Tschumi in Brief

Over at 2 Blowhards, a lengthy essay by Nikos Salingaros concerning the architecture of Bernard Tschumi is unfolding over eight parts, with part four posted today. Salingaros appears to be perplexed by Tschumi's writings and the appeal of his buildings and books to the greater architectural community as well as clients.





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Like many people in architectural schools in the 1990's, I was influenced by Tschumi's words, even writing a piece on his design of Parc de la Villette for a contemporary architectural history and theory class. With five buildings constructed since this breakthrough commission, and six projects in the works according to his web page, it's no bother to see why he left his position as Dean at Columbia University to focus on his practice. But with this recent work, am I still influenced by Tschumi? Well, not really.



Le Fresnoy Art Center still strikes me as a strong design, mainly due to his decision to keep an existing building and focus on the interstitial spaces. I was not impressed by the Columbia Student Center, even though the tectonic ramp and curtain wall have a certain beauty in and of themselves. The Rouen Concert Hall may be the most beautiful building he ever designs, the closest he's come to a regular form (potentially to be similarly replicated in Limoges, France). But the recent school in Miami and his much-publicized design for the New Acropolis Museum don't make much sense to me. Perhaps I need to do more research on each, but for the time being they contribute to a more general and shared puzzlement of Tschumi and his position in the international scene.