Daniel Libeskind Interview: The Voices of a Site

“Architecture is the atmosphere, the story that has been created, and you’re part of it.” In this in-depth video, one of the most significant contemporary architects, the lauded Daniel Libeskind, shares the incredible story of his architectural journey, including the much-debated World Trade Center Master Plan.
Growing up in the shadow of World War II, under the communist totalitarian government in Poland where there was still a pervasive anti-Semitism, the Jewish-born Libeskind had a strong sense of the need for liberty. His parents were survivors of the Holocaust, and though they had no higher education, they were intellectuals “educated through their life and their love.” America offered smiles and new opportunities, and in spite of having very little money, they managed, his father working as a printer, and his mother as a seamstress. When working on the World Trade Center Master Plan in New York City, Libeskind thought of his parents, who represented the people he was building for: “The people of New York, the real people, not the one per cent.”
“Don’t have any goal, have a path.” After the genocide of the World War II, the assassination of Kennedy and the looming nuclear war, Libeskind experienced how the perception of human beings changed, which he feels has formed him: “There must be something more to reality than this fog of lies and illusions that have been build up by strong sources. There must be a freedom, and the freedom in the arts particularly.” Becoming an architect wasn’t in the cards, and he initially started began his career as a gifted accordion player with a brief detour to science. His four-five first buildings - such as the Jewish Museum in Berlin - were made possible because of architectural competitions. Only winning competitions, however, “is a ticket to oblivion,” and you have to be present in order to make it work, which is why he ended up moving to Berlin while building the Jewish Museum: “My career is based on anonymous competitions.”
“Humanity has changed, how can we change with it without sacrificing what is most deeply human, which is some form of freedom and solidary with everything that exists.” When constructing the World Trade Center Master Plan, Libeskind decided to build as little as possible on the site, in order to leave it to the public - to the people. He wanted to transmit a raw memory, but still keep the balance between tragedy and the “paradoxical excitement and beauty of New York in this space.” Building in such an emotionally charged context, Libeskind was under constant attack from the press and more, and particularly the tower of One World Trade Center - the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere - was the subject of much controversy, but as Libeskind argues: “I’m a New Yorker, I believe in towers.” For this project, he needed to be a combination of a poet and a worker, and the Master Plan, as he sees it, is essentially about the beauty of life “and affirming in the face of tragedy, that life goes on in a meaningful way.” Finally, Libeskind argues that an important part of any building is memory, as this is “the earth you dig the foundations into.” Every site has been touched by something that we are not aware of, nowhere is a “tabula rasa,” and this is why you have to make an effort to listen to the earth and voices of the site.
Daniel Libeskind (b. 1946) is a Polish-American architect and co-founder of Studio Daniel Libeskind. His buildings include the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany, the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, the extension to the Denver Art Museum and the master plan for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in New York. Libeskind has taught at numerous universities worldwide, including the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University, and he is the recipient of multiple prizes. Among others the 1985 Stone Lion at the Venice Biennale and several RIBA awards. For more see: libeskind.com/
Daniel Libeskind was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at his studio in New York City in October 2016.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited by: Rasmus Quistgaard
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2018
Supported by Dreyers Fond
FOLLOW US HERE!
Website: channel.louisiana.dk
Facebook: / louisianachannel
Instagram: / louisianachannel
Twitter: / louisianachann

[@brandonkirk5357]

fanatic video, this deserves more recognition, such great points made when describing the importance of a building site, Daniel Libeskind said: 'everything has been touched by a trauma' understanding that trauma and using it to facilitate architecture form is what makes him such a great architect.

[@romanjaxx1600]

Instablaster...

[@ArchitectdaSilva]

A wonderful and inspiring talk from Libeskind...and his binding idea of memory is vitally important. That architecture pours out from the architect's score in notes of colour, shadows and forms is beautiful.

[@pokahuntas6630]

We love palazzo.gladiolus🦋🦋🏖️

[@cougarfarmer]

The wild man. This video took me right back to architecture school when I was his student. I didn't realize how strong of an effect on my thinking that he had on me back then. Amazing.

[@MsLaBajo]

Patrick Farmer Lucky!! I am not an architect but I fell in love with the DAM building and would visit and sit outside and inside and write. At times the art was just an excuse to see the building again.

[@MilciadesAndrion]

Great video. He is one of the best Architects in history.

[@joshmoxey9952]

Criminal this only has 85k views! What a inspiring talk

[@NYBornAndRazed]

I love this man. So profound, yet humble

[@maxwellhaydendolgih9185]

I love him, don’t get me wrong. But one that proclaims himself as a virtuoso and keeps hinting at being a talented musician isn’t very humble. But then again, an artist can’t be 100% humble. One must share their talent and skill to better the world.

[@Dev1nci]

He speaks very well and has some very poetic ideas but I find it hard to believe he’s not a formalist. And I actually don’t have a problem with Daniel Libeskind being a formalist because his work demonstrates thoughtfulness, nuance and skilful execution.

[@Dialoguematters]

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to his fantastic human being!

[@MsLaBajo]

He’s absolutely brilliant! Lots of emotions watching this. I adore his work.

[@thestrategicarchitect7314]

Hey Camdem, happy to see you like Libeskind's work ! I made a video about him to show his secret in order to be seen as the perfect architect for a specific projet. I'm sure you would find it interesting

[@evidencephiri842]

wonderful architect......I believe no one should practice architecture without half or a quarter of that form of thinking ......stunning work

[@dv729]

his idea of connection through human empathy but the idea of revealing the true harsh realities of the world are conflicting and his structures show this conlict through the form and materials

[@puto8736]

"I don't really know how, maybe by a series of accidents" - Daniel Libeskind "We don't make mistakes, Just happy little accidents" - Bob Ross Probably most quotes who have artistic side or virtuoso.

[@Intocables]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4fLhIt7m8SVbck

[@khaledbenaida3532]

He is a great architect !

[@thestrategicarchitect7314]

Hey Khaled, happy to see you like Libeskind's work ! I made a video about him to show his secret in order to be seen as the perfect architect for a specific projet. I'm sure you would find it interesting

[@camdenhochgesang6554]

Best architect out there 💯 Should have won the Pritzker long ago. Much more deserving than a good many who have.

[@thestrategicarchitect7314]

Hey Camdem, happy to see you like Libeskind's work ! I made a video about him to show his secret in order to be seen as the perfect architect for a specific projet. I'm sure you would find it interesting !

[@dansaber8435]

That building is like a merkaba. It will transport you.

[@suhatman6136]

best regards…I am Atman from Indonesia, Mentawai islanders, really want your help to make the best building art with a touch of your idea we really need

[@priscielove1279]

I love this!!!

[@OliverKniep]

a beautiful mind

[@sanketsarvaiya9705]

Thankyou

[@aditiansyah7847]

very interesting

[@Dev1nci]

2:17 I was a performing musician, virtuoso 😂😂

[@archistudent6124]

I really love you and admire your speech, I wish to speak about Isreal aparthied towards Palestinian and how Isreal stoll the Palestinian lands and homes

[@mawunyomorga8658]

🤣🤣

[@babastructuralbim]

Amazing

[@S_D_DD]

Родителям чувака повезло побывать и про нацистах и при коммунистах одновременно, комбо)

[@mushrooms2261]

His sculpture buildings are beautiful in expressing the pain and trauma of people without voices. But architecture is not sculpture art. Architecture is primarily utilitarian. A building that people live in and around, where people eat and sleep and socialize and play and breathe, should draw attention to its inhabitants and the life it supports. Instead these sculptures draw attention only to themselves, while ignoring their responsibility toward their inhabitants. How is it ethical to use artistic form to evoke pain and trauma, or any kind of discomfort, in the human beings who see and inhabit a building for hours, days, weeks, years on end? It is not a painting or a symphony that can be voluntarily experienced, appreciated, and moved on from.

[@thestrategicarchitect7314]

If you're interesting in understanding how Libeskind get to be choosen for big projects, you should take a look at my channel

[@pokahuntas6630]

aoki bluesea

[@olivermcerlean8386]

BS. Free tuition? Not in this generation. It's not how it was 50 years ago Daniel. Get with the times. This is almost entirely irrelevant. Preachy motivational stuff like this makes me angry.

[@MichaelFlynn0]

So many words .. so little said.

[@thestrategicarchitect7314]

Hello, you should look at the video I made about him, it explains how Libeskind can trick a jury in order to look like the best guy for a specific project.

[@pokahuntas6630]

palazzo

[@pokahuntas6630]

🦃🌒🏯

[@shradeshgajle7788]

18:00

[@pokahuntas6630]

🌒🆒🦃

[@invencibletheory]

I want to take him seriously, but he needs to learn about Palestine. Otherwise, none of this much of claim of humanity has any meaning or weight.

[@Dev1nci]

He speaks very well and has some very poetic ideas but I find it hard to believe he’s not a formalist. And I actually don’t have a problem with Daniel Libeskind being a formalist because his work has thoughtfulness, nuance and skilful execution.

[@invencibletheory]

Is formalism a bad thing?

[@Dev1nci]

@@invencibletheory Sometimes it can be. Some architects put the form of their building over the appropriateness of it in it's context (the Walkie-Talkie in London is an example, just a fat sea-cucumber in an otherwise quite pleasing city, although the skyscrapers have met resistance). Others prioritise a formal language that they actually don't have the resources to execute well. However Daniel Libeskind is a formalist who, in my opinion, understands the full set of requirements of his forms and responds quite well. Even if he decides to contradict his context his building is still responding to it.

[@pokahuntas6630]

🦃🌒🏯