On this occasion, Gianpiero Venturini interviews the architect
Freek Persyn with a double objective. To learn, through the understanding of his working methods, themes and approach, what it means to be an architect of the 21st century; and to inspire new generations of architects and students. The interview is divided into three parts:
PAST talks about the beginnings of the architect: the reasons why he decides to study architecture, his first steps in the world of work, anecdotes and how he managed to place his company among the most recognized in the international arena.
Gianpiero Venturini: Which have been the main themes or interests in your office?
Freek Persyn: “ I think the interests - apart from how you shape and realise them, which has changed a lot - have always been the same. The real interest has always been the same. It related very much with the statement by Margaret Thatcher who said, «There’s no such thing as a society.» I think from the very beginning, we have been extremely convinced that there is such a thing as society. And for us, architecture is interesting if you design for that society, for how you can live together. And so we have been always interested in that question - back then - and still today”.
PRESENT helps us understand how each of these studies works and how they have grown over time. We will be able to understand the reasons for their success.
GV: What’s your current approach to architecture?
FP: “ It’s clear that we approach architecture from an idea of built environment, and not from an idea of products. So, it’s not that you have a question, and then we make the product that matches that questions. We think, in a sense, in a more contextual way. But also, context is not about fitting in it, but more about reshaping it. And I think that this idea is something which we encounter all of the time - that we live in an inherited environment, we want to change that environment, we want to change how we live in it, and so we have to work both on these new practices and these new environments”.
FUTURE tries to discuss today's and tomorrow's issues. Each architect discusses a series of key concepts that represent his approach and seeks to advise the new generation of architects and designers.
GV: Which are the key-words that you think should guide architecture in the future?
FP: “ We think transformation is very interesting, because a transformed building is always a building that is unadapted. And this lack of adaptation brings a lot of possibilities to find new ways to define how things relate to each other. It’s not written out first, and then built. But it’s like reshaping something and finding new opportunities in that”.
