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Q&A
TF: We9re very lucky that we have an oïce of 150
people. It allows you to have a lot of diferent projects and project types. When we started our oïce,
we were small, just the two of us and a couple of
others, and our design process was rooted in collaboration. David and I had to work together.
Our process is not centered around a sole genius.
Instead, it is a group of people working together
toward a single goal of connecting to the environment. It is something that younger architects and
clients can easily embrace. We have amazing talent
in our orm, with younger and spirited architects
showing up all the time because they appreciate
the direction of the architecture, our commitment.
They are very talented designers on their own,
and they want that agency to push things beyond
what we do. The exciting part of what we9re doing
is watching the work continue to evolve and stay
consistent. It9s encouraging to see those younger
architects continue to push us and move the work
forward.
DL: The smartest thing we did was recognize when
we have incredibly wise, driven people who are like
us, to give them plenty of space to go do their thing.
And we trust them. I think trust is everything in
architecture. You have to trust and empower the
people around you. You9ve got to really trust the
process.
JR: Given that your orm is rooted in people
and place, how do you stay so optimistic?
And what9s next?
DL: We9re both incredibly honored and lucky to
love what we do. That9s what brought us together
in this enterprise 40 years ago. It9s what drives us
forward. We are honored to be architects. We see
our role as moving beyond sheltering humankind to
sheltering all species, all life, and all ecosystems. And
that9s what leads us back to help healing our natural
realm and returning balance with the environment.
We used to be in balance. We must lead by example
and balance art with science to craft sustainable
communities for all.
PHOTO BY BY NIC LEHOUX
Austin Central Library, completed 2017
pushing the envelope and doing this thing that
no one has done except on the East Coast and
West Coast4this idea of a Living Building?= And
they embraced it. But again, now you9re asking
your client what do they think? They9re part of
it; they become really proud of it. They become
advocates for it. That9s what you want. It9s like
David was saying on the library, they were willing
to settle for one level, but if you engage them and
ask them more questions and keep it deliberate,
sometimes you can ond yourself in a whole new
place.
James Russell is a journalist in Fort Worth writing
TA: What do you then say to younger architects or those in training? They9re dealing
with everything from high amounts of debt
to climate violence to resource scarcity.
Y9all aren9t ones to say,
