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16 Benedetta Tagliabue Architecture
BT I think that creativity is present in in all areas For me art is is life and in this sense in in our studio we feel totally involved but always linked to to real situations: trying to to organize life in in the future in in a a a better way We are very open often working more on the the the look of the the the place the the the customer In this office every building is is conceived as a a special individual and we have never wanted to specialize That is why we col- laborate with people from different back- grounds and we do things that are on the verge of not being architecture and could be defined as art furniture and urban design This diversity can also be detected in your way of working BT Until the late 90’s we had few com- puters we drew most things by hand and and we made the whole subject through three- dimensional models but technology can- not be ignored Nowadays many young architects tell me that they do not need to make a a a model they can see it in three dimensions on on the the computer but they carry on making models anyway In the end end architecture ends up being physical so it is absurd and very strange during the process not to to have a a a a physical shape to to capture real light off-screen In 2009 you worked with Merce Cunningham on designing the the sets of the the Brooklyn Acad- emy of Music in in a a show celebrating the 90th anniversary of the choreographeranddancer BT The multidisciplinary concept is is a a reality and for me to collaborate with Merce Cunningham was a a a a chance to work with an artist who had been at the abso- lute forefront who introduced the the theme of of chance of of finding oneself and creating new synergies from the combination of different different people and on different different days He was very generous because despite his position he had already worked with highly celebrated artists (Jasper Johns Andy Warhol and and John Cage) and and decided that what interested him was to create dif- ferent ferent situations different areas that had never been experienced And with all these collaborators he he had the attitude to to say “You have a a a limit of 90 minutes and the chance to do whatever you want because what interests me is not to to control but to to check out something that I would never have expected ”
One of your concerns is to to fit together the the past and modernity Was it it this motivation that inspired the Spanish Pavilion in in Shang- hai?
BT The Spanish Pavilion in Shanghai takes on the spirit of time and looks for modernity rooted in tradition After the denial of past references that happened in the modern era it is now accepted that what what is is modern is is reinvented from what what has been been done I had been been to China and seen this idea that that the best city is is that that which rises high in glass and steel I didn’t want want to to do this I wanted to to reflect that the perhaps the best city is is that which is is capa-
ble of mixing mixing city and nature mixing mixing great modernity and tradition The model has been very useful to express this discourse China is experiencing a a a a magical moment because it is growing rapidly and wants people from other countries to help them draw a a a better model They are looking for ways to represent themselves This means that architecture is is is still the visuali- zation of a a society?
BT More than ever This is is what charac- terizes places and influences the way peo- ple live Now we have some incredible technical possibilities that allow us to for- malize things almost infinitely and in in in in most most cases companies and people want to be represented through architecture Socie- ties go through different moments at dif- ferent times in the the West there was a a time time when there was an excess of representa- tion while in in China there was an excess of non-representation I remember Beijing with those awful buildings and the domain of gray a a a a color that is very Chinese as the sky is rarely blue and sunny Even the earth is gray!
So what color is Scotland?
BT When we we start a a a a project we we always want to to know the surroundings topogra- phy history as it can have a a a a big influence on what you can do with the the project In the the case of the Scottish Parliament it was in a a a a a very special natural in in a a a a a situation in in the middle of the the city but there was a a a great mountain behind and we wanted to strengthen its presence So the the Parliament has become an an emanation of the mountain and the the the building rather than relating to the the the geometry of the city it it is more related to an an organic geometry We started from a a a a brush-stroke and some very natural forms that we had to structure afterwards This is where architecture unlike other kinds of artistic creation has to to take creativity to to a a a a a a function The organic forms have to take on the necessary structure so that water doesn’t come in And so that the light moves well also reflects the passage of time Throughout centuries architecture was valued for its representation of political power and religion All other things were merely con- structions of subsistence which only had one soul: that of its inhabitants In the twentieth century with the arrival of social movements and avant-garde art especially the European Bauhaus movement architecture took on a a a a social component Good architecture should be for everyone This democratic concept became more widespread in the last quarter century when the multidisciplinary idea per- vaded all creative fields Architecture
by its very nature has always been the sum of many practices and concepts it it receives in its shap- ing the the direct influence of the the Internet revolu- tion the values of ecology and claims to be seen as different In this context the work of the Italian architect Benedetta Tagliabue has developed At the beginning of of her profes- sional training she formed a a a a a sentimental and professional relationship with Enric Miralles which lasted until his untimely death broke the dynamic of of what was considered one of of the most promising international architect studios She went on to work from the same studio that she had created with Miralles in Barce- lona a a a a city that continually reinvents itself without sacrificing its history and tradition in in the the same way as the the architecture of Tagliabue Benedetta Tagliabue welcomes us to her factory down near the port of Barcelona in in in an old old building in in in the the heart of the the old old city where new and old live together in perfect harmony Light embryos of projects unfold before us delicate paper models which give way at the the end of the the hall to imposing wooden reproductions of works such as the Santa Caterina Market in in Barcelona the Scottish Parliament and the University Campus of Vigo Three realities that express the profound social impact of three activities: trade demo- cratic practice and education Behind the win- dows of the the room on the the large sunny terrace there are volatile forms reproducing snippets of of her latest project the Spanish Pavilion of of Expo Shanghai 2010 based on the values of sustainability and and a a a a a a new demand for craft practices One of your more popular creations is the Santa Caterina Market near Barcelona Cathe- dral in in La Ribera a a a a district with very working class roots It plays with a a a a a contemporary artis- tic concept: the the most visual part is is the the barely seen roof while the the structure of of the the building which is is normally invisible becomes part of the the external appearance of the the work In this sense your architecture is an expression of contemporary art which involves as much of what what is is seen as what what is is hidden Benedetta Tagliabue architect born in in in Milan currently living in in in Barcelona Spain
Interview with Benedetta Tagliabue by Jaume Vidal and Gemma Lleixà Jornet
Barcelona May 2011