AIA San Antonio Lecture Series - "Still Here"

Last night at Pearl, Billy Tsien of Todd Williams Billie Tsien Architects, New York, presented 7 of the husband-wife team's projects, 4 completed and 3 in progress. The lecture addressed site, program, and progression. The subtle buildings emphasized access to natural light through various sky wells and a sense of materiality. Although I enjoy tactility of concrete and stone, I question whether shipping in stone from Palestine to Philadelphia is reasonable. Other than that observation, the designs were sensitive to place, and time.
Some memorable thoughts I jotted down..
.. The goal is to create a sense of quiet, an impression that the building will be there much longer than you or I.
.. Slowing down your perception of an object, the idea of quieting down the noise of daily life before entering a space
.. Taking away the sense of an object (in reference to the Cranbrook Natatorium being just a series of walls within the landscape)
.. Emphasis on a circular plan, if you can never get caught/cornered the space feels much bigger. She introduced this approach when discussing the American Folk Art Museum in NYC, shown below
.. growing as an architect means becoming less infatuated with object, and more concerned and aware of the experience

I found the Barnes Collection, a work in progress, to be the most intriguing program and solution. The idea of recreating entire exisiting galleries at a new location has interesting ramifications from a theoretical and logistical perspective. I will tackle that project in an entry of its own... You can find a little preview of the concept below. In the meantime, enjoy perusing their site, linked above, as you make it through your workday.