BIG IDEAS: Venelin Kokalov of Revery Architects in Conversation with Pantea Haghighi

My name is Taran Urkart. I am the arts and special events coordinator here at the library. Thank you for coming out on what is a gorgeous night, but an excellent night to hear what we have in store for you tonight. Um, thank you for joining us to hear Vanalin Kokalov in conversation with Panta Hagi, the second of our big ideas uh, programs. Uh, and I thought I'd take a moment to thank the West Vancouver Memorial Library Foundation whose sponsorship made this event possible. I'm sure there's in fact some donors in the audience tonight. So, on behalf of the library and the community, thank you for donating to the foundation. Yes. [applause] Now, it is my honor to invite Chief Dr. Janice George to the stage to begin tonight's event. An onwan oxen squall means I I'm here with a respectful heart and I just said peace to every one of you here this evening. I am Japheim and my family chieftip comes from Sino and uh one of 16 hereditary chiefs from the Squamish nation and it's really my honor to welcome to welcome you here tonight and um so excited about the work that you do Venin and um Pantia we've worked together before so it's really an honor to be here to welcome you to this talk and um I just feel so almost emotional about about this and um we had a little chat before and talking about um the project the SinoK project and uh I'm so very excited about the work that's being done there and the work that has been done with the Squamish Nation as well. So um welcome enjoy the evening. Thank you so much, Chief Janice George. Now, I hope many of you have had a chance to visit uh the West Vancouver Art Museum's current exhibit featuring the art of Revery Architecture. If you haven't, you are definitely going to want to check it out after tonight's talk. It will be uh on display until July 18th. Who has already seen it? Put up your hands. Oh, I'm so glad. That's great news. Um, uh, the second week of July in West Vancouver is always an exciting time for architecture lovers as it marks the annual West Coast Modern Week of Events. And a show of hands, how many people are excited? I'm going to turn up for some of Yes, some very excited hands at the back. Great. Uh, this year is no exception with the fabulous programming, there are walking tours, a film screening at the K Meek, which I just got two free tickets in my email box. Oh, I'm so excited. I'll be going to that. Um, a Sunday afternoon concert here at the library, walking tours, so much more. Please check out the West Vancouver Art Museum website. All the information is on there and how to get tickets. [clears throat] But with no further ado, let me introduce our first guest for tonight, our curator. Um, Pantia Hagigi is the administer administrator and curator at the West Vancouver Art Museum and curator in residence at the Vancouver Art Gallery. She is also a doctoral student at Simon Fraser University, where her research explores modernism in architecture and visual art through the lens of vernacular politics. Pantaea is committed to fostering dialogue and connection through her work, collaborating with people from diverse cultural backgrounds to create spaces for discussion, learning, and the exchange of ideas just like tonight. Please put your hands together for Panta. [applause] >> Thank you everyone for joining us. Thank you Taran and team. It is always a pleasure to collaborate with you guys. We love you at the art museum. Thanks. Uh the exhibition dreamers u the art of revery architecture is uh guest curated by Adele Wither who is an architectural writer, critic, curator and founder of West Coast uh modern league. She has uh contributed research, writing and curatorial work to uh many other exhibitions at West Vancouver Art Museum and other institutions. Uh this exhibition is generously supported and the and its catalog uh by Patterson Rosie Family Foundation and as Taran mentioned is on until July 18th. Um Rey Studio is part of a new West Coast paradigm that reasserts the value of art at the heart of architecture. When questioned about the value of dreams in a profit-driven world, Venoline Kokalov responded that the aesthetic imagination enriches our built environment not only for the individuals uh but also the wider public audience as well. Kokov, the design principal at Rey, immigrated from Bulgaria to Canada in 2002 with his life partner Stani and her son. And shortly after settling in Vancouver, um he approached architect Bing Tom for a position at his firm and the pair spent the next 14 years in an intensely creative collaboration. Kokalov uh begins each project um stay with this one. Each project uh with a series of handd drawings and sketches, an approach considered obsolete by some architects in the age of advanced rendering softwares. However, he m maintains that hand draw he maintains that hand drawing frees the imagination to generate the architectural form that rises to the level of art >> and we we'll take it from there. Huh? We start from that. I'll hand this to you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for joining us and uh we will chat about your biography, Bulgaria and the beginnings of it all. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here. Uh [clears throat] I was born in Bulgaria in the communist system. Um it's not very nice place to be but uh this was my life. Um it was deeply influenced by my father who was craftsman uh incredible um master builder. He used all kind of materials to create beautiful things with his hands. As a kid, I start to copy him. I start to carve marble and and wood very early in my age and u so construction sites was my playgrounds I can say and uh [clears throat] and uh I fall in love in to create beauty. let's call it and I still try to do that and from very early age of my life um in age of 15 uh I went to architectural school uh in the comm system schools was very strict uh very rigid there is no nice trial always we are wrong uh it doesn't matter how good you are uh and u then every Um some I went to construction sites and uh then I went two years in the army. Construction army military is was mandatory and then I finished university and also I was trained in structure engineering too. So basically I have incredible experience uh around structure and very early age in my u life and then the the commerce system collapse. Uh thank God. U and um I was student tough times and and then we have chance to open our private uh businesses and I open small studio uh soon after university and I start to build uh I have start to do houses small projects. I was super confident in myself that I know everything like this huge experience and I I I make this my first house. I was 27 years old. Then I make a little bit money. Finally, we managed to travel because before that I never travel. Uh [clears throat] so I went to Paris and I saw this building and I was shocked because was something different very emotion [laughter] >> was really special. So like you see the one building can touch your heart. So this building changed the way I'm thinking. I saw that architecture is more uh like form and function is is more about feelings and experiences. This is what I learned from this place. So all my knowledge kind of I found is is more in the construction site not in the art side. And I start to approach from this day uh my practice to start with art before start to think about the construction and materials and [clears throat] and you see how the buildings can influence you your experiences and you can make you think in different way. This I can say why the architecture matters. We cannot kind of just doing square foot and uh and meeting budgets has to come has to have some emotional factors in the building. Then I before I came to Canada, I start to do really good work and I did lots of competitions and I won one uh international and I doing well but somehow I have bigger dreams. I wanted to come to to Canada. So I I'm 35 years I was 35 when I immigrate here with my son and my wife. We came moved to Vancouver straight. Uh I have only one job interview in my life. I can believe or not I never tried to explore and learn something somewhere else. And uh it was with Bing Tom. Uh my English was really bad. uh he look at my portfolio he said you starting tomorrow [clears throat] and don't worry about your English uh your drunks will speak for you [laughter] so was kind of a great moment in my life he was incredible person Sorry, I can't talk for him a lot. So, I'll skip it. It's too personal. So, yeah, this was Bing Tom. Yeah, this great man in my life. [clears throat] Um should we uh chat a little bit about the role of museums and um um how they influence your practice once you started you know leaving Bulgaria and traveling and going to Paris uh and the relationship between your practice and art or architecture and art. >> As you understand I was kind of in the darkness for many years in my life. So after I have this opportunity to travel uh I kind of decide to visit almost every museum or every art gallery in the world and and being helped me for that I can say u [clears throat] and the biggest teachers in my life has been art galleries in museums. I can say that um I was very touched when I went to see the vit in in in Florence and um kind of everyone is wanted to see the most beautiful sculpture by Michelangelo. But what struck me is the disfigures on the both sides. You can see it this unfinished work by Michelangelo that you can see the parts of the body is emerged from the the stone and sus trap in the in the marble. Uh this was very kind of powerful moment in my life to kind of envision Michelangelo how he's working like I start to imagine that and and and I see how his struggle I I see how his uncertainty how how he's looking to reach the perfection but this takes time is it's all these elements to like the process of how he was Doing this sculpture was really important for me in my career and I kind of bring it the same way to my work too. The other many artists influenced me, don't get me wrong. I'm just showing two two of them today. [clears throat] But um this one is in Japan. um like also was really kind of powerful experience for me and learning. It's like you entering this building. It's like the size of this room and you have total blackness. So you don't see nothing. Absolutely nothing. You lose the senses. You're losing the orientation. You're losing you kind of in bounded space. This is by James Tur uh art installation and and you wondering like you're in this unknown space that is super powerful in my viewpoint and then slowly in like two three five minutes the art start to talking to you that you start slowly to see the boundaries of the room and you start to feel it like the the power of this uh installation. So it like I went out and I'm thinking like wow. So like it's exactly like how you create like the the way you creating is like you going in this unknown space unclear and then you hoping something to happen. You have this um desire to create beauty but you're under darkness. you don't feel nothing. So in one moment something's happen. So this is like kind of also make me think like you need to take your time not rush it so fast. And yeah the the sketches are important. They're like thoughts for me. Uh this was funny. This installation happened because Dell was hired by British magazine to write about us and she came one weekend and saw me working and she asked me what's this what you doing and thinking like I'm working and designing building and she why you scrambling these things I this is a failure so like my thoughts are wrong I didn't feel right or they just fragile or they even they're not buildings. They just kind of ugly sketches that make me think. And [clears throat] she said, "Okay, okay. Can you start to and what you're doing with that? I'm throwing them away." She said, "Oh, no, no. Can you start to collect them? I have some uh project that I want to do." And this how this exhibition happens. So she wanted to show the process of creation that is not just the final building and uh and I was super shocked and impressed to see how the kids behave. So the some of the curiosity of these young people going to the gallery and start to interact with the sketches and start to look at them and analyzing them. But the same way I'm looking because like I look at the photos I'm looking okay but look at they they drawing totally different things. So this was the beautiful they saw something from and they imagine something else. So like they start to dream bigger. So I hope this exhibition create this new dreamers that we counting on them because next generation is what is very important for us and and even when I design buildings I always say I don't design for the clients I design for next generation. So sorry this between us. Uh >> I [clears throat] hope you're expecting a lot of application job applications >> coming your way in about 10 years. No, the the other things is like I love it how the the they want to be creative and to think creatively and then some of drawings when you zoom in it's like I was wow that the great artist is coming already and the other things is like the exhibition also showing models the process that is we never one sketch is producing is the result even like the models Like you can see here on the this image is like a series like within 12 options and and and it's not stopping all time. It's long process of creation. Sometimes the buildings takes like between four to 12 years in in my care it's long processes. architecture is not is like I'm treated as art but it's uh it's it's happening very slow and it takes time so and I hope this exhibition will bring the next uh uh great artists here and >> we are hoping for that >> it's been actually a wonderful experience having the kids today we had two groups of 30 kids this morning at theuseum So you'll receive more photos and we'll share >> so you can like this wonderful because they have this access that early days I didn't have. So uh I live in this darkness like maybe I dream more now because I didn't have chance early part of my life but uh like they have now this access so they can get better even early I can say and and in architecture always try to create beautiful experience like try to create you to feel good but I want to share one place that I purposely create the people not to feel good. So to like they to be uncomfortable. So I was invited in London to do this exhibition and and designar and what I did I create this giant ducks gold ducks. You from the distance you see them and you you like them because they're beautiful gold shiny. And then one moment when you reach them uh you find that you cannot continue your journey because now you have to bend yourself to go under the artwork. So before you go to the next antenna I purposely created two ducks not one. One is the the the cold and one is the warm. The ducks represent our mechanical systems in architecture. So like I want to say to people like uh we spend so much money on the wrong places like early days the piona you go there's one foot and then like 60 foot is empty and beautiful and everyone go do pictures there but now we compressing ourselves every day with mechanical systems and and also it's not sustainable neither and also detaching us from the from the nature that is very important. So it was kind of interesting. I make it to see yourself. So be careful what you wish for. You don't want to to turn your mechanical and home and stay all the time the same temperature. You can be part of nature too. And um so the role of your practice in community building and how that process begins. How do you think about your architecture, your structures as entities that bring communities together? >> Uh okay. Uh so like how we starting we starting we think about people not about the construction not about the systems we think about people and this building try to bring people together and we create stages in life to happen. So it kind of everything is like how do how you feel when I close my eyes I'm imagine situations so how how people going to feel how to bring nature close to you so in this case uh this is the pian that opened uh last Friday maybe all of you know maybe not it's incredible piece of art I can say in the same way u architecture We use this mass timber roof that is the biggest arch in the world uh uh to frame the mountains. So like for us is always want to bring people next to nature. We want don't want to put you in the the stadium and you don't see nothing any stuff. We always want to see nature. So this case we bring people together. We bring people next to nature and also to the culture. So it kind of the performance space. So it's bring this energy and dynamics. So even you can see the the the performance and under the star but the same way you are covered. So you're protected from the rain. So it's like there's this u dimension. Also the roof is we want it to be really intimate. So like you're kind of compressed from above like you feel this intimacy in the space but the same way you're outside. So a little bit your senses are confused but when you are there and you experience you see you don't s you don't see the roof you don't understand there's roof that this is was the personal intention and this the photos that we done last week on the opening grand opening I wish all of you to go and visit is really dynamic space that u uh you know people enjoy and uh and uh there's a lots of positive uh feedback that we receive and everyone says incredible beautiful. So I'm super proud of that. >> So >> for our audiences those early early stages where you have a blank page. >> Yes. I mean the the way you started is like to give you a little bit an idea. We start like artists on blank page. So you don't you don't know where you're going. So like this this curiosity is coming desire to create something but you're not clear where you're going. This is the reason I always start I say I always draw a person first then I draw another person uh and kind of imagine nest like the nest for me is very um structural very efficient but the same way is very u u cozy and warm so you can draw more people and I imagine more nest in the space in one moment I see this 11 nests or 11 platforms or 11 stages in the fivetory atrium. So this stages what I'm talking about is bring people the imagination they can use it for different purposes for gatherings to play music to draw and this atrium I use the fs and stairs to create this movement so because usually don't have budgets every building is low budget everything's no money so I have to be more creative to use the the the the elements that they cannot be deleted or value engineered So they use this uh pathways for escaping to create this and you went when you enter you in this branches of trees like I call it and then the light is penetrating inside we created this kind of slow and fast spaces I call it sometimes in the world that's way kind of sometimes you can relax sometimes you can dream sometimes uh the community can be invited in the space in this case they invited different musicians in different nests and they performed and the all the community was inside and you don't like I'm looking like like you get lost who is the performer and who is the audience in this space was very wonderful experience to to do that and then similar like this the way we approaching the architecture always try to create something stage life to happen it's like and these are usually not part of the program. the this elements like in this case is we create this ground stair and adding this small places that people can sit and get together and gather in the same way you have this informal formal uh learning curve this university building and and you know it's like I kind of want to make you the atmosphere is very important in our work how you create the the IBN So the people sometimes don't know why but they feel very happy excited I can say and this like again like by creating this opportunities the lives happen and there is this positive moments like they like community likes it they use it for different functions not just university buildings like here I like this I can say it's beautiful the two sides nature it's wonderful library See here the two uh we designed this library too for us super low budget no money. We created use drywalls to create these buffers and oculars to bring light in the middle of the space and we created this platforms that you see later the grand stairs again. And we wanted everyone to see everyone. So you are totally in the space that everything is visible. And then then I went and I'm looking this energy in the young kids. I say I do believe that architecture has power to to make us feel something because these kids you don't tell them to do that. And then I did these photos by myself when I was there. So it's not professional photography setup. Okay, don't get me wrong. and and then is the again like by creating these platforms and stages you see how the the city and uh and the community enjoy the building. So it's very important to create the spaces that bring joy and happiness to people. So, it's very interesting like like this university put it under the highway in Texas and the kids drawing and looking at them. It's night time. How you doing this? Look, I need my glasses. But the same way the the symphony love the the IBS and like how you sing and create this coyard. So, they start to have summer concerts outside of the venue and they perform in our building. So I can say wow that's that's interesting wasn't planned this medical school so it's not it's not something that is not music part of that and how we creating stages this is was the opera house in Hong Kong like like we know the buildings are very heavy and very like in not use our solution was we lifted the building like six stories above and and we free up the the plaza. So we create this void outdoor cover urban plaza that is breathing naturally and by doing that and sometimes I'm jogging the client pay for one uh perform space and get one free. Uh in this way we create this similar as a theater space where you can have exhibition like in this case or you can have performances uh for young kids to perform for free and then you like it's like this is how you creating stage life to happen because this building is open from every corner and you can walk through and you can go just to have a seat and it's look like natural is it's reality is nature ventilated but it look like you're airond conditioning because people don't know like it's open to the people and and the transitions are very important for us you walking through you bring you up to the to the main floor to the opera like sometimes I say the transitions are more important than the the spaces themselves because we wanted to condition the experience of people going to to see the show. You want to kind of detach them from the their daily life and and go into the into the opera. So you can see this is the the how like we thinking the way we thinking in the our creative process and recently we designed this Oakidge uh um we did the interiors for the Oakidge >> shopping mall. >> The shopping mall. Yeah. Uh and then we did the timeout uh market. It's beautiful place. I highly recommend you to go and check it out. And the client came to us and say we want to have nice stair to go to the to the timeout market because it will be the biggest attraction in the city. I need lovely grand stair. Very nice. Then I went then thinking what kind of stair I can give to him and say okay what about one theater in the middle of the shopping mall that people can walk but the same way can be used as a performing space. So you can for free you don't need to be go to the theater and experience. So we create this kind of ports like you can see the stairs kind of walking around and tend to go to the to the timeout market. Okay. So, so in the same way sometimes there is performances like I know that next Friday that there's schedule everyone is shopping or go just for walk [snorts] or enjoying the space and then even people go up and down the stairs just for fun. It's like was interesting for me to see it last week when it's open. And the other building like the butterfly again is always try to change the typology always try to create something new with like this luxurious tower pay for the all extension for the the church program. So church get incredible deal. I can say we totally restorated the the facility. We we kind of re repurposed this space as it was reborn as a new theater in into the for for community events, for weddings, for concerts. We kind of create additional between the old and new additional space or we create uh spaces when people can get together and to be used for different purposes. This is very important for us and also we wanted to respect the historic building and the new and then even they have the gymnasium they have the daycare counseling and this rental building also on the site is for them sevenstory rental building and on the roof we create amazing gardens for use for the for for the residents always want to connect people with nature and and now you can see this is the tower We create these cutouts to liberate the ground plane and we entering the lobby. That is our idea is to kind of detach you from the noisy street and to create these conditions for you uh to slow you down first and then you start to feel better. So this herography that we creating is by purpose uh because like this is is the slow space then you go to the elevator you're in the fast space and then say we decide but how we can kind of create something new new typology that you arriving to the outdoor space uh like you arriving to garden and then we kind of slice it the building in the middle and you're arriving to each floor for outdoor garden. So, we didn't wanted to have apartments. We wanted to have homes in the sky. So, this outdoor venue uh space is kind of extension of your uh apartment is kind of the porch before you go in. You can customize it. You can add there's every third floor trees and you have gardens. And so, imagine in the morning you wake up, you're going out and fresh air. Sometimes you can hear the sound of the rain. Sometimes on the lowest floor you can touch the the the clouds. You know it's always connection to nature is is like this very important from our viewpoint. Even even the the the pool is uh we wanted to feel indoor but uh you're outdoor. So we giving you this uh feeling of uh experiencing a swimming pool that is transparent. So you can swim under the stars or under the rain and the geometry is like it's precast as concrete is also organic. So you feel part of the nature too. Uh the facade every curve that you draw or straight line there's purpose. is not just random aesthetic solution. The the this facade is representing the the white concrete representing the clouds and the glazing is the the sky. So you imagine one moment the building blended with the beautiful uh nature of Vancouver. Before we move to the finale, I just have to remind you that uh Taran is coming to pick up questions if whenever you have them ready and the finale is always the unrealized projects >> and we want to talk about one of yours. >> Yeah. Uh okay. I hope so. This project is um is for us was very kind of very great client coming to us as Bart on the beach in Vancouver. They came to us say okay we were so tired every year putting this tents you know working super hard cost a lot of money then have the next year like in the end of the season you have to remove it and they say can you think about something performing space that be permanent home for us and we say yes that's what like want to do and they say we want to have the same feeling you want to feel like you're in the village it's like not in the theater. They want to have the same uh experience that we have. Then we look at the side and we say, "Okay, there's beautiful parking lot over there. We don't want to live on parking lots. Can you make it garden?" So you put this landscape building on top of the parking lot and and we start to see like how can be used how this land form can be used all the time. not when just the theater is performing. So you allow these bridges to walk, people can climb and uh and we bring the the two theaters below and we have this education program extension. So you can see and then how we respond to their desires for village like the village usually there is plaza and if you can see in the middle we are this outdoor uh space like coyard that is is in the middle of the lobby and then you can see going up is start to creating this roof that the roof is we envision as a performing stage two. So this was unpacked the programs. So again we try try to be innovative and creative to create this roof that you can the symphony can perform you can sit uh uh in the summer day outside in quietness in the center of Vancouver and and kind of this is creating the unique experience that's very important for us and uh and you can kind of get an idea about this space how it look like and I'll finish with small video. You need to go to the video and then press the button. So this is our dream project that uh we wanted to build one day and we crossing the fingers. It's not realized but still sending the message. That's possible. And our cities needs something like that because we have to make the young kids dream bigger, not just uh uh you know living standard buildings. So the idea here we want to learn the nature art uh experience to you get confused where you are you always feel outside you're never inside you even the theater is operable from the back so you can see the sunset See the the this is the coyart in the middle. So the lob is all around this circle coyard and you can imagine for what different activities. So like like that there is freedom just read book in this park and everything will be green of course in wood and and This was just concept for one week. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Venoline. We have a stack of questions here. >> A good stack. So, uh I think we have time to go through all of them, but we'll Yeah. So, the first one, uh, hi dear. How did you feel about the butterfly? Um, why did you call it a butterfly? It looks more like a basket and it's so nice. Thank you so much for your beautiful ideas. >> So, the the butterfly the what was >> Why did you call it a butterfly? >> No. I this I remember but there is before that something >> um how did you feel about the butterfly? >> Uh I I feel great about the butterfly. I I don't think I like this building happened in the right time, right place for the church. I can say they have very great deal. The luxury tower pay for the all amenities that they have and all restoration is super complex the the the church and the like in the back alley and the rental building and then the tower is luxurious condominium. Yes, but you need luxury to pay for the communities I can say. So like uh I'm proud of the idea because we create new typology of living in highrise. So we kind of create this gardens to the sky that again attached to the nature like I always say and it's and it's I think it's look beautiful. We respect the ground plane. We we kind of don't like the podiums. We push the we push the the the front and we create this coyard. So still people to stop and stay and sit and and and that's very important for us not just running because like when you're moving when you don't have these spaces people to sit and relax they move fast. So there's there's no sparkling conversation with some kind of random person because the community is built on big uh events but also in the just simple uh conversation that can happen. So we create this u so that butterfly name uh first if you look the building from above is look like butterfly. Uh sometimes I make jokes look like 88 because like lots of Asian buyers. So like so it's like uh some people say look like park uh organ pipes coming from the church. So there you can use your imagination and decide how to go and where to go. The butterfly is transformation. You know the the it's like the we try all all the going through the building you always transforming like the butterfly it's like and also the butterfly is representing beauty sometimes they say if you can make it like butterfly touch your skin like carries your emotions you know that this effect the beauty even inside when you're in the apartments you use glass walls on second bedroom so you can make your living room bigger and smaller. It's like always transforming. You never coming to the same time, the same place. It's like sometimes you see the sunset, sometimes you like it's always different. So it's like the this why this butterfly and I mean this sounds correct for the developer viewpoint maybe. I don't know. >> Great. Thank you. Another one about butterfly. Did you intend for the butterfly building to reflect a totem pole on the wall center? >> I know you've had that question. >> I I I didn't plan that uh to it's looking beautiful. I can say I saw these photos when it was for us was more important to sculpted the ground plane. So the this cutouts that we have to to respect the church and not overpower it and also to create to liberate the grand plan because if the tower is going straight or you have podium you don't have these spaces. This was very important for us and also we try to be good neighbor. So we create this forms less shadows better views you can see for the neighbor towers. Yeah. >> Um, what was the biggest challenge you faced on a project and how did you overcome it? >> That's a big one. >> Which project? [laughter] >> Every project is totally different that we starting like for example P& the clients say we want to have the same experience but we we don't want to get rain. So like like we need to dive and try to find solution to to give this um magical [snorts] place to the client because the clients are the most important people for for us. uh that like like we can go far away until they allowed us to go like this is the the very important things like challenges is all the way because the building is a long process many people it's not just by me I can say like we're collective of thousand like many people's involved many years uh um like to to coordinate to to to make it correct to make it something that is different not repetitive. Every building that we design is unique. Um so we working harder I can say longer I don't work from 9 to5 neither I have weekends can share this with you. So, so it's uh we we uh because I don't go to work like for me it's uh is where I'm living. The architecture is where I'm living. So, it's uh I love what I'm doing is hobby for me. So, >> on that note, what advice would you give to an emerging architect who wants to create memorable, inspiring architecture while working within sustainable limits? uh don't stop dreaming the sustainability is uh is very important is is part of the science in the architecture as I mentioned the architecture is art and science from my viewpoint not just science uh but when you are creative uh you can create magic like if you give you one example of the butterfly because we create these forms we have wind tunnels house. Uh we tested the shapes of the form and we found that this form is less uh uh the wind is uh moving fluidly around the tower and this way we reduce the uh lateral loads to the building and by this way we shape one foot from the course. So then you have less carbon by using creative idea. So less carbon uh we have more area for the developers to sell. So it's kind of is like you create your creativity can create beauty too. It's like you don't have to stay passively and don't be creative because uh uh we we worries like for me is like even now in these days you have to be more creative to meet this sustainability goals to meet budgets our budgets are very low like I except butterfly was different animal in different time uh and But all other buildings that we've done is a very tight budget. So you need to be very creative how to choose the materials less carbon materials if you can and to do with the low budgets not easy. I know that. And I can say to the young people just believe in yourself and don't give up and and work hard and something can happen. I have a good one here. Venoline, you're gonna like this one. Uh, what role do artists, sculptors, and other creative disciplines play in your projects? And what qualities do you look for when selecting collaborators outside a traditional architectural team? Who [clears throat] do you like to collaborate with outside architects? I I mean I like to cooperate with like collaboration for me is like when I visiting the museums and art galleries I collaborate with all these people in some way. I collaborate with Michelangelo, believe or not. I cooperate with James. I collaborate a lot with Richard Sarah that is the other great sculptor that is also one of my favorite that he told me that like I can use time as a material. So like I'm using like I start to create this fast and slow spaces in my thinking. uh is like um sculpting the void you know it's like instead to build walls so I like I draw the people and then I draw the walls around and then is everything is kind of is coming from the art from my experience that I was kind of uh see this uh in my life so I I have lots of collaborators and I have great team in rever I can say this like this uh we are in incredibly believable in uh in power of architecture. So you always try to improve the way of living, improve the quality of life. This is a very important things for us. >> So now a good segue to this last question. Uh as an architect, please respond and this has three parts. How do you connect buildings with stories? >> Oh, building stories. Uh I'm not very good in words I can say. Um I never I don't talk too much. So I I like this quietness and silence. So stories coming after the like in for me for myself when my intuition accepts something and it is kind of moving to the idea then the story is coming like I don't start with stories definitely never it's like I don't start with description verbal description I always say the I have one language that I'm using in my work is the drawings and I don't just sketch. I just let you know I'm using computers too. So I still do things in 3D. So I'm not the guy just sketching and passing the sketch to the young people that from my studio they here. They know very well what I'm doing. So >> So the second part is uh as an architect how do you connect present with future? Yeah, this is is very important to think always about future in present time and it's not easy you can say because uh like I say like we think about next generation how they going to use the buildings how like uh what's their dreams you will be and I always believe if you kind of stay with the principles thunder principle create buildings that Bring joy, bring people together in some way, bring nature close to you. K all these elements create these stages for life to happen. This will continue forever and the people love the building and will come to visit again. And uh how yeah it's we need to be careful. I always say we have to look for beauty. It's not just doing construction in my viewpoint. Uh like um because imagine like a chair uh with uh three or four legs uh is functional, useful, is doing the job. But uh but the same way what about beauty? What about you want to sit on this chair uh or you want to stay longer so you feel comfortable. So this all remains you need to think in your work. It's not just building buildings. So it's this important you to think about future like about that. So >> last little bit and it's because it's about dreams and we can end on a on the on dreams. Uh the relationship between order and dreams. How do you connect order with dream? >> I mean I spend like 11 13 13 years to learn to be like in order. Then took me a while to kind of escape from the order. But my engineering background in architecture together kind of make me to be to think in both ways to dream and like I mentioned architecture for me is art and science. So it's is like definitely is the science is the order and then the art is the the dreaming. So I try to mix this carefully uh to to to give something meaningful to the world. So and I believe the architecture has this power to influence the way we're living making us feel good feel bring joy [snorts] like my biggest dream is to kind of our buildings to touch people's heart I call it because uh this is uh kind of tennis you know why you put your efforts >> thank you Valin thank you for joining us thank you everyone for joining us tonight >> and thank Thank you so much to Venoline and Pentea. I hope we see you at a future Big Ideas or another library event. Make sure you sign up for our e-newslet and I hope to see you at many West Coast Modern events starting July 7th. >> That's right. >> Have a great evening and safe travels home. [applause]