Louisiana Channel: The Latest Architecture and News

We now know that first, we form the cities, but then the cities form us.

Meet 81-year-old Danish architect Jan Gehl who, for more than fifty years, has focused on improving the quality of urban life by helping people to “re-conquer the city.” Gehl has studied the relationship between life and form since the mid-1960s, when he started questioning the modernist approach of looking at the architectural model from above instead of from the inside. The architecture of that time was very often "an obsession with architecture for architecture’s sake," and took very little interest in the inhabitants.

When a city really becomes one with the air, water and sun I am sure that people will feel the vitality of this. To create cities where this is not lost is a very important message I want to convey to the world.

In this video from the Louisiana Channel, Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi reflects on the Japanese city of Hiroshima—his home town—and the ways in which it has undergone a radical transformation following the atomic bombings of the Second World War. Known primarily for his interest and work in the field of sustainable design and building, Sambuichi describes how "the power of nature"—allowing flora and foliage, water and air to rapidly reclaim swathes of the built environment—has been central to the city's recent urban success.

People can improvise the city; people can improvise architecture. That means the city shouldn’t resist [its] inhabitants, but obey [its] inhabitants… We need to get back to elasticity.

In this interview from the Louisiana Channel, architect and theorist Yona Friedman discusses the plight of the contemporary city, and how it is the responsibility of architects to design structures that can be inhibited for the widest range of individuals and purposes.

In my work as an architect, my idea is to bring out the beauty of a specific place. The sun, the water and the air at that specific place. Thus my architecture will make the place as beautiful as possible. What interests me most is to bring out the beauty of a place. That’s why I spend a long time exploring the moving materials of the specific place.

In this video from the Louisiana Channel, Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi explains his approach to design through observation and reverence for the natural conditions of an existing site, as seen in his recently completed installation, ‘The Water’, currently on display at the Cisterns Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The tragedy of architecture is how stupid architects are... we spend too much time trying to convince people to do things they don’t want to do. That really lowers the level of the discussion, I think.

In this video from the Louisiana Channel, Canadian architect Adam Caruso, founding partner of London-based Caruso St John, provides his take on the current climate of the architectural profession and the influences driving his own personal architectural philosophy. With his firm, Caruso has led the design of numerous art institutions, including the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize winning Newport Street Gallery in London, that respond to “a deeper idea of place, of the history and culture of the place and how you read it today.

“Who would’ve thought a parking garage could be so interesting?”

In this video aired by the Louisiana Channel, Kathrin Susanna Gimmel and Jan Yoshiyuki Tanaka, both co-founders of Copenhagen-based firm JAJA Architects, explain the ideology behind the “Park ‘n’ Play” parking garage. Bright red, atop the 24-meter high car park, sits a playground which, in combination with a rooftop garden, provides a unique public setting offering sought after views of the Copenhagen harbor. Watch the video for more insight into JAJA’s design methodology and how the playground helps redefine roles of public space and usage while integrating into a historical urban identity.

We always attempt to work with a material and try to see what it can do in relation to the sculptural or in relation to the place

In this video from the Louisiana Channel, Dorte Mandrup discusses the design philosophy behind her firm’s nearly completed Wadden Sea Center, a visitor’s center located in within Denmark’s largest national park. The design employs local construction traditions, creating a sculptural roof and facade from a modernized thatch roof system. Watch the video for more on how Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter approaches a design challenge, and how their buildings belong to their sites.

The Louisiana Channel recently made a trip to the hometown of Peter Zumthor for an extensive and rare video interview on the Swiss architect's life journey, passion for learning, and how "different kinds of silence" help him reach his potential.

In this interview with the Louisiana Channel, José Selgas of Spanish architecture firm SelgasCano discusses his design philosophy, emphasizing the importance of connecting a building with its surroundings through the use of color and light materials. “Every relation with architecture I’ve had was a relation with nature,” he says.

"We're not only invested in building on water. It's not about 'floating architecture,' that's really not what my practice is focused on. It's really the relationship between water and the city, between water and humans."

In this intriguing interview produced by Louisiana Channel, founder of NLÉ Architects Kunlé Adeyemi discusses the relationship of his work to water through projects such as Chicoco Radio, their proposal for the Chicago Lakefront Kiosk contest, and of course the Makoko Floating School project. Reflecting on the role of water in human settlement, Adeyemi explains how designing with in the context of water introduces both challenges and opportunities, adding that around the world he believes "we are just starting to brace ourselves and learn to live with water as opposed to fighting it."

On the Louisiana Channel's latest installment, Burkinabé architect Diébédo Francis Kéré discusses his "Canopy" installation, currently on view at the Louisiana Museum in Denmark, and shares thoughts on the impact of architecture. Designed with a sense of freedom that encourages users to interact with the installation as they wish, Kere's Canopy serves as a flexible gathering space within the museum that is reminiscent of "AFRICA."

“They’re free to use the space like they behave, like they feel," says Kere. "Architecture is about people."

“Quality is an attitude of mind.” - Norman Foster

In honor of Norman Foster's 80th birthday, we bring to you this extensive video interview by Louisiana Channel that gives an in-depth look into the life and career of the prolific English architect. Throughout the 40-minute interview, Foster reflects on his childhood obsession with technology, the evolution of his work, and his constant "strive for simplicity."

The latest in a series of videos from Louisiana Channel sees Danish architect Bjarke Ingels of BIG dispensing wisdom for a new generation of architects. Speaking with characteristic zeal, Ingels advises young architects "to care, because if you don't care, it doesn't matter." "We're not here to build for other architects," Ingels says, describing architecture as "fundamentally the art and science of accommodating life."

In this installment of the Louisiana Channel, world-renowned architect Steven Holl discusses his philosophy on organic architecture and its ability to generate a specific experience. "I believe architecture is an art, that it changes peoples' lives, and I think that's what architecture has the potential to do," Holl remarks.

"Be very sensitive to where you are, in what times and in what parts of the world, and how that constitutes the artistic practice," says Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson in this recent video from Louisiana Channel. In Advice to the Young, Eliasson deliberates on creative practice, urging young artists to take risks and produce meaningful work. "Just because you think about a work of art," says Eliasson, "it is not necessarily a work of art." Most recently, Eliasson has made headlines for his immersive exhibition Riverbed at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art which explores the intersection between nature and the built environment. Revered as one of the world's leading sculptural and installation artists, Eliasson is adamant that the practice of working with art remains to be "very fierce, very strong and very robust."

"There are no real things. This is it. We are living in models and that's how it will always be and has always been... Who has authorship of reality? Who is then real?"

In this new video from Louisiana Channel, Olafur Eliasson meditates on the deeply philosophical questions posed by his provocative exhibition, Riverbed. Discussing themes such as the currency of trust, the authorship of reality through choice of perception, and the intricate relationships between museum, art, artist, and viewer, Eliasson sits within his own artificial landscape and recounts the deep inquiries that drive his work. Describing his views on the complexity of trust in the foundational value of the museum as an institution, Eliasson argues for the empowerment of the public. "If an audience feels trusted," he states, "then they dare to get involved."

"So in some ways I think that this tragedy gave a sense of purpose to people that was very positive, and we tried to translate that feeling into this building." In this video from the Louisiana Channel, Craig Dykers of Snøhetta describes how his own experience with the events of 9/11 and the positivity of the spirit of people around him helped inspire the design process of the 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion.

He speaks of the journey of healing and understanding as central to the design and experience of the building itself. "As you move through these cycles, you realize one day that you are alive, and you that have to present the strength of being alive to those around you, and this building is meant to be a part of that cycle…to allow you to see yourself, at a moment in time."

Watch the video above to learn more about the challenges of designing a memorial museum fully integrated within an essentially nonexistent site. 

"We have lots of silly buildings being built, in my opinion. The buildings should not look like Lady Gaga,” stated Robert A.M. Stern in the latest installment by the Louisiana Channel.