went there that it would be incredibly difficult to make architecture. If at that time we could have used Austrian or Finnish contractors … but none of my customers could afford that. Irish or Turkish contractors were the next choice. Back then, the quality was bearable, but the choice of materials was sharply reduced. Finally, there were Russian contractors. I am sure that today everything is different, but then there was a great risk in it. You had no idea when the job would be finished or how much it would cost. Now, looking through magazines and sometimes visiting Moscow, I wonder about the quality of recent projects there. Moscow must decide what it wants to become. This is a great city and it is worthy of great architecture.
What kind of architecture can you imagine in Moscow and how could it be different from, say, London?
There is, of course, a big difference in climate. It's hotter in Moscow in summer, and this leaves its mark. But that is certainly not what you mean in your question. Ideally, the approach should not be very different, whether you are in Moscow or in Africa. Of course, there will be many specifics, and it must be taken into account. But what I really enjoy working with is anticipation and aspiration. I would like to believe that I do not have a specific style. Some say it's Olsopian style. This is an insult to me because I try to avoid it. I got away from the idea of what architecture should be. My mission is to know what architecture could be. And such a journey to meet discoveries attracts many people with whom I love to work. These are residents of the area where my projects are being implemented. I give them pencils and brushes, and we come up with architecture together. Such activities are a real pleasure. The idea is not to change people's perceptions, but to empower them to express themselves. It is strange for me to observe the work of some architects who create very grotesque and intrusive forms. It is much more important to build a good, honest building.
What do you mean by "good honest building"?
Such a building is characterized by good construction quality, good lighting and special attention to how it touches the ground, because this is what most people face. If I were a politician, I would have passed such a law that in every city everything that is below a ten-meter height does not touch the ground. People could eat and drink at street level, but buildings would float above the ground. The land must be given to people and gardens must be planted on it. This would make our cities very happy. Think of Le Corbusier and his Columnar Housing in Marseille. It was there that I built my first raised building, Hotel du Departement. So Corbusier influenced me in a very specific way.
You wanted to be an architect since childhood. Let's talk a little about this.
Yes, I dreamed of being an architect long before I knew what they do. I grew up in an ordinary family in the small, ordinary town of Northampton. Most likely, the love for art and architecture is associated with the house, next to which my family lived - my parents, twin sister and older brother. This house was built in 1926 according to the project of Peter Behrens. It was one of the earliest modernist rational houses in Britain. My mother said it was an ugly building, but I liked it because it didn't look like anything else. The couple lived in this house already in years. They often invited me and my sister for delicious ice cream, and it was always very cozy there. And in general, everything was very stylish: atmosphere, furnishings, designer furniture by Charles Rene McIntosh. A little later, my friend's uncle, an eccentric set designer, introduced me to the history of stage design, from Greek to Constructivist and modern. By that time I already knew how to draw, but he decided to teach me in his own way. We have been painting bricks for three months. I tried to portray shadows, but he only required linear representations. Then we moved on to the tin can and so on. At the age of sixteen, I transferred to an evening school and got a job in a small architectural bureau, where I got a good practice. But before entering architecture school, I studied painting for a couple of years. Today for me there is no difference between architecture and art.
Your architectural heroes are Le Corbusier, John Soan, Mies van der Rohe and John van Bru. How have such different architects influenced you?
I think there is no one correct way to create architecture, which is good. Our cities must be diverse. Monotony makes life boring. There are a lot of such districts in Moscow, and there are many of them in the north of England. It causes boredom. Architecture is not just a roof over your head. She gives rise to feelings of belonging and comfort. This is not easy to convey in words, but people have repeatedly told me that this is exactly what my architecture is different. People often ask me - how do you do it? I don’t know, and I don’t want to know this, because if I knew, then all the pleasure and passionate exploration that accompanies the process of creating an architecture would be lost. You just have to believe in what you are doing. So, all these architects you named are very different and they all have qualities that we can all be inspired by. I took a lot from each of them.
What kind of architecture do you like today?
I like a variety of projects. For example, I really like the Hearst skyscraper in New York, designed by Norman Foster. As you drive towards it on Seventh Avenue, it feels like an optical illusion. The overall shape is very pleasing to the eye. The building is mesmerizing and unlike any other around. Its design is meant to be continued upward. At the same time, it has good stature, good proportions and a very proud presence. On the other hand, Foster's projects in Moscow are very grotesque. Excellent engineers practice here in the UK, and therefore our architects love to emphasize the structure of buildings, which sometimes overwhelms them. Richard Rogers is probably the most striking and fascinating example of such architecture. The idea of open space on the floors and bringing all the utilitarian functions to the edges is very interesting, and commercially very rational, but in the end, this approach leads to a denial of proportions and the architecture itself. I'm not opposed to showing structure, but not just for the sake of functionality. Otherwise, architecture is reduced to high-tech or style. As soon as hi-tech turns into stylization, it kills architecture. What I love about architecture is that anything is possible, especially if your ideas have good intentions. Take the FAT architecture firm, for example. I think they make a very interesting architecture. I would never do what they do, but I enjoy it.
Their projects are full of irony and even sarcasm
Of course, this is what I like about them, and I want to help them. While working on the master plan for a village for fifteen hundred private houses in eastern Manchester, I introduced the FAT bureau to the customer, and now one of the houses is built according to their design. It seems to me that one of the tasks of senior architects is to help junior colleagues whenever possible.
You graduated from the Architectural Association, tell us about your student experiences and teachers
I think the time I studied at A. A. was the most interesting for this school. This was the only school to which I applied. By the time I graduated in 1972, my faculty included all members of the famous Archigram bureau, without exception. I perceived their projects as science fiction. They touched on the social aspects of architecture and how people might live and work in the future. Therefore, my graduation project turned into a kind of science fiction story. I used it as a trick to illustrate the idea of decentralizing cities. In general, I proposed different scenarios for how the cities were emptied, and people settled across the endless landscape.
After A. A., you worked in various bureaus, including Cedric Price's office. What have you learned from him?
This was a very important practical experience. I led the project for the last building in his life. Perhaps, from an architectural point of view, it was nothing special. But it was in his style, which meant there was no style at all. I'm not sure if I managed to figure it out, but it doesn't matter. It was a wonderful experience for me. The main thing that I inherited from Price is that architecture should please people. I consider Cedric to be my second professional school. Now I say to my students at the Vienna Institute: After graduating from university, try to work for three to four years in the office of someone you really respect. And there is no need to think about what to do next in life - it will become clear by itself.
Can you meet your students in your studio?
Yes, the two girls working here were my students.
Tell us about your passion for painting and how does it relate to your architecture?
I love to draw, paint and take a close look at everything around me. I'm not sure if my works can be called art. Some people like it. Some don't. It does not matter. In recent years, I have started doing art for art's sake and often involve various groups of people in this interesting activity. I especially enjoy collective drawing, where others are the starting point for my art. After all, it is very difficult to draw something on a white sheet. But as soon as someone ruins the white sheet, it turns into something else, and a starting point appears. This is not my decision, but someone's. In this sense, it resembles architecture. I think we should continually challenge conventions and try what else is possible. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. The process itself is interesting to me.
On your website, you write: "Schools and academic buildings should be inviting, stimulating spaces that encourage exchange between students and their mentors." I am interested in how buildings affect people's behavior
Initially, the library in Peckham was designed for 12 thousand readers a month, and now it has up to 40. And many go there not necessarily to read books. Maybe young guys go there to get acquainted with girls, but maybe they will be interested in some kind of book. Both are not so bad.
Or take a college in Toronto. Just two months after the building was completed, the number of applicants increased by 300 percent. The Mayor of Toronto told me that this tiny building has contributed to the increase in tourism in the city. As you can see, people react very positively to our projects, no matter what their original function was. I'm not interested in creating monuments or symbols. It is not at all difficult to construct a building. But there is something else that turns a building into architecture. The main question is how the new building interacts with the place or city in which it is located.
Tell us about the process of working on the Peckham library project
While working on this project, we talked a lot with local residents in order to find out first-hand what kind of people would like to see the new library. Therefore, the project has become something more than a library. This is the place where people meet, discuss different issues and attend courses of interest. I would say that new horizons are opening up here for many. We also noticed that to solve financial or social problems, people are more likely to come to the library than to the city council, which is more associated with the institution of power.
Are you saying that you invited the people of the Peckham area to take part in the dialogue, i.e. design workshops to find out what building they dream of?
Of course. These workshops did not give me an idea of the form, but they helped me make the project successful in many other respects. For example, across the street from the library, there are a number of shops that barely made ends meet, and people were very worried about it. Having raised the building above the ground, we opened a cross-sectional perspective of these shops from the side of the formed square. These shops are not good news, but they still exist and even thrive. Another advantage of the raised building is that it can now host various fairs or festivals in the summer. You never know when it will rain in this country, and a building raised above the ground can work like a giant umbrella, whether it rains or not. There are also many bus stops in this place, and I noticed that people prefer to wait for their buses under our building. But most importantly, I discovered that raising the building above the street, from its northern side, we opened up a magnificent view of the city, in particular, of St. Paul's Cathedral, and it seems as if the quarters are very close. I think this has brought a lot to the life of the people of Packham. They suddenly realized that they were not lost somewhere in a huge area of South London, but were practically in the center of London. This is very important for the self-identification of these people.
What inspires you?
I'm not sure if excitement is important. Thomas Edison said that ideas are just one percent inspiration and 99 percent sweating. Ideas come from work, not dreams. You only see things when you drive with a pencil. But other than that, I love to travel, because it expands your expectations and draws attention to the different qualities of the spaces. And it is important not only what you see, but also what you feel.
Let's get back to the Russian theme. Is Russia acting wisely in inviting so many foreign architects to work?
I think that Russian architects should think about the fact that if Russia becomes a more open country, then they will have a chance to build here and elsewhere. There should be a lot of everything in a good city. In the late seventies, many American architects came to London. We were a kind of gateway to Europe for them. They probably chose London because we speak almost the same language, or so it seemed to them. Quite a few American companies have settled here and have built many key projects, including Canary Wharf. There was an injustice in this, because it was not easy for us British architects to work in the USA. America is open to us today and we share many ideas and resources. It seems to me that Russian architects should observe, learn from foreigners and from each other. This will help them build their reputation, and soon they will have customers in many different places. Architecture is a very slow profession. But, for example, the fashion industry is a good indicator, and today there is serious interest in the world in the works of Russian fashion designers. The same will happen in architecture. In any case, it is fair to expect from foreigners in Russia genuine attention to Russian projects and not recycle what was originally meant for some Portland in Oregon or somewhere else. Therefore, wherever we are invited, we try to drop anchor and work closely with local experts. We are working on our Chinese projects in the Shanghai office, which employs twenty people. Many of them are local architects and we make the working drawings ourselves. For us, working in another country also means getting used to the local culture and learning something new.
Sometimes architects do not strive to do something original, because their clients demand what they saw somewhere abroad, even if these visions are alien to the local context
You know, I have a full box of failed projects that would look good in China or Russia. I could sell them to these customers, inexpensively. Of course I'm kidding! I would never do that.
What architecture would you like to see in the future and what other projects would you like to implement?
I have no idea, because if I knew that, I would be doing this kind of architecture today. We are imprisoned in the time in which we live. Many architects today are very worried about climate change and other environmental issues. But this is a common problem for different people, and architecture is not made of it. You know, we are green too, but I would like our customers to choose us for other qualities. You never choose an architect because he calculates the plumbing well. But probably, when the water supply system was just invented, there were such specialists who said - we understand the issues of water supply. In the future, I would like more openness and exchange of ideas between architects, and sometimes design projects together. It would be fun to do something like that in Moscow. As for the project, my dream is to make a hospital project. Many hospitals under construction in the UK are designed by architects who only build hospitals. But they look too much like cars, not buildings. Many hospitals I've been to make you even more sick. It seems to me that hospitals should be beautiful so that, returning from there, you feel the thirst for life.
SMC Alsop London Office
41 Parkgate Road, Battersea
April 21, 2008
