In this series by renowned financial institution Goldman Sachs, Talks at GS, some of architecture’s leading minds, including David Adjaye and Maya Lin, talk about how their careers have developed, their secrets to success, and what they are working on right now. The most recent video features Bjarke Ingels discussing his design approach and the development of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. In addition to the videos, Goldman Sachs has also sat down with two other design leaders to talk about their careers.
Find the rest of the interviews after the break.
Two excerpts from other interviews with architectural leaders:
Zhang Xin, SOHO China
Co-founder and CEO of real estate development company SOHO China (known for their Galaxy SOHO project by Zaha Hadid Architects) Zhang Xin was asked about entrepreneurship and innovations in architecture.
On her inventive approach to architecture: “People want to see something new and creative, to touch and feel something different. In working with architects, I always say, ‘I don’t want you to produce something you’ve done. I want you to think about something you have never done before.’”
On successful teamwork: “Everyone has different skills, and I prefer to make every [business] decision as a group. Whenever I have an idea, the decision is never mine alone. We sound out every idea with senior management and make a collective decision.”
On entrepreneurship: “Entrepreneurs start with a dream and believe they can do something. There are good days and bad days. They will certainly doubt themselves and want to give up, but it’s [ultimately] about the fearlessness of walking in and figuring it out.”
Julia Peyton-Jones & Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Co-Directors of the Serpentine Galleries
Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans-Ulrich Obrist are directors of the Serpentine Galleries, famous in the architecture world for their summer Serpentine Pavilion program. They visited Goldman Sachs to discuss pushing boundaries in art and architecture.
Peyton-Jones, on challenging museum traditions: “The first time [Obrist] and I collaborated was in 1995, when I invited him to curate a show at the gallery called “Take Me, I’m Yours”, a very radical idea whereby anybody coming to the Serpentine could take and touch and use and experience all the elements of the show. Of course, the whole idea of museum galleries is that you don’t touch anything, so it really turned that whole idea of engaging with contemporary art on its head.”
Obrist, on shifting focus to emerging architects: “We recently realized that a new generation of architects have now started to build amazing things. Beginning with Sou Fujimoto, then last year Smiljan Radić of Chile, and this year with SelgasCano, it’s now the third time in a row that we are working with this younger emerging generation, which is a very exciting experience and is pushing [the commission] into another dimension.”
Peyton-Jones, on her ambitions as a curator: “The opportunity we have been given with a small scale is to really work harder. The gallery never, ever looks the same for two exhibitions. If you have a small space, you have to reinvent it, recreate it and rethink it every time.”
The rest of the Talks at GS, featuring leaders from all fields, can be found here.
