Name: Building uniqueness
Uploaded: 2008-02-18T00:22:00Z
Duration: 17 min 27 s
Description: Looking back over his long career, architect Moshe Safdie delves into four of his design projects and explains how he labored to make each one truly unique for its site and its users.

Looking back over his long career, architect Moshe Safdie delves into four of his design projects and explains how he labored to make each one truly unique for its site and its users.

Building uniqueness

Great architecture begins by uncovering the unique character of each project, resisting the pull of generic, global designs. One museum in Wichita was shaped by rerouting a city boulevard and making its very geometry reflect the river beside it. A haunting children's memorial in Jerusalem turns a single candle into infinite light, creating space for memory through absence rather than information overload. Searching for beauty is not just about aesthetics, but about fulfilling the specific purpose and context of each place.