Annabelle Selldorf Quotes

Annabelle Selldorf — German Architect

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 (FAIA). 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 Foundation's new contemporary center in Arles, France... (wikipedia)

Everything is complicated about using concrete - the discipline and dedication necessary to make consistent batches, understanding exactly how the formwork will be laid, what the timing is for the pours, how you keep it clean and neat to achieve a fine quality.

Architecture is about aging well, about precision and authenticity. There is much more to the success of a building than what you can see. I'm 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.

The secret of good architecture is having more than meets the eye.

So much of what makes a room great is how you enter and circulate through it, how it addresses the body.