A dialogue for design

Anna Pakulniewicz ‘Eurobuild Central & Eastern Europe’: How do you choose the site or location for your projects? Do you have to “feel” the city before you start the work?

Asaf Gottesman, architect, Gottesman–Szmelcman Architecture: I think it is crucial to get to know the environment where the building will stand. For example, it is important to know whether the city I am working in is a structurally and politically correct place. What are the demographics, the economic, social and cultural nature of the place? The geographic location, the orientation of the site, the climate, the surrounding landscape and the cityscape are all critically important. Whether there is in place a well-structured and effective administration where the legal framework is in order.

Are your designs always tailor-made for a specific location, in that they take into consideration the local architecture, the urban planning and the history – or is it more about the uniqueness of the design and creating innovative architecture, with less regard for the context of the location?

Our architecture is always very specific to the location. I think this specificity is a feature of good architecture.

How does Ovo Wrocław correspond to the architecture surrounding it?

It complements it, but in an unusual way. You don’t necessarily have to imitate adjoining buildings or the local vernacular in order to create site-specific architecture. We bring to any potential project a dialogue, we attempt to address issues that reflect our perception of a place. In the case of Ovo there were multiple issues. Our neighbouring building, for example, is an impressive solid, brick building, owned by the post office and closed off to the public. So our intention was to show what could exist as a counterpoint to this austere straight-edged formality. Thus Ovo is more transparent, it is open, there is fluidity, a dialogue with the people around and outside it; passers-by are able to enter the space as it has a public square – in fact, this is where we are standing now. So this conversation is about what an urban block can be: in a city and in its location.

Why Poland?

In comparison to some of the countries that emerged from the post-communist period, Poland is a beacon of light. I wasn’t here during the communist era, though. The first time I came was in 2005.

So it wasn’t so bad here in the first place?

No – and that’s the point. We do not get involved in some countries because we cannot always relate to the local mentality: what is regarded as correct, what is not. And that goes for everything. Poland is outstanding in almost every respect.

Are you planning more projects in Poland?

I am sure we will have projects here in the future.

Are you planning to enter any competitions?

We rarely enter competitions. We did enter the competition for Plac Społeczny in Wrocław. And this was very good one. But I don’t actually believe in competitions. This one, however, we won.

So what is happening with the project?

The urban plan has been passed and I hope we will continue with this project. It is very big investment and a multi-stage development.

But why don’t you believe in competitions?

Because, I think, the highest value in architecture is the concept. So why should architects give away their concepts?

Unless you win...

The chances of winning are dependent on so many factors – not only on whether you have the best project or not. The entire competition process is extremely subjective; who are the members of the jury? What are their individual inclinations in terms of architecture? How many architects actually participate in the competition? At some point the odds are really very low. There are the relationships that need to be fostered, there is always the politics. Basically there are lots of unknowns that all contribute to a very slim chance of winning. There is also public opinion. Yet, perhaps the most important factor is that in many competitions architects are expected to work for free and that I find to be fundamentally wrong. At the end of the day, we do not need competitions. It just happens that we get invited to them sometimes. In addition to this, many of the projects prepared for these competitions end up not being built. So the architects lose time, spend a lot of money, have to come up with something… and then the chances of actually building something are in fact rather slim. There are some successful examples, of course – but they are very rare.

How big is the team you have at your studio?

We have a relatively small office. We focus on architectural concepts and schematic design, and we always work with local studios, because we work in many places.

So you only prepare the main concept or all the stages?

We are involved in all the stages, but our principle role is to develop the concept. And then we coordinate with local studios, because we certainly know less than they do about construction in a particular country. To assume that we can design better than a local architect would be arrogant. I think our approach is to say: “Ok, we are concentrating on the concept as we have accumulated knowledge and experience in this field, but at a certain point we will take these ideas and work on them with a local practice.” And, for example, in this particular case we just happened to find a very good studio [editorial note: JSK Architects] and this usually makes the project better. The more interaction we have with the site/city and the local architectural team, the better thefinal product will be. ν

From Paris to southern Spain

Asaf Gottesman, born in 1958 in Israel, graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1983, majoring in the History of Arts and Literature. He later received a diploma from the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Royal Institute of British Architects (AA RIBA II). After this he set up his own architectual studio. In 2003, Asaf Gottesman together with Ami Szmelcman established their architectual studio in Paris. The company is known in Poland for such projects as Angel Plaza, Angel City and Angel Wawel (all in Kraków), and in Wrocław: Plac Społeczny, The Granary hotel, Angel Wings and Ovo Wrocław.