They met Corbusier when Meyer was only 25. He specially flew to Paris from the States and at the opening of the House of Brazil, built by Le Corbusier with Lucio Costa, timidly approached the master and asked for a job in his workshop, assuring that he was ready to work even for free . But he refused, saying that he would never hire an American: they insulted him greatly by not letting him design the League of Nations in Geneva and build the UN building in New York, the same one near which Meyer is now building his only black building, the high-rise residential tower 685 First Avenue on the East River in Manhattan.
Carol and Fred Smith's country home in Darien, Connecticut. Built by Meyer in 1967. For the object's 50th anniversary, photographer Mike Schwartz organized an anniversary shoot of the house, which is now owned by the Smiths' sons, Chuck and Hoby. Photo: Mike Schwartz
However, Meier's love and respect for Le Corbusier and his architectural principles did not diminish in the slightest after that incident. He returned to New York, worked for Marcel Breuer for a while, and then opened his own office. "Opened" - it is said out loud: initially his workshop was located in one of the two rooms of his apartment, but he really wanted to work independently. At the same time, together with Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, John Haydak and Charles Gwatmey, he created the CASE group, which later became the famous "New York Five".
The Getty Museum in Los Angeles was designed by Richard Meier from 1984 to 1997. Photo: Scott Frances
"Lingerie best distinguishes what is made by man and what is nature. White color is one of the symbols of my creativity and contains the entire available palette. Also, white buildings are constantly changing, reflecting and refracting natural hues.” — Richard Meyer
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona MACBA was built by Richard Meier in 1995. Image source: cesarmartinell.com
Meyer himself calls the project of a country house for the Smith couple in Connecticut, built 50 years ago, a stimulus that gave a powerful impetus to career development. Actually, he formed the author's handwriting and the future philosophy of the architect: white color, the desire for clarity, order, elementary geometric form, proportionality to the human scale and at the same time some lyricism, romanticism of the architectural image. He gained popularity precisely thanks to private residential buildings, and later switched to the design of public buildings, becoming at the age of 49 the youngest Pritzker winner in history.
"Jubilee Church", or Church of the Merciful God the Father (La Chiesa del Dio Padre Misericordioso), Rome, 1996-2003.
"The main thing for me is scale. I don't plan emotions. I design spaces and ways of moving in them. I don't think you can plan sadness or happiness," Meyer
The 685-story 42 First Avenue residential tower overlooking the East River is Meier's only black building, New York, 2015-2019. Photo: Richard Meier & Partners Architects
By the way, if you find yourself in New Jersey, be sure to visit Meyer's private museum, where he has placed his large collection of models, sculptures, paintings and collages, as well as over a thousand books from his own collection. The exhibition covers more than half a century of the American architect's career path.
Fragment of the exposition of the private museum of Richard Meier in New Jersey © Steven Sze
And in this video, the meter talks about life, space and time:
https://vimeo.com/247394174
