Raimund Abraham reflects on the current state of architectural practice and education. He describes his involvement at Cooper Union and critiques the current direction of the school. He characterizes the emergence of the star architect as a symptom of turn of the century cultural schizophrenia. Abraham discusses his approach to architecture, explaining that all of his work is rooted in the site. He documents a selection of early speculative projects conducted in Vienna. Abraham discusses in detail the Austrian Cultural Forum Tower in New York. He identifies a set of forces from the site, including the zoning envelope, that played a role in shaping the project. He discusses the deployment of glass and glass technology. Abraham explains how he achieved a layering and precision of the facade. He reflects on the critical reception of the project. Abraham discusses a series of smaller projects beginning with an artist colony in Düsseldorf. He describes his response to a site that had formerly been a military installation. Abraham documents a competition entry for a harbor in Switzerland. He envisioned a floating plane to receive water traffic. Abraham describes a project for a house on the Pacific coast of Mexico, stressing the development of a wall system. Abraham concludes with a discussion of his project for Ground Zero in New York. He explains that the idea originated in 1972, and anticipated the ultimate commercial use of the site. Abraham describes the formal arrangement, and recites a manifesto.
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Raimund Abraham (October 23, 2002)
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