I wanted this space to be the color of nothing, Selldorf tells me.
I think its always fascinating how an overcast sky can be active and yet have no color.
Thats when I thought, Okay, lets stop.
MAINE LINESSelldorf on the tiny island in Penobscot Bay where she spends downtime. Her New York–based firm’s renovation of the Frick Collection aims to open at the end of the year.Vogue, September 2024.
Lets not do any more, because the less we do, the better.
Theres a rigor and a Miesian order and attention to materials, but also a humanity in her work.
She is one of todays most thoughtful architects of spaces for art.
IN THE ROUNDThe Frick Collection’s sculptural new auditorium, seen here from two angles, is a centerpiece of Selldorf’s renovation.
Born in Cologne in 1960, Selldorf came to architecture through her parents.
Her father was an architect and her mother worked with him as an interior designer.
Annabelle has lived in the city since 1980.
The result was the Neue Galerie, which launched her career.
One of the many reasons her clients love her is that shes such a great listener.
But she doesnt hesitate to disagree when necessary.
ON THE ROADSelldorf with her dog, Jussi, in the small utility vehicle she uses to get around on the island in Maine.
Not when you have the view, and that key in of light.
You are not building a house with tiny windows!
Tom loves the island, Selldorf says.
Selldorf and her partner, Tom Outerbridge, in Islesboro, Maine.
I work with a pencil.
(A yellow 0.9 mm Pentel.)
This wasnt the first time Selldorf encountered criticism from Scott Brown.
HOME FRONTA snapshot by Selldorf of the 1840s house she shares with her partner, Tom Outerbridge, in Maine.
(The museum opened in 2022.)
When Annabelle got the National Gallery commission, she visited Scott Brown.
I made peace with her and I thought we had a nice relationship, Selldorf tells me.
TAKING CARE“Good architecture is infused by profound thinking about shelter and society,” Selldorf says. “I aim to do no more than what needs to be done, but no less either.”
But she had an unreasonable expectation that I wasnt going to change the building.
The project was there to begin with because the Sainsbury Wing wasnt perfect.
It didnt function as a main entrance.
The revolving doors and complex fenestration made entering the museum crowded and confusing.
And I think thats right.
Architecture is such arealprofession.
They all enjoy watching Scandinavian police procedurals on TV.
The closest she has come to a grand gesture may be her minimalist auditorium for the Frick.
She beat about 70 architects in the international competition for the Frick job.
I wanted her to create a beautiful space that would harmonize with what was there before.
Concerts and lectures and performances will now be in Selldorfs sculptural 220-seat auditorium.
It will be called the Stephen A. Schwarzman Auditorium, in recognition of a gift from Schwarzmans foundation.
Selldorf and her partner, Tom Outerbridge, in Islesboro, Maine.
One of Selldorfs most unusual projects is the Chateau Haut-Brion winery, in the Bordeaux town of Pessac.
They began talking about the winery in 2014.
He wanted to bring the complex machinery of winemaking up to date in a totally carbon-neutral structure.
(Thats how she met Outerbridgehe was the general manager of the municipal recycling plant that hired her.)
For me, that made it clear that she could understand great winemaking.
Could you flesh that out a little bit?
First of all, our wines are always understated.
Theres a depth to them.
Theyre intellectual wines, and Annabelle is still water runs deep.
She takes her time.
Shes not out to wow you.
Shell measure her words and find the exact response to a particular question or problem.
I think that thoughtfulness and that humility will be reflected in our project.
With wine, everything is about the ground where the vines grow, she explains.
It was symbolic to use the earth from that place and make it visible.
Its maybe a little like everything I do, she says.
I wanted it to feel like its there and its not there.
When the sky is overcast, its incredibly beautiful.
Its a powerful building.
Was she thinking of that wide open, cinematic sky up in Maine?
No, she says, but who has access to the unconscious?
It has something to do with the sky, thats absolutely true.
I thought of the Domino building as an anchor next to the Williamsburg Bridge.
I wanted it to almost disappear at certain times.
The ephemeral quality is something I find really fascinating.
The whole house in Maine is woodwhite pine inside and cedar outside.
This same boat takes them to and from the island in the summertime.
Im not a serious hiker, but I love long walks, she says.
Tom tends the garden with its 100-year-old lilacs and its lettuce, squash, tomatoes, and other veggies.
At 64, Annabelle Selldorf is still infatuated with architecture.
Im much, much more aware of the reason why I enjoy doing what I do, she says.
Its late afternoon and shes talking to me from her all-white upstairs office on the island.
Im a visual person.
I think about how things go together.
She continues, Good architecture is infused by profound thinking about shelter and society.
It includes art, but its not the only thing it is.
As a young architect, I was preoccupied with putting materials together to make space.
I now think more about how people want to come together and in what kind of a space.
And that space can be almost nothing.
What does almost nothing look like?
It looks like having paid attention to absolutely everything all the time.
She pauses before adding, What does that look like?
It looks like it is at ease and it is in service.
The in-service part is really important.
TAKING CAREGood architecture is infused by profound thinking about shelter and society, Selldorf says.
I aim to do no more than what needs to be done, but no less either.
I said, Yes, and he said, Good job.
Could there have been a bigger compliment?
No unnecessary flourishes, right?
Like your Frick auditorium.
I aim to do no more than what needs to be done, but no less either.
Produced by AL Studio.
