Annabelle Selldorf
Annabelle Selldorf
Annabelle Selldorf is a German-born architect and founding principal of Selldorf Architects, a New York City-based architecture practice. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Her projects include the Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility, Neue Galerie New York, renovation of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and two high-rise residential buildings along New York's High Line. She is currently designing an expansion of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and several buildings for the LUMA...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionArchitect
CountryGermany
I always tend to think, even in residential projects, about what a space is being asked to do - where is it located, what are the circumstances, where can I attack the problem, so to speak. How can you create a narrative for people moving through it? How can you convey its character?
I never like things that don't look nice. It's really that simple.
I'm not so interested in technology for technology's sake. I don't need incredibly sophisticated climate-control systems. And I'm absolutely amazed at the time people spend exchanging messages; I don't have a lot of time left over for those things.
I think when you look at architectural photography it doesn't help to have piles of old clothes lying on the floor. Architectural photography sets up an artifice.
When everything is perfectly orderly and understandable, there has to be one thing that puts everything into question.
So much of what makes a room great is how you enter and circulate through it, how it addresses the body.
Architecture is about aging well, about precision and authenticity. There is much more to the success of a building than what you can see. Im not suggesting that gestural architecture is always superficial, but solid reasoning has its place.
Tension is an interesting quality - and architecture must have it. There should be elements of the inexplicable, the mysterious, and the poetic in something that is perfectly rational.