Interview with Architect Richard Meier, New York

You’ve done quite a few important museums worldwide. What draws you to those commissions? If I had my druthers, I would do a lot more. Each museum is different—the collection is different, the context is different, the relationship between the art and architecture is different. So we learn a lot, and each museum ends up having its own distinctive character and personality. Ultimately it’s the public nature of those projects that I most enjoy. Museums are more than just places to view art, they’re also civic and social centers. How do you approach your projects? We look at each one and consider the context—what it is and what it can be—beyond the strictly functional concerns. We think about its public nature and how that can be enhanced, how the spaces we create can enliven the experience of being there. What advice would you give to young designers starting out today? The world has changed a great deal from when I began 50 years ago. I was very fortunate. There were a lot of opportunities that perhaps don’t exist today. At the same time, there’s an amazing amount of good architecture being done all over the world. Source: Architectural Digest