“ I never set up my scenes . I ’ m always seeking to understand a building as a whole , from its contextual scale to how people interact in and around it .”
Museo Internacional del Barroco , Puebla , Mexico by Toyo Ito & Associates Opposite page , from top : Tate Modern , London , UK by Herzog & De Meuron ; Forest of Light , Milan , Italy by Sou Fujimoto
I ’ m always seeking to understand a building as a whole , from its contextual scale to how people interact in and around it . I try to document the activity as authentically as possible , while always remaining objective towards the architecture .
You have either taken it upon yourself or have been commissioned to photograph buildings across the world , designed by some of the most well-known architectural firms , such as BIG , SANAA and Foster + Partners , and also old masters such as Louis Kahn , Luis Barragan , and Le Corbusier . What have you learned from traveling to see these buildings that you would not have learned if you were only practicing as an architect ?
Now , I feel connected to architecture more than ever before . As I take my time to do a lot of research about a building , once I ’ m on location I feel very connected with it . For two to three days I slowly discover and understand each corner and gesture . I understand what
works and also what doesn ’ t . I can feel its materiality and the behavior around it . I am able to gain all these amazing insights , which I will use , sooner or later , once I am involved in a design process again .
Do you feel that taking and studying architectural photographs is underused in the design process , especially because we judge most architecture nowadays through the mediated image ?
I believe that the actual architecture is sometimes far from photos , for better or for worse . As architects we frame — first , through visualization and , later , through photos — the architecture object in a way that it will give the story we want it to tell , which is sometimes not complete .
Photography should be independent and not subordinated to architects , and if used properly , can definitely become an important tool in the design process .
“ I never set up my scenes . I ’ m always seeking to understand a building as a whole , from its contextual scale to how people interact in and around it .”
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