Good morning!

Emily here, filling in for Spencer

A few weeks ago, we hosted a talk—which you can now watch and listen to here—with the German-born, New York–based architect Annabelle Selldorf, whose firm is renowned for its meticulously crafted cultural and residential projects, often interventions in existing structures. (Her latest project, a new L.A. gallery for the art dealer David Zwirner, recently opened, and she’s currently at work on expansions and updates for the Frick Collection in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. She also just completed a pair of residential towers on the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, waterfront.)

Co-presented with the Swedish rug-maker Kasthall and hosted at their New York City showroom, the conversation between Selldorf (also a previous guest on Time Sensitive) and Spencer began, naturally, on craft, before segueing into the subject of timelessness in architecture. “Buildings should exist for a long time,” Selldorf said. “They should be healthy, they should be practical, and they shouldn’t be more complicated than they have to be.” The interview went on to cover everything from the importance of the analog; to Selldorf’s upbringing in Cologne, Germany, as the daughter of an interior designer mother and an architect father; to her 30-year architectural collaboration with Zwirner.

When talking about her Frick Collection expansion and upgrade, Selldorf shared her perspective on making museums more accessible. “It’s a little bit naïve to think that making everything out of glass changes the power structure of museums,” she said. “No—it’s us people who have to make the change. We really have to mean ‘bringing everyone in.’ That means you open the door and say, ‘Come on in.’”

On the subject of inclusivity, Selldorf finished on a note I found to be particularly astute: “With every single thing that we do as architects,” she said, “it shouldn’t be just for the users, but for everybody in the city. Every day I walk by certain buildings and think, Why does this have to be so ugly? I’m trying to not do ugly things.”

Cheeky but wise, a perfectly Selldorf sentiment. Watch or listen to the entire thing here.

—Emily