DANIEL LIBESKIND: WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY

After the successful January screening of Eero Saarinen : The Architect Who Saw the Future, in March we screened another highly subscribed movie, Daniel Libeskind: Welcome to the 21st Century, which drew a lot of discussion. Daniel Libeskind is one of the most important architects of the 21st century - and one of the most controversial. At once sensual and intellectual, his architecture plays with the geometry of perception. In unifying form and function, his work engages with the philosophical debate surrounding the culture of buildings and their history. The German architect is well known for his modern, if not sometimes radical, designs for buildings throughout Europe and the world. In an interview with Christopher Langer in 1995 Libeskind points out that "I'm not one of those architects that believes that architecture is just a commodity, a disposal item and you should calculate how much it costs to demolish it now because it's going to be demolished tomorrow. I'm not obsessed with technology and all these myths about the future being solved through technological intervention or building. I think one has to worry about what is fable in all this change that is taking place."

The film highlighted Libeskind's work and followed the creative processes that give rise to his buildings. It threw special focus on the design of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the debate surrounding The Spiral, the former planned extension to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

During the lively discussion that followed this screening, AIA Members and others in attendance, expressed strong interest in having another movie screened in the summer. We don’t typically screen movies in the summer, but the Board approved an additional screening due to increased demand. We look forward to seeing you at our first Summer screening in June!

Written by: Chris Musangi, AIA