One of the best parts of this job is the amazing people I get to meet — like Dr. Robert Enzenauer and Alan Gass, both of whom I interviewed for Generations (June 27), and both of whom intersected with areas of interest for me — military history and architecture. Speaking with Gass got me thinking about some of the amazing buildings I’ve seen — and the brief period of time that coalesced my appreciation of architecture and design.
In 2003, I visited Bilbao, Spain, home to the magnificent Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Gehry. It is a stunning, undulating structure clad in titanium that is both otherworldly and also an organic reflection of its riverside location.
It seemed like architecture was the buzzword of the time — or maybe I was taking notice. I was living in Switzerland as Herzog and de Meuron were becoming internationally-recognized. Just two months later I started graduate school in London, precisely when the finishing touches were being made to Norman Foster’s Gherkin, which instantly became part of the London skyline.
Here are a few other buildings that have left a lasting impression (limited, for the time, to Europe):
Fondation Beyeler, Basel. Designed by Renzo Piano. A simple mid-century brick building that makes incredible use of glass and light to create a sense of oasis with the garden that surrounds it.
Institut de Monde Arabe, Paris. Designed by Jean Nouvel. Its cladding reflects motifs of Islamic architecture in a system that adjusts light filtration according to the temperature and sunshine of the day.
Glasgow School of the Arts. Designed by Charles Rennie MacKintosh. Tragically much of this building has been destroyed by two fires in the last decade. There are plans to rebuild in the Art Nouveau style the Scottish architect is renowned for. Variations on Art Nouveau, such as Jugendstil and Vienna Secession, and then later Art Deco, incorporate graphic arts into their design, which for an illustration lover such as myself is bingo. A massively underrated Art Nouveau city is Riga, Latvia. The best advice I got before traveling there: “Look up.”
Hamburg is home to one of the best examples of Expressionist architecture, which I hadn’t known existed until I saw the Chilehaus (designed by Fritz Höger). That alone made it unforgettable.
Caixa Forum, Madrid. Designed by Herzog and de Meuron. An amalgamation of the ancient and the new, with a lush vertical garden — the first time I ever saw a living wall.
What are some of your favorite buildings?
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
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