Thom Mayne
Thom Mayne
Thom Mayneis an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecturein 1972, where he is a trustee. Since then he has held teaching positions at SCI-Arc, the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is principal of Morphosis, an architectural firm in Santa Monica, California. Mayne received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in March 2005...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionArchitect
Date of Birth19 January 1944
CountryUnited States of America
Thom Mayne quotes about
I enjoy working with people. I understand that as a necessity. And clearly that's something that develops as you get older. And I've grown into that.
I've grown up a little bit. I understand the importance of the negotiation. It is a collective act.
I have a preference for rough architecture, real, inexpensive, unfinished.
Do I provoke as a method of investigation? Of course. That's the essence of architecture. Do I do it with gusto? I do.
Architecture is a result of a process of asking questions and testing them and re-interrogating and changing in a repetitive way.
I've always been interested in an architecture of resistance - architecture that has some power over the way we live. Working under adversarial conditions could be seen as a plus because you're offering alternatives. Still, there are situations that make you ask the questions: 'Do I want to be a part of this?'
Find a place that you are comfortable with. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Make a lot of mistakes.
I lived in a state of rage from 12 to 20. Until college, I was beyond an outsider. I was a voyeur of life.
There is no modern prototype for a campus. You have to have a completely different model which has to do with transparency and exposing social connectivity and breaking down the Balkanization that happens departmentally.
Architecture is the story of how we see ourselves. It is the architect's job to service everyday life.
Architecture is the beginning of something because it's - if you're not involved in first principles, if you're not involved in the absolute, the beginning of that generative process, it's cake decoration.
I think all good architecture should challenge you, make you start asking questions. You don't have to understand it. You may not like it. That's OK.
But I absolutely believe that architecture is a social activity that has to do with some sort of communication or places of interaction, and that to change the environment is to change behaviour.
I think my clients would tell you I'm a problem solver. I'm not there to agree with people. I'm there to articulate a point of view. Am I insistent and tenacious? Absolutely. I could not get this work done if I was not.