"white is the essence of color not te absence of color" Richard Meier
seems like its just easier to make everything white-instead of actually putting any effort into it
About the last time he did anything worth a damm was also 30 years ago.
His Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) was built 9 years ago and it's not that bad actually... maybe too white for the grey/brown textures of the Old City urban grid, he should have tried any other color but seems he can't work with anything non-white.. Its main function (starchitecture as a tourist magnet) has proved to be adequate and succesful with time -in rehabilitating a bit the bad reputation of that middle-low class area-, the exhibitions are quite well displayed and organized (fluid and luminous rooms), and the main ramp with views on the front square seems to be a favorite of many visitors..
I like Meier's general white idiosyncrasy to a certain degree, but not my favorite building of the city. He should play with other colors when the external circumstances require it, me thinks...
The Rochofsky house is one of his best designs (although I believe Pfifer had a lot to do with it, doesn't matter, though).
His Museum for Radio and Television is pretty nice, too.
He may do a lot of the same, but I still believe he's one of the best. He's the only architect that I can think of that has so many projects that I love and that the average person loves.
i have to look at his getty center when i drive north on centinella blvd. everyday. and the place looks like an hospital. it is an ugly crown for los angeles and a missed op for its creators. i don't like the buildings close up either. most of them filled with stolen or bought antiquities that belongs to elsewhere. the place gives me the creeps. and the whole organization of getty is a one big art bonanza for professional grant artists.
Richard got caught up in the Corbusian "Prisms in Light" fixation and never moved on to anything else. That said, even if you don't like them in person, you have to admit that they look great in car commercials.
He found a niche, that's for sure. I just hope I can find mine before I run out of brain cells. I can't even comprehend how someone can come up with a bunch of great buildings and put together a list of affiliations like Meier's . . .
Fellow, American Institute of Architects
Honorary Fellow, Bund Deutscher Architekten
Honorary Fellow, Royal Institute of British Architects
Honorary Fellow, Royal Incorporation of Scottish Architects
Board of Trustees, The Cooper-Hewitt Museum
Board of Trustees, The American Academy in Rome
Board of Directors, The Architectural League of New York
Board of Directors, American Academy
and Institute of Arts and Letters
National Academy of Design
International Institute of Architects
Belgian Royal Academy of Art
French Academy of Architecture
Cornell University Alumni Council
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
The Douglas House on Lake Michigan is a fantastic building in a fantastic location, and standing well in terms of design over its 20 years.
The Barcelona MOMA is a very sexy building but has some unusual programmatic features.
I respect Meier.
I would like to share with you, tonight, the ongoing conversation that I have with my children, Joseph and Ana. It revolves around the question "What is your favorite color?" Joseph, who is four and three-quarters, always replies green, and states when asked why, that "green is the color of grass, the trees are green, green is all around us, it's the color of spring and dollar bills."
Ana, who is three and doesn't like to be outdone by Joseph, replies that her favorite color is blue, and that, "the sky is blue, the pools and ponds and lakes are blue."
And then they turn to me and ask, "Daddy, what is your favorite color?" And every time we play this gave, my response is the same: "White is my favorite color."
"But Daddy," Joseph says, "You can't have white. White is not a color; white isn't in the rainbow; you have to take a color that is in the rainbow, like red or green, or blue or yellow."
And I have to explain that for me, white is the most wonderful color because within it you can see all the colors of the rainbow. For me, in fact, it is the color which in natural light, reflects and intensifies the perception of all of the shades of the rainbow, the colors which re constantly changing in nature, for the whiteness of white is never just white; it is almost always transformed by light and that which is changing; the sky, the clouds, the sun and the moon.
White conventionally has alwyas been seen as a symbol of perfection, of purity and clarity. If we ask why this is the case, we realize that where other colors have relativevalues dependent upon their context, white retains its absoluteness. At the same time, it may function as a color itself. It is against a white surface that one best appreciates the play of light and shadow, solids and voids. Goethe said "color is the pain of light." Whiteness is perhaps the memory and the anticipation of color. For me, the contrast becomes the definition -- that which is natural, organic, changing, contains at different times, all of the colors of the rainbow. And that which is man-made should help to focus and intensify one's perception of all that is around us.
I know, I know, this is a vintage thread, but I think it's interesting. What do you think of RM's white website and white buildings? I personally think the website could be a bit better-for some reason it seems boring, which his architecture is certainly not. I just don't think it does his work justice.
I really wish he would have done all of his buildings in pink. And the website too.
Hey, hey hey... look at me. I'm Richard Meier. I designed a glass box in the desert... What do you mean it's 97 degrees in there in the summer with the AC Blasting?
I think that if I ever become an architect, I will do all my buildings in pastel colours, so I can become known as the "pastel architect"-shades of peach, mint, light blue and pale yellow...so everything is a Miami Beach Dream...or nightmare, depending on how you look at it :)
You all know how much I adore RM and his buildings...though I'd like to see him rock out with a subtly pastel hued building....
Grotta House in creme with pale pink and peach accents...
cris.
i think you're right...it was for a hollywood producer or the like...and it
was all wood...i don't believe he designed it, but someone from his
office and was credited as such..
I remember seeing a picture of that wooden house several times before when doing my RM searches, but when I tried to find it today, dang it, it didn't pop up once!
I really intended to post a picture of it here, but I can't find it. It's really nice, too.
870...make sure your obsession with meier remains just healthy admiration...there are many other architects out there that you could take an instant of two to look at (open mindedness is key to good architecture, you know!)
If you like white, do a quick search on alvaro siza (recently on the news section of archinect)
Yes, I agree that was cold...and believe it or not, there are other architects I admire greatly-KPF, Hastings Architecture Associates (they're local) Edward Mills, Robert A.M. Stern, and my old fave is Walter Gropius.
Just curious...what is unhealthy admiration? (ducking)
870...you should try to expand that list, and try to find what about each architect's work that appeals to you!
oh, and i'd say that if you have a wall in your apartment featuring a meier collage of impromptu snapshots you've taken of him as you wait outside his new york office, your admiration might've become unhealthy! repeatedly posting exclusively about one architect probably is not that unhealthy...right!? :)
What is the buzz about RM.....working on Nashville this winter on some all white building which will use the Stetson Hat as the form giver? Ya he is a white hat kinda guy!
Simples, I guess I need to put the picture of him under my pillow away for now...I'm sure that qualifies as unhealthy admiration (only kidding!)
I understand. I bet y'all are tired of me talking about him...so I'll get some new material...but he was kind enough to write to me...and I actually met him...so I suppose I've become his champion of sorts.
when richard meier traveled to europe to imitate le corbusier's "grand tour"..he met le corbusier. desperate that that might be the only chance of meeting his idol, he asked corb if he can work for him for free...he didn't get the job...
Yes, I remember that story-maybe I ought ask him if i could work in his office as an unpaid intern for a couple of weeks...he probably wouldn't hire me because I don't live in NYC. I remember reading on his website he only wanted local people :(
.870. next time you have an opportunity to meet RM.....Dress in all white....white stocking...white heels... Platinum blonde hair....and wear white framed sunglasses...with a red scarf.....I'm sure you will get his attention. He might even consider hiring you if you pop the question.
Well, I was wearing black when I met him the first time, so I might go for the white or red. I actually thought about wearing white, but all my winter clothes are dark. Maybe I could wear all white and see what happens.
However, I wouldn't look good as a blonde-my hair is staying black.
If I showed up with platinum hair he'd run like hell!
If I wore white...
...perhaps he'd notice the subtle reddish tones in my hair and the cool bronze of my skin against the white of the dress...and he'll notice how the tone of my skin changes with the changing light of the day...
...whoa...I really went off on a tangent there...I've been watching A Concert Of Wills too much...
I love Firefox-I had been using Safari for a long time and I went back to using Firefox today-I ldon't know why I quit it in the first place. I think I'll download this new version tomorrow.
I'm lucky my boss (whose name is Cris too!) let me take my old Mac home-I'm neither cool or wealthy, so I wouldn't have purchased one on my own. I also have a PC, but I don't run Firefox on it-it's strictly on my Macs (home and work)
I'd love to download it for my PC, and if I do, it'll probably take all day to download since I have-gasp-DIALUP!
oh and mho on meier- I love his stuff like I love colonial reproductions, extremely fine and beautiful spaces... I don't think he's pushing the envelope anymore, and that's why people are down on him.
He's found a successful formula and he's sticking with it-and I'm happy he is.
He certainly is doing all right-I can only dream of being that prosperous.
I've only had the chance to see his work in person once-the Charles Street/Perry Street Towers-in the dark-but even then, they were impressive. I'm hoping to go to Atlanta in a few months to see the High Museum, as I'd like to experience RM's creations firsthand.
About the paperclip-in-modem trick...
Knowing my luck, if I stuck a paperclip into my modem I'd get the s*** shocked out of me...
Richard Meier
I went to his web site and it seemed like I was looking at a wedding cake catalogue. What's up with all the - white?
White was cool 30 years ago.
About the last time he did anything worth a damm
was also 30 years ago.
i am blinded with whitemeier. cain't luk no mo..
"white is the essence of color not te absence of color" Richard Meier
seems like its just easier to make everything white-instead of actually putting any effort into it
His Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) was built 9 years ago and it's not that bad actually... maybe too white for the grey/brown textures of the Old City urban grid, he should have tried any other color but seems he can't work with anything non-white.. Its main function (starchitecture as a tourist magnet) has proved to be adequate and succesful with time -in rehabilitating a bit the bad reputation of that middle-low class area-, the exhibitions are quite well displayed and organized (fluid and luminous rooms), and the main ramp with views on the front square seems to be a favorite of many visitors..
I like Meier's general white idiosyncrasy to a certain degree, but not my favorite building of the city. He should play with other colors when the external circumstances require it, me thinks...
The Rochofsky house is one of his best designs (although I believe Pfifer had a lot to do with it, doesn't matter, though).
His Museum for Radio and Television is pretty nice, too.
He may do a lot of the same, but I still believe he's one of the best. He's the only architect that I can think of that has so many projects that I love and that the average person loves.
i have to look at his getty center when i drive north on centinella blvd. everyday. and the place looks like an hospital. it is an ugly crown for los angeles and a missed op for its creators. i don't like the buildings close up either. most of them filled with stolen or bought antiquities that belongs to elsewhere. the place gives me the creeps. and the whole organization of getty is a one big art bonanza for professional grant artists.
Richard got caught up in the Corbusian "Prisms in Light" fixation and never moved on to anything else. That said, even if you don't like them in person, you have to admit that they look great in car commercials.
He found a niche, that's for sure. I just hope I can find mine before I run out of brain cells. I can't even comprehend how someone can come up with a bunch of great buildings and put together a list of affiliations like Meier's . . .
Fellow, American Institute of Architects
Honorary Fellow, Bund Deutscher Architekten
Honorary Fellow, Royal Institute of British Architects
Honorary Fellow, Royal Incorporation of Scottish Architects
Board of Trustees, The Cooper-Hewitt Museum
Board of Trustees, The American Academy in Rome
Board of Directors, The Architectural League of New York
Board of Directors, American Academy
and Institute of Arts and Letters
National Academy of Design
International Institute of Architects
Belgian Royal Academy of Art
French Academy of Architecture
Cornell University Alumni Council
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
The Douglas House on Lake Michigan is a fantastic building in a fantastic location, and standing well in terms of design over its 20 years.
The Barcelona MOMA is a very sexy building but has some unusual programmatic features.
I respect Meier.
i like white
yea i like white to.
and white is still cool. look at apple
how many people went to the apple grand openning in LONDON.
Pritzker Acceptance Speech by Meier
I would like to share with you, tonight, the ongoing conversation that I have with my children, Joseph and Ana. It revolves around the question "What is your favorite color?" Joseph, who is four and three-quarters, always replies green, and states when asked why, that "green is the color of grass, the trees are green, green is all around us, it's the color of spring and dollar bills."
Ana, who is three and doesn't like to be outdone by Joseph, replies that her favorite color is blue, and that, "the sky is blue, the pools and ponds and lakes are blue."
And then they turn to me and ask, "Daddy, what is your favorite color?" And every time we play this gave, my response is the same: "White is my favorite color."
"But Daddy," Joseph says, "You can't have white. White is not a color; white isn't in the rainbow; you have to take a color that is in the rainbow, like red or green, or blue or yellow."
And I have to explain that for me, white is the most wonderful color because within it you can see all the colors of the rainbow. For me, in fact, it is the color which in natural light, reflects and intensifies the perception of all of the shades of the rainbow, the colors which re constantly changing in nature, for the whiteness of white is never just white; it is almost always transformed by light and that which is changing; the sky, the clouds, the sun and the moon.
White conventionally has alwyas been seen as a symbol of perfection, of purity and clarity. If we ask why this is the case, we realize that where other colors have relativevalues dependent upon their context, white retains its absoluteness. At the same time, it may function as a color itself. It is against a white surface that one best appreciates the play of light and shadow, solids and voids. Goethe said "color is the pain of light." Whiteness is perhaps the memory and the anticipation of color. For me, the contrast becomes the definition -- that which is natural, organic, changing, contains at different times, all of the colors of the rainbow. And that which is man-made should help to focus and intensify one's perception of all that is around us.
White, though it can be blinding, is even more a shroud of invisibility.
I know, I know, this is a vintage thread, but I think it's interesting. What do you think of RM's white website and white buildings? I personally think the website could be a bit better-for some reason it seems boring, which his architecture is certainly not. I just don't think it does his work justice.
I really wish he would have done all of his buildings in pink. And the website too.
Hey, hey hey... look at me. I'm Richard Meier. I designed a glass box in the desert... What do you mean it's 97 degrees in there in the summer with the AC Blasting?
Dude been staring at the sun to long....and has been blinded by the white..
I think that if I ever become an architect, I will do all my buildings in pastel colours, so I can become known as the "pastel architect"-shades of peach, mint, light blue and pale yellow...so everything is a Miami Beach Dream...or nightmare, depending on how you look at it :)
You all know how much I adore RM and his buildings...though I'd like to see him rock out with a subtly pastel hued building....
Grotta House in creme with pale pink and peach accents...
...just kidding!
didn't he do one house that was clad with a dark wooden scrim?
i was looking for it on his site, but couldn't find it.
I know an architect who had a fetish with teal for a long time. I'd say white is alright.
rm florida project....pink coral...with a touch of dusty rose,
cris.
i think you're right...it was for a hollywood producer or the like...and it
was all wood...i don't believe he designed it, but someone from his
office and was credited as such..
he named his kids after the albers'?
I remember seeing a picture of that wooden house several times before when doing my RM searches, but when I tried to find it today, dang it, it didn't pop up once!
I really intended to post a picture of it here, but I can't find it. It's really nice, too.
Who are the Albers?
.870. Think holz might be speaking of Joseph Alber's the Bahuas color man.
http://www.ubs.com/4/artcollection/the-collection/a-z/albers-joseph-5/biography/index.html
Ok, thanks snooker :) Now it makes sense.
Does anybody know if RM ever comes to Archinect?
Does anyone know if any celebrity architects (NOT starchitects...I HATE that term) ever come to read our posts about them?
I think some of the things here might shock them...that's why I'm going to be good from now on.
I think I may have offended someone a while back with some of my postings-and for that, I am very sorry :(
Now I know why I should never post when I'm depressed...
...anyway, I did find two pictures of RM's first house...
Bumping for replies...
wow...that was a bit mean...(the addition)
870...make sure your obsession with meier remains just healthy admiration...there are many other architects out there that you could take an instant of two to look at (open mindedness is key to good architecture, you know!)
If you like white, do a quick search on alvaro siza (recently on the news section of archinect)
White,
Black,
Stainless Steel,
Titanium,
Choose your nitche
And speaking of nitche, there was Field Theory.
Hi simples,
Yes, I agree that was cold...and believe it or not, there are other architects I admire greatly-KPF, Hastings Architecture Associates (they're local) Edward Mills, Robert A.M. Stern, and my old fave is Walter Gropius.
Just curious...what is unhealthy admiration? (ducking)
870...you should try to expand that list, and try to find what about each architect's work that appeals to you!
oh, and i'd say that if you have a wall in your apartment featuring a meier collage of impromptu snapshots you've taken of him as you wait outside his new york office, your admiration might've become unhealthy! repeatedly posting exclusively about one architect probably is not that unhealthy...right!? :)
What is the buzz about RM.....working on Nashville this winter on some all white building which will use the Stetson Hat as the form giver? Ya he is a white hat kinda guy!
Ooh, Snooker, don't play with me...
Simples, I guess I need to put the picture of him under my pillow away for now...I'm sure that qualifies as unhealthy admiration (only kidding!)
I understand. I bet y'all are tired of me talking about him...so I'll get some new material...but he was kind enough to write to me...and I actually met him...so I suppose I've become his champion of sorts.
Doesn't take much to please me, huh?
this is a bit like the archinect version of "misery." don't break your leg dick.
Oh man...I would never do anything to harm or annoy him, especially since I would like to sit down and talk to him about his life's work someday.
How that's going to happen, I don't know...
...maybe when I win the powerball lottery, the clouds turn to marshmallows and the soil to cocoa powder...
when richard meier traveled to europe to imitate le corbusier's "grand tour"..he met le corbusier. desperate that that might be the only chance of meeting his idol, he asked corb if he can work for him for free...he didn't get the job...
Yes, I remember that story-maybe I ought ask him if i could work in his office as an unpaid intern for a couple of weeks...he probably wouldn't hire me because I don't live in NYC. I remember reading on his website he only wanted local people :(
.870. next time you have an opportunity to meet RM.....Dress in all white....white stocking...white heels... Platinum blonde hair....and wear white framed sunglasses...with a red scarf.....I'm sure you will get his attention. He might even consider hiring you if you pop the question.
if rm believes in le corb, then you should wear all black...
.870. Second thoughts wear all RED!
Well, I was wearing black when I met him the first time, so I might go for the white or red. I actually thought about wearing white, but all my winter clothes are dark. Maybe I could wear all white and see what happens.
However, I wouldn't look good as a blonde-my hair is staying black.
If I showed up with platinum hair he'd run like hell!
If I wore white...
...perhaps he'd notice the subtle reddish tones in my hair and the cool bronze of my skin against the white of the dress...and he'll notice how the tone of my skin changes with the changing light of the day...
...whoa...I really went off on a tangent there...I've been watching A Concert Of Wills too much...
yeah...
if rm turns up missing in the next few days, we'll know who to suspect =P
in a completely unrelated matter, i just downloaded the new mozilla firefox and it has a spell check and thesaurus/dictionary feature now. cool!
I assure you, he's not going anywhere :)
I love Firefox-I had been using Safari for a long time and I went back to using Firefox today-I ldon't know why I quit it in the first place. I think I'll download this new version tomorrow.
Cris, is your version made for Mac or PC?
i'm running it on pc.
i'm not cool enough to own a mac.
I'm lucky my boss (whose name is Cris too!) let me take my old Mac home-I'm neither cool or wealthy, so I wouldn't have purchased one on my own. I also have a PC, but I don't run Firefox on it-it's strictly on my Macs (home and work)
I'd love to download it for my PC, and if I do, it'll probably take all day to download since I have-gasp-DIALUP!
dialup!?
people still have that!?
Yep...when you're poor like me, that's what you have to have!
I've jimmied an unravelled paperclip into my modem and pierced my neighbor's cable with it.
It does all right.
oh and mho on meier- I love his stuff like I love colonial reproductions, extremely fine and beautiful spaces... I don't think he's pushing the envelope anymore, and that's why people are down on him.
I bet he makes a killing!
He's found a successful formula and he's sticking with it-and I'm happy he is.
He certainly is doing all right-I can only dream of being that prosperous.
I've only had the chance to see his work in person once-the Charles Street/Perry Street Towers-in the dark-but even then, they were impressive. I'm hoping to go to Atlanta in a few months to see the High Museum, as I'd like to experience RM's creations firsthand.
About the paperclip-in-modem trick...
Knowing my luck, if I stuck a paperclip into my modem I'd get the s*** shocked out of me...
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