When Spirit of Place Intersects Globalization

As an architect who has kept busy over the past six decades since beginning of my studies in architecture at the University of New Mexico, people often ask me: “Where do you get your inspiration?” I tell them that place dictates everything that I do. Gaining a deeper understanding of the environment I’m working in, poetically, culturally, geologically and environmentally leads to greater expression through design.

Making architecture demands a deep, timeless connection to a place. I’m based in New Mexico and practicing for 50 years I’m deeply inspired by the power and beauty of these landscapes – especially exploring them on my motorcycle. “Soaking up” the essences of New Mexico, translates into my architecture no matter where I work and is transferrable to wherever I am working, for example; a house in Provence, France or a mid-rise urban condominium in Taipei, Taiwan. This profound connection to place is universal.

Although it’s a challenge to narrow it down, if I had to summarize my design philosophy in one sentence, it would be: Develop a deep understanding of place — the people who inhabit it and its physicality — and express it as a poetic/artistic encounter.

One example that embodies my approach is my design for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is now featured on the Canadian ten-dollar bill.

The project focuses on the commonality of humankind and serves as a timeless landmark for all nations and cultures. The visitors’ entrance carves between two protective stone arms, or roots, to symbolically recognize the earth as the spiritual center for many cultures. Roots clutch the earth and then there is an ascent to the light. It was important to perceptually go from darkness to light. The starting point of the experience — the Great Hall — is carved from the earth and evokes the memory of ancient gatherings of the Forks of First Nations peoples, and later, settlers and immigrants. Alabaster rampways glow and crisscross the galleries – and wrapping around the centralized Garden of Contemplation is a glass “cloud” creating a light-filled buoyant space. This contrast of darkness and light is a visible reminder of the power of hope.

The galleries describe horror stories as well as uplifting stories of human rights heroes and heroines. Visitors can assimilate what they’ve seen as they proceed on their journey through the museum. And while proceeding, there is an ever-present focus on the working office spaces reminding visitors that this is not just a museum but is also a clearing house for activities supporting global issues of human rights.

I’ll be speaking about this project and my deep connection to place, starting with my deep connections to the American Southwest, as the keynote speaker for the Vectorworks Design Summit this coming November at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona.

I have a strong personal connection to Phoenix — winning my first national competition at Arizona State University for its Nelson Fine Arts Center. The silhouette of the project alludes to the rugged horizon lines that are omnipresent in the Southwest while intimate zones of lacy shade provide respites from the sun.

The Nelson Fine Arts Center at Arizona State University designed by Antoine Predock

In 1992, Vanity Fair published a story about me called, “The Rise of The Desert Rat.” It’s an apt description, as I take lessons learned from the desert and apply them anywhere in the world. In desert regions, architecture must defend against the climatic assault. I take this into account by considering wind and sun directions, and of course, the cultural strata, overlaying vast geologic depth. Since personal desert experience is profoundly a part of my design process, I’m looking forward to returning to Arizona to speak about it this November.

The Arizona Science Center in Phoenix, Arizona, designed by Antoine Predock

The Science courtyard in the Arizona Science Center, designed by Antoine Predock

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is now featured on the Canadian ten-dollar bill to be released in late 2018. Photo from Canadian Museum for Human Rights website, One Woman’s Resistance article.

The alabaster rampways in The Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Image by Aaron Cohen, courtesy of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

In addition to speaking about my design philosophy, I will share my experience of creating a balance between the physical and digital sides of my design process. Although I draw by hand, and make clay models to begin each project, we also use sophisticated technologies in project realization. As a Vectorworks user for 25 years, I will explain how the software has played a role in my projects. While at times I feel like a dinosaur sticking his head up in the digital world, my team focuses obsessively on getting everything exactly right — and multiple technologies in a design, and technology and Building Information Modeling (BIM) help us handle that goal.

The title for my Design Summit keynote address is “Site Specificity and the Aura of Globalization.” Globalization, as well as technology, shrinks everything, and architects can easily detach from the spirit of place. To hear more about how to maintain that most essential connection, please join me at the Vectorworks Design Summit.

All images courtesy of Antoine Predock.

About the Author

Antoine Predock and his team have planned more than 200 buildings and projects, including Austin City Hall and The Turtle Creek House in Texas, San Diego Padres Petco Park, The College of Journalism and Communication in Doha, Qatar, A Gateway Art Center in Chengdu, China, Stanford University Center for Integrative Studies, The Museum of Science Technology in Tampa, Florida and The Ohio State University Student Activity and Recreation Center, among others. His firm’s work has been featured in more than 60 exhibitions, 250-plus books, over 1,000 journal and newspaper articles, as well as films such as “Gattaca.” He was also featured on “Good Morning America” as a “Green Architect.” Predock has been honored with more than 100 national and regional design awards including the AIA Gold Medal in 2006 and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. He also was a Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome and is a Fellow of the AIA, RIBA, and RAIC and was a William Kinne Fellow at Columbia University.

About the Vectorworks Design Summit

Global design and BIM software solutions provider Vectorworks, Inc. invites professionals, educators and students in the AEC, CAD, and architecture industry to attend the fourth annual Vectorworks Design Summit from November 4 to 6, 2018. Hosted at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Ariz., the conference includes industry sessions, tech support, networking events, inspiring keynotes, and hands-on training. Multiple sessions will offer continuing education credits.

Receive $100 off your 2018 Vectorworks Design Summit registration by using the promo code: AECCAFE18

Register today at vectorworks.net/design-summit.

Tags: Antoine Predock, Vectorworks

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 at 1:56 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.