GSAPP Conversations

Korean architect Minsuk Cho speaks in advance of his keynote lecture taking place during GSAPP Alumni Weekend on June 2, 2018. After graduating from the M. Arch program in 1992, he established Cho Slade Architecture in 1998, with fellow GSAPP alumnus James Slade. In 2003, Cho returned to Korea to open his own firm, Mass Studies, to great success - winning the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2015 Venice Biennial.

In this GSAPP Conversations Bonus Episode, Cho discusses how his time at GSAPP and in New York changed his perspective and career and how contemporary Korean architecture differs from American equivalent. He also touches on some of his latest projects, including a publicly funded film and arts space.

"I actually looked back at my portfolio of six semesters worth of work and I was completely shocked at how each project has related to what I’ve been doing as a practicing architect. It’s really like a preview of my career”

–Minsuk Cho

More information on Mass Studies at http://www.massstudies.com/

More information on the Alumni Weekend at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/900-columbia-gsapp-all-alumni-party

Korean architect Minsuk Cho speaks in advance of his keynote lecture taking place during GSAPP Alumni Weekend on June 2, 2018. After graduating from the M. Arch program in 1992, he established Cho Slade Architecture in 1998, with fellow GSAPP alumnus James Slade. In 2003, Cho returned to Korea to open his own firm, Mass Studies, to great success - winning the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2015 Venice Biennial.

In this GSAPP Conversations Bonus Episode, Cho discusses how his time at GSAPP and in New York changed his perspective and career and how contemporary Korean architecture differs from American equivalent. He also touches on some of his latest projects, including a publicly funded film and arts space.

"I actually looked back at my portfolio of six semesters worth of work and I was completely shocked at how each project has related to what I’ve been doing as a practicing architect. It’s really like a preview of my career”

–Minsuk Cho

More information on Mass Studies at http://www.massstudies.com/

More information on the Alumni Weekend at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/900-columbia-gsapp-all-alumni-party

Jorge Otero-Pailos, Professor and Director of the Historic Preservation program at Columbia GSAPP speaks with Antonio Cruz, co-founder of Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos. Cruz delivered the Paul S. Byard Memorial Lecture at the school on on February 19.

They discuss Cruz y Ortiz’s renovation of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the firm’s philosophy of making contemporary adaptations that respect and incorporate the existing structures. With the expansion of the ‘Wanda Metropolitano’ Football Stadium in Madrid, also known as La Peineta, they had the opportunity to revisit their own iconic structure of 1989.

“The problem is to do things in the right way … The criteria is if we are able to maintain the value of the initial building. We have to not only restore the building but introduce something of our moment, the moment that we live in.”

—Antonio Cruz

More information on Cruz y Ortis at https://www.cruzyortiz.com/

More information on his lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/812-the-paul-s-byard-memorial-lecture-cruz-y-ortiz

Jorge Otero-Pailos, Professor and Director of the Historic Preservation program at Columbia GSAPP speaks with Antonio Cruz, co-founder of Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos. Cruz delivered the Paul S. Byard Memorial Lecture at the school on on February 19.

They discuss Cruz y Ortiz’s renovation of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the firm’s philosophy of making contemporary adaptations that respect and incorporate the existing structures. With the expansion of the ‘Wanda Metropolitano’ Football Stadium in Madrid, also known as La Peineta, they had the opportunity to revisit their own iconic structure of 1989.

“The problem is to do things in the right way … The criteria is if we are able to maintain the value of the initial building. We have to not only restore the building but introduce something of our moment, the moment that we live in.”

—Antonio Cruz

More information on Cruz y Ortis at https://www.cruzyortiz.com/

More information on his lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/812-the-paul-s-byard-memorial-lecture-cruz-y-ortiz

Jarrett Ley, a dual degree student in the Architecture and Critical, Curatorial and Conceptual Practices programs, speaks with Colombian architect Camilo Restrepo Ochoa of AGENdA, on the occasion of his lecture at the school on February 5, 2018.

They discuss the nature of architecture in the tropics and its difference from Northern forms, seen in AGENdA’s projects exhibited at the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Mexico City gallery, LIGA 25.They also touch on Colombia’s perceptions of architecture and shifting client relations.

“European and Northern thought have been always about this black and white dichotomy. But the Tropic brings us a very different approach to things, which is that black and white happen at the same time. It’s a tense condition of here and now, before and after, past and present—everything happens at the same time.”

—Camilo Restrepo Ochoa

More information on AGENdA at https://www.agendarq.co/

More information on his lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/810-agenda

Jarrett Ley, a dual degree student in the Architecture and Critical, Curatorial and Conceptual Practices programs, speaks with Colombian architect Camilo Restrepo Ochoa of AGENdA, on the occasion of his lecture at the school on February 5, 2018.

They discuss the nature of architecture in the tropics and its difference from Northern forms, seen in AGENdA’s projects exhibited at the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Mexico City gallery, LIGA 25.They also touch on Colombia’s perceptions of architecture and shifting client relations.

“European and Northern thought have been always about this black and white dichotomy. But the Tropic brings us a very different approach to things, which is that black and white happen at the same time. It’s a tense condition of here and now, before and after, past and present—everything happens at the same time.”

—Camilo Restrepo Ochoa

More information on AGENdA at https://www.agendarq.co/

More information on his lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/810-agenda

James Brillon, a third-year M.Arch student at Columbia GSAPP, speaks with Adam Fure and Meredith Miller of T+E+A+M, on the occasion of their lecture at the school on January 29, 2018. They discuss how the creation and workflow of their collaborative practice, working with two other principles Thom Moran and Ellie Abrons. They also touch on their innovative use of materials, which travel between the digital and the physical.

“We've come to realize the way that ideas get better when they're part of a conversation…. it was a really exciting chance do architecture projects that maybe we wouldn't individually have the capacity to do”

—Meredith Miller

More information on T+E+A+M at http://tpluseplusaplusm.us

More information on their lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/815-t-e-a-m

James Brillon, a third-year M.Arch student at Columbia GSAPP, speaks with Adam Fure and Meredith Miller of T+E+A+M, on the occasion of their lecture at the school on January 29, 2018. They discuss how the creation and workflow of their collaborative practice, working with two other principles Thom Moran and Ellie Abrons. They also touch on their innovative use of materials, which travel between the digital and the physical.

“We've come to realize the way that ideas get better when they're part of a conversation…. it was a really exciting chance do architecture projects that maybe we wouldn't individually have the capacity to do”

—Meredith Miller

More information on T+E+A+M at http://tpluseplusaplusm.us

More information on their lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/815-t-e-a-m

Luiza Furia, a first year M.Arch student at Columbia GSAPP, speaks with Mexican architect Rozana Montiel, founder of Rozana Montiel - Estudio de Arquitectura, on the occasion of her lecture on January 22, 2018.

They discuss how to engage local communities, the politics of architecture, and the questions young architects should ask when taking on a project. Montiel also touches on the Albino Ortega house, and creating a space designed for reflection.

“Architecture is not only the brick construction but it’s a social construction. If you don’t pay attention to people’s needs, then you’re not engaging any type of architecture…. If people engage, they feel ownership” – Rozana Montiel

More information on Rozana Montiel - Estudio de Arquitectura at http://rozanamontiel.com/en/

More information on her lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/814-rozana-montiel

Luiza Furia, a first year M.Arch student at Columbia GSAPP, speaks with Mexican architect Rozana Montiel, founder of Rozana Montiel - Estudio de Arquitectura, on the occasion of her lecture on January 22, 2018.

They discuss how to engage local communities, the politics of architecture, and the questions young architects should ask when taking on a project. Montiel also touches on the Albino Ortega house, and creating a space designed for reflection.

“Architecture is not only the brick construction but it’s a social construction. If you don’t pay attention to people’s needs, then you’re not engaging any type of architecture…. If people engage, they feel ownership” – Rozana Montiel

More information on Rozana Montiel - Estudio de Arquitectura at http://rozanamontiel.com/en/

More information on her lecture at https://www.arch.columbia.edu/events/814-rozana-montiel