ArchiTeam interviews the architect WILL ALSOP

What is the importance of architectural tourism? 
Architectural tourism, of course, is a quite new term. But this concept is an interesting concept and it's actually true. Historically and also particularly in Europe because there is a lot of old staff, people travel around for weekends and they choose spaces where there is a lot of older architecture to see.

But over the last 20 years in particular they've suddenly caught under the fact that new buildings can really be exciting too. So a combination of those cities, Barcelona is one for example, they have some interesting new buildings and a lot of history as well. So, it makes them a marvelous tourist destination. Athens could do better.


What is the importance of traveling, especially for architects and humans in general?
That's a very difficult question. It's nice to travel. And if you don't travel it's really nice to travel or to think about traveling. If you travel all the time like I do, I dream of staying at home. You never get what you want. But, generally speaking to answer your question properly, I think it would be very important for local authorities like the councils and politicians to travel around to do architectural tourism to see what other cities and other places in the world are doing.

Because in forums, it's so often, taking a smaller city, the people who make decisions about the future, buildings and urban conditions, they've never been anywhere. Therefore, they've got nothing to compare with. From that point of view, travel for certain people is very important. Other travel is for pleasure. It should be for pleasure.


What do you think is the added value that architecture creates within a city?
Ideally, talking now as an architect, the best thing we can do, the thing that makes me more proud is when people feel happy. Because of what you've done.  Adding joy, a sense of fun, a sense of color, a sense of intrigue, a sense of surprise; these are all important things that architects can do, which ordinary builders can't do and engineers can't do. They're not thinking that way. So, it's about experience.

If there are rich experiences especially in terms of the objects then of places, then they'll feel better about their lives. Most people who dislike this are quite miserable. They've replaced that sort of production line factory working with the same thing, but it just takes place in offices, people work on computers all day. Which one would you rather do, work in a factory where you can go outside and have a smoke, or work in a big office, so far down to the grand floor and have a smoke, maybe I won't or maybe I will but spend ages about it.

I think the creeping corporate world is actually in danger of creating a body of people, I'm not talking about the western world, that goes for the eastern world too, who are just talked to conform. We need some misbehavior, naughtiness, individuality, really important. Then people would make their own minds about things and they'd become a part of the debate, rather than just consuming what they're given. I'm really worried about your generation. 

You have created the architectural office "Will Alsop Architects".  Your office is guided by the principle that architecture is both a vehicle and symbol of social change and renewal.
 
UK is a country with great history. Designing a modern building within this context is a complex procedure. Is critical regionalism an approach to your architecture?
No. It's a short answer.

You read a lot of stuff, but it's just words, isn't it? You do what you do. And you're now in your twenties. For me philosophy is very important and somehow that would feed through, give you some understanding to feed through to your work. Then you're thirty, maybe you reduce the idea to your concept. Then, when you reach forty it's a bit too much, ideas might just not be enough. When you reach fifty, you reduce that to notion, to suspect something.

Well, now I'm sixty, it's "fuck all", it's nothing! I don't worry about things, because in the end it's not as complicated as the world of architecture would want you to believe it to be. It's about commitment; it's about doing something with the right emotion. It sounds a bit fluffy, but it's about relaxing. And your best work is done when you're not thinking too much about it and it just happens, it comes from somewhere else.

In the end it becomes an intellectual exercise, but after you've done it. Then it can be debated, discussed in all sorts of different ways, I'm not against philosophy in any way. But I'm more interested in the process of engagement, I'm interested in the idea of not knowing things, in the idea of trying the best possible, to work with people who live in the area and get them to be creative and paint and draw.

I try to make some sense out of what they draw, using my own script of freedom too. Then you put it back to them, you say "you can be as rude as you like. Do you like it or not?" And they'll like it, because they see elements of them in it, so it's their project, more accurate are "our" project. It doesn't have to fit in to any architectural philosophy at all. But it's right for that place. Your teachers won't like this at all.


By abandoning the hegemony of an acceptable style, you have rendered the whole process of architecture one of increasing fluidity and transparency; as such you continue to uncover new and refreshing positions for architecture. How do your clients deal with this kind of architecture and how is it accepted by the local communities?
The architect in the end is as good as their client. If you have a bad client, it's impossible to do something. So you have to have a client that's open-minded, wants to get through a process. Often architects want to make money in the private sector, it's often, and it's allowed. But, the process of having the idea for the building and building it up, involving the public is not always possible. I do that, and the public and the larger community. I enjoy that and it should be fun, because it's a part of our lives. It depends. In different countries it takes different times. Sometimes, it can take a very long time. That's a part of your life.

A lot of architects make that, they take this very serious and they look miserable. Then, they produce miserable buildings because of it, because it's not an enjoyable process. I have a lot of my buildings give that sense of a joy to the people after they are built.

On the other hand there's another side of being an architect which is not building. Just enjoy. That's alright too. I've been thinking about these sorts of questions for a long time. Because I'm a professor in Vienna so I teach, I have students.

What can I teach them really? In the end, I can only teach students to be themselves. That's the most valuable thing that you have; to give to the world. A bit of experience, travel and do things like that and build up as a response to the world. In the end, it's you who will eventually be doing something. What you do is important.

How did you end up with a space like this? You should turn and look at the space. You can see this space on the architect's draw; smooth, grid, very cool, it's the result of an architectural idea. We know where it comes from. It comes from that small tales who just grow us some white walls by Le Corbusier. And people like teaching it, except it's not as good. It's too big; it doesn't have the same power.

So, they didn't understand the elements of what they were dealing through here. It has something to do with being minimal. I'm not sure about minimalism. We have maximalism, that's alright. But you can do whatever seems to be appropriate. In the end, I'm not talking about designing buildings. I'm talking about embarking another process, where you discover what they could become.

Some of us find that difficult because they won't know. It changes in different countries. If you're working in China, they don't know what it is before you've done it. But that will change. They'll become more mature and get used to it; having lots of money. That's not so exciting for me anymore and I'm just taking hurry, maybe too much of a hurry.  One year, it won't take too long either, otherwise it could lose interest. It's interesting in Greece, because you have no money. It's fantastic. We don't have much money either in England, but we have a little bit more.

In recent years attention turns to green urban regeneration. Do you think that it is imperative for the city or it's just a new fashion with economic outcomes and covertly interests?
I think it's always been urban regeneration in one sort or another. We just didn't know it was that and someone named it. Towns and cities; they grow. That's the nature of things at the moment. It's united; whether you attach things at the edge of the city or you put things in the middle of the city. Whatever you do has no effect on the city; that what it is forming regeneration. But there are some cities that are just shrinking as well. Because we have our jobs and new infrastructure can change the whole balance of where people want to be, where it is valuable for them to be economically.

That has always been a tragedy. I was reading an article in one of the British newspapers; the other day actually.  It was really questioning urban regeneration. Specialties or receive special attention. One of them for example was one of mine; that's why I read the article. There's a lot of public icon into this and it doesn't really work. The one of mine which I was referring to I know it does work. Because I did all the things I just told you about; working with the local people.

At the end, can you please provide your personal proposal for 10 buildings (constructed and visitable) which you think as the most important worldwide that someone must visit anyway?
It could be quite boring, but it's true. So one of the buildings is an obvious one, is the Sydney Opera house. Which, I was always aware of, but the first time I went actually to see it physically, it's fantastic. It's really much better than the images. There are some beautiful images of it, but once you stand there then you understand the presence of that building. It's a really important building. Almost wasn't built. But that's an important building.

I had to have two projects here because the one led to the other. One building which was never built, it's called the Fun Palace by Centric Price which was to be at the East London at the time. It was really the blueprint for the Centre Pompidou.

I like Centre Pompidou; it's very much in its time, one of the first hi-tech multi-use buildings.  I had a social idea but it came out with Centric Price's work. So, I still think that Centre Pompidou is an important building today.

The City Hall in Toronto which was done by one of Alto's students is a magnificent building. It's a peculiar building. You are seeing an office building I know it has one side of it, no related to it. This is current, but it's a fascinating building. About 45 years old. That's variable.

The Unite Building in Marseille by Le Corbusier is a very important building. That's fascinating. For all sorts of reasons, that's a really good one.

PointOfView >2011/02 >WILL ALSOP from ArchiTeam on Vimeo.

ArchiTeam
Production: Kyriaki Gkavogianni, Virginia Giagkou
Editing: Alex Vandoros, Maria Anagnostou, Matina Koloniari
Video: George Vlachodimos

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