FreelandBuck is an architectural design practice based in New York and Los Angeles affiliated with Yale and Woodbury Universities. The office focuses on research and design, exploring the overlap between academia and practice.
This interview has been conducted via series of e-mail exchanges between Orhan Ayyüce, David Freeland and Brennan Buck on July 31 – August 6, 2012. After initial answers by David and Brennan, the responses were attributed to FreelandBuck.
Orhan Ayyüce- How did you you guys meet and decided to start an office?
David Freeland- We were classmates in graduate school at UCLA in the early aughts. Sylvia Lavin was the chair and there was a debate at the time between camps generally lead by Greg Lynn and Bob Somol. We absorbed both those perspectives – an interest in technology and complexity on the one hand and concern for the popular reception or accessibility of our work on the other. After graduating we went off in different directions, David working for AGPS and Michael Maltzan in LA and Brennan teaching in Vienna in Greg Lynn’s studio at the Angewandte. Five years later, we were both teaching and practicing and started working together, first on a competition before moving on to commissioned work.
OA- Sounds like a fair and balanced education. (laughing) No.., I mean it.. The way you put it, it is like having best of two things.. It is usually one way or another that sticks with the students. As I understand, you are not in the same city. Is that true? How does this impact your day to day operations? How do you communicate as you are working on a project? By any means necessary?
Brennan Buck- Having taught at a number of different schools, it’s tough to create the right balance between sameness and eclecticism. People tend to assume that pluralism is inherently good, but faculty with perspectives all over the map will often have nothing to say to each other. UCLA at that time had strong opinions
Article source: http://archinect.com/features/article/55065980/upstarts-freelandbuck
