Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi have been announced joint winners of the 2016 AIA Gold Medal; hailed by the Institute for “built projects as well as literature that set the stage for Postmodernism and nearly every other formal evolution in architecture.”
It is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential partnerships in architectural history and follows the duo’s A+ Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Architizer at last year’s A+Awards Gala. This charming short film sees Scott Brown reflect on this honor, the couple’s extraordinary career, and advice for young architects as they set out on their professional journey:
In only two and a half minutes, the “Grandmother of Architecture” dispenses some golden nuggets of wisdom that every student and practitioner of architecture can learn a great deal from. Here are seven of the best. Which quote is your favorite?
Robert and Denise; via Uncube
“There is no immaculate conception of ideas. Collaboration is the truth of architecture.”
Vanna Venturi House, via StudyBlue
“I became addicted to practice … We have learned from everything around us — going from learning to teaching and from teaching to making.”
Photo courtesy of Venturi, Scott, Brown Associates
“In the end, the real rewards are seeing people use your buildings the way you had hoped they would, and, then, seeing them go on and use them in ways you could never have imagined.”
Provincial Capitol Building, Toulouse, France;. photo by Matt Wargo; via Designboom
“Bob would not be who he is, and I would not be who I am, our work would not be what it is without each other.”
Photo courtesy of Venturi, Scott, Brown Associates
“What would my advice to a new architect be? Think again! If you really have to do it, then give it everything you’ve got.”
Vanna Venturi House; photo courtesy of Venturi, Scott, Brown Associates