This week, Gianpiero Venturini interviewed the architect Francisco Aires Mateus, with the aim of learning more about his professional career and his opinion on the architect's profession. He finished the interview with a council for the future generations of this profession.
PAST tells us how his beginnings were and what reasons led him to study this profession. Francisco also questions the conditions that allowed him to take his company to be among the most recognized in the world of architecture.
PAST tells us how his beginnings were and what reasons led him to study this profession. Francisco also questions the conditions that allowed him to take his company to be among the most recognized in the world of architecture.
GP: Are there any references or inspiring people you met that impacted you strongly in those years?.
FRANCISCO AIRES MATEUS: "Actually there was this very good teacher at the school, who is called Manuel Tainha. He was a very, very good architect. What we learnt from him is basically the human values that architecture should reproduce and transmit and also the values of culture. It’s amazing, he went with us to see movies that talked about human experiences, he talked a lot about subjects in the most diverse aspects - art, music, other things, not directly on architecture - so that we could connect architecture with life.
This was very, very important for us because this was also one of the aspects that Gonçalo Byrne always embraced in his career - these aspects and the extreme detail to a place which means also, an extreme attention to the people occupying these places. So this is basically what I picked up from this period between the school and the beginning of our practice at Gonçalo Byrne’s office. We always tried to pay attention to these things - and we still do - when we do our work."
FRANCISCO AIRES MATEUS: "Actually there was this very good teacher at the school, who is called Manuel Tainha. He was a very, very good architect. What we learnt from him is basically the human values that architecture should reproduce and transmit and also the values of culture. It’s amazing, he went with us to see movies that talked about human experiences, he talked a lot about subjects in the most diverse aspects - art, music, other things, not directly on architecture - so that we could connect architecture with life.
This was very, very important for us because this was also one of the aspects that Gonçalo Byrne always embraced in his career - these aspects and the extreme detail to a place which means also, an extreme attention to the people occupying these places. So this is basically what I picked up from this period between the school and the beginning of our practice at Gonçalo Byrne’s office. We always tried to pay attention to these things - and we still do - when we do our work."
PRESENT talks about the characteristics of his study and how it has grown over time. With this research we have an overview of their practice and so we can get to understand the reasons for their success.
GV: Is there any peculiar thing that represent the organisation or the way your office
works?
FAM: "We like to think of our profession as a research. And research is like being in a chemistry company, you always have to be prepared for an error - to go back again, to let go everything you’ve researched and saying: “I’m wrong, I have to get back.” And this uncertainty is actually what moves us and makes us go further on our research. This doesn’t mean that every project is completely different from the other, but every project is either different or a reinterpretation or an evolution of the precedent project."
works?
FAM: "We like to think of our profession as a research. And research is like being in a chemistry company, you always have to be prepared for an error - to go back again, to let go everything you’ve researched and saying: “I’m wrong, I have to get back.” And this uncertainty is actually what moves us and makes us go further on our research. This doesn’t mean that every project is completely different from the other, but every project is either different or a reinterpretation or an evolution of the precedent project."
FUTURE seeks to discuss issues of today and tomorrow. Each architect deals with a series of key concepts that represent their approach and seek to inspire new generations.
GV: Could you introduce some key concepts or urgent matters of today that as architects, we should address and what would happen in this profession in the next few years?
FAM: "For me, there’s a big problem these days, and that is speed. We live in a time where it’s fast and furious, made of images that pass by rapidly and everybody is trying to do an icon. And in this urgency of creating icons and visible monuments made of very fast images, we tend to forget everything else. For me, this is the danger of our times. Fortunately, there are also lots of people that are looking at the conservation of the environment and our common house, that is, earth. So maybe in these two worlds, we will find some peace. Of course, I’m an optimist. I think we will be able to revert this situation. And those in architecture, it is very curious to see lots of projects already keeping up - adding value to pre-existing buildings, respecting nature."
FAM: "For me, there’s a big problem these days, and that is speed. We live in a time where it’s fast and furious, made of images that pass by rapidly and everybody is trying to do an icon. And in this urgency of creating icons and visible monuments made of very fast images, we tend to forget everything else. For me, this is the danger of our times. Fortunately, there are also lots of people that are looking at the conservation of the environment and our common house, that is, earth. So maybe in these two worlds, we will find some peace. Of course, I’m an optimist. I think we will be able to revert this situation. And those in architecture, it is very curious to see lots of projects already keeping up - adding value to pre-existing buildings, respecting nature."
