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By William Shakespeare

RICHARD MEIER & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS LLP.

Pritzker-winning 
architect Richard Meier 
on the Getty Center, 
his influences and the 
beauty of white space

Encapsulating both the essence 

and importance of Richard Meier 
is a difficult task. With a career so 
decorated, buildings so illustrious 
and a personality so fascinating, I 
found myself a bit blind in trying 
to figure out where to start. But 
with a body of work that captures 
the various intersections of art, 
design and architecture rather 
masterfully, an effort in earnestly 
profiling 
Meier 
was 
worth 

undertaking.

Meier garners acclaim from 

critics, colleagues and patrons 
alike for his notable structural 
clarity, use of light and space and 
his uncompromising persistence 
for the color white. Minimal, 
bare and — by consequence — 
subtly provocative artscapes are 
a signature of Meier’s, reflected 
in works such as the Barcelona 
Museum of Contemporary Art, 
Darien, Conn.’s Smith House and 
Rome’s grand Jubilee Church 
(something Meier himself boasts 
as being the “crown jewel” of the 
Catholic 
Church’s 
millennium 

celebration).

Though a maven in the world 

of architecture, Meier not only 
fashions himself an architect, 
but an industrial designer and 
abstract artist as well. While he 
has works that have long become 
unwavering urban fixtures, one 
can also find Meier’s work in art 
galleries the world over or as 
consumer products that reflect 
his architectural philosophy in its 
svelte, elegant glory.

Though a large contingent of 

our readership may not consider 
him a household name, Meier’s 
design and architectural influences 
span 
continents, 
manifesting 

themselves both in buildings he 
himself had a hand in creating or 
in buildings tasked by the many 
architects who have taken great 
inspiration from him. Many of 
them are buildings people are 
bound to see at some point in their 
lives, regardless of their familiarity 
with Meier. Among his works, the 
Getty Center reigns as one of the 
most notable, celebrating its 20th 
anniversary later this month.

Costing $1.3 billion (a far cry 

from the original estimate of $100 
million, but a cost that was well 
within reason for J. Paul Getty’s 
posthumous 
fortune 
to 
bear), 

the collection of travertine and 
metal panel adorned buildings has 
become one of Los Angeles’s and 
the world’s most notable pieces of 
architecture.

Perched atop a hill in the 

Brentwood neighborhood of L.A., 
Meier took as audacious of an 
approach in the Center’s design as 

the project proposal itself. Utilizing 
large concrete columns, towering 
walls and a gridded layout, Meier 
fashioned 
the 
center 
through 

stylistically minimal means that 
simultaneously engender wonder 
and 
provocation. 
Among 
the 

many components Meier used to 
command the Center’s aura are 
the various avant-garde fountains 
that span the campus, meant to 
maintain a consistent level of 
peaceful white noise regardless 
of where patrons walk or sit. 
Wherever you walk, in the Getty 
or any of Meier’s other works, his 
attention to detail always glows.

Coined “the commission of the 

century,” it’s a campus that, both 
in its architectural significance 
and contribution to the world of 
fine arts, is more than worthy of 
celebration, 
especially 
twenty 

years on. The Center’s campus is 
home to seminal institutions of the 
art world (all on the virtue of the 
Getty fortune, namely the J. Paul 
Getty Museum, the J. Paul Getty 
Trust and the Getty Foundation), 
and Meier’s command over its 
construction is befitting of his 
own personal philosophies of 
architecture. 

In a phone interview with 

The 
Daily, 
Meier 
further 

illuminated upon his five decades 
of architectural inspiration and 
design.

****

With 
the 
Getty 
Center 

turning 20 soon, what are 
some memories you have when 
selected to take on the project?

What was important to me was 

considering where [the site] was, 
how it related to its surroundings, 
how 
it 
can 
contribute 
the 

environment. 
It 
was 
a 
very 

ambitious project.

Two decades on, do you 

think there was something you 
would have done differently in 
designing the Getty?

Oh, no.
I can’t say I blame you. The 

Getty is a favorite of mine.

Truth be told, there probably 

has to be, but I honestly can’t think 
of anything at the moment!

I think in the way the buildings 

relate to one another, the way people 
move — from inside to outside — 
works very well. I think there’s a 
lot of communication there, among 
the staff and the patrons, and I’ve 
had so many people come up to me 
that have visited the Getty who’ve 
said, “You know, I spent the whole 
day there but I didn’t have time to 
go into the museum.” So, it’s a place 
to walk around and see things, and 
hopefully meet friends and have 
a bit of lunch and a place to just 
generally enjoy the environment. I 
think we succeeded in making such 

a space.

On that note, speaking to your 

work as a whole, what are some 
important considerations for 
you when tasked with designing 
a building?

Well, I think the most important 

thing is beginning with a program. 
Someone comes to you and tells 
you what their expectation is in 
terms of what they envision — be it 
a residential building, commercial, 
a museum. But all that being said, 
it’s the context that matters most, 
really. What the building is, how it 
relates to what’s around it, how it 
can have arms — so to speak — that 
reach out and improve the existing 
context of the area.

Specifically with art spaces 

— with you having designed 
multiple museums — are there 
particular 
components 
you 

consider integral in designing 
such spaces?

Oh, absolutely. Light is, of 

course, paramount. The quality 
of light, the way you see things in 
natural light. One doesn’t really 
aim to design a black box, so to 
speak. You want something that 
can have a relationship with 
interior and exterior space, and 
that generally holds true for any 
building, but most definitely for an 
art gallery as well.

When 
designing 
such 

buildings, what’s your process in 
generating ideas?

I look carefully at the program, 

the environment, the context, 
and try to think about how people 
will use it, move through it and 
internalize it.

Do 
you 
have 
specific 

architects you draw particular 
influence from?

There are so many, to be 

honest, people I admire, historic 
and contemporary. Brunelleschi, 
Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Louis 
Kahn. There are a lot of great, great 
architects in the past, but that also 
doesn’t change the fact that there a 
lot of great people working today, 
too.

On 
the 
note 
of 
such 

contemporary architects, recent 
pop 
culture 
has 
seemingly 

taken a liking to architecture 
— 
Kogonada’s 
recent 
film 

“Columbus” comes to mind, 
highlighting 
Eero 
Saarinen’s 

work in Columbus, Ind. What are 
your thoughts on architecture 
becoming 
better 
embedded 

within popular culture?

What it really means is that 

now people are much more aware 
of architecture, and much more 
aware of their environment today. 
They’re 
interested 
in 
seeing 

things, simply put. As people travel 
more nowadays, it holds true. 
They look at things. They look at 
architecture. They’re interested 
in seeing different places, how 

their architecture in that place is 
different than another place, and 
what that could mean. It indicates 
greater awareness.

As an abstract artist yourself, 

do you find being an architect 
in a similar light as being a 
conventional “artist”?

I do paint, and I do collages quite 

often. I would consider myself an 
artist.

But in regards to architecture, 

do your experiences in both 
domains affect your thinking as 
an architect? Or as an artist?

No, not at all. Actually, they’re 

completely separate to me. When 
I’m doing architecture, I’m doing 
architecture. When I’m doing 
works of art, considerations get 
more abstract. Personally, there 
is no correlation — I don’t think at 
least. Someone else may find some, 
as critics do, but I wouldn’t say 
there is.

Would you say you have a sort 

of cognisant philosophy when it 
comes to your architecture?

Oh, yes. Definitely.
How would you describe it?
As an architect, you are creating 

space, space people will be moving 
through, space people will live 
in. I think about the quality of 
meaning of such space on people. 
How natural aspects such as light 
come into the space, enlivens the 
space and what meaning can be 
drawn from that. With all the 
factors that come with thinking 
about architecture, one’s approach 
to creation is quite different than 
what you may think about when 
making a painting. One requires 
less self-indulgence than the other.

With a lot of your work, the 

color white is a persistent theme, 

and I’m a personal fan of its use. 
What draws you to it? What does 
it mean to you?

White reflects color, refracts 

color, allows you to see the 
relationship between that which 
is natural and that which is man-
made. It heightens your perception 
of all the actual color, and beauty, 
that surrounds you.

Were there any works that 

were particular challenges for 
you?

Funnily enough, the Getty. 

There was a lot to consider in 
making it. There is nothing like it.

What are your plans for the 

coming years in terms of projects 
(if you can divulge that)?

Hah, I wish I knew that.
Is the business of architecture 

more short-term, or not terribly 
easy to predict?

We’re very busy today, which 

we’re very fortunate for. But a year 
from now, who knows?

ARTIST
PROFILE

IN

ANAY KATYAL

Managing Arts Editor

PSIDIUM

ARTIST PROFILE

6B — Thursday, December 7, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

