MAISON&OBJET Americas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/676176
photography by mark cocksedge (delfina delet trez); floto+warner (gentle monster, olympic tower, asia de cuba); clemens kois for artsy (le-cube all) 36 m a i s o n - o b j e t. c o m T h e A m er i cA s Mood Board: Four of the diverse projects by de Cárdenas and his firm, Architecture at Large ( clockwise from top left): Delfina Delettrez in London and, in NYC, Gentle Monster, Asia de Cuba, and a residence in Olympic Tower. above: Le-Cube All, a catch-all designed for Artsy in 2013. m&O m&O and films, like Less Than Zero, which inspired the interiors of the restaurant Asia de Cuba in Manhattan. Although his demanding schedule ensures that de Cárdenas is both transatlantic and bicoastal (the New York City – based architect and designer has a penchant for Los Angeles), we managed to catch up with him. After studying at R ISD and working as a menswear designer at Calvin Klein, do you feel you have a different approach to the work you do in architecture and interiors? I don't know if it gives me a different approach from others, but it gives me the only approach I know. I'm inter- ested in low and high culture at large, so I'm always applying music, art, and other references to our work. In short, my somewhat circuitous path has led me to architecture and interiors, but I'm still bringing all my other interests with me and folding them into the studio's work. What do you look for in the people you work with? Your team consists of people with diverse back- grounds. How is this important to you? The team is important, and each member has to play a role larger than the sum of his or her skills. Do you select people who bring something different, and how do you integrate that into your work? Personality and personal interests or taste are probably bigger factors in having new members join our team. We try to bring our team members' interests to the team as a whole as well. You've said that you prefer "the atmospheric to the static." How do you see this contrast? Well, I can't avoid it since architecture is literally static and immobile. That's the challenge, I suppose. But there's a history of it.... It's the Baroque church. Bernini made marble dematerialize and float above your head. I'm clearly no Bernini, but it's good to aim high. How do you try to avoid the static in architecture and interior design? In short, combining lighting, color, materiality, and form, we do our best to suggest mood. We try to match our spaces to the atmosphere produced by film and music. Your work is often described as being meticulous and very personal. In the past years, with your growing status, what has changed in the way you approach projects?