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  Organic, free-flowing architecture of Bart Prince

Architects Rule

Theres Bissell

May 1, 2002

There was scant deliberation on the part of Hugh Newell Jacobsen some years ago when dream patron Jacqueline Onassis tapped him to design her Martha’s Vineyard saltboxes. Today’s in-demand architects, however, systematically put the mere-mortal variety of client through a far more rigorous review before signing on to the job.

“They think they’re interviewing me,” reveals Jacobsen of the people who come to him to design their houses. The Washington, D.C., architect, known for a classical-minimalist style in residential and institutional projects throughout the United States and internationally, says, “In fact, I’m asking, ‘Do you read books? Do you collect art? Are we on the same page?’ ” While few clients occupy Jackie O’s rarefied stratum, to Jacobsen culture is key. “The Irish have this marvelous phrase: Is he one of us? You’re always looking for that. Poetry, magazines, movies. I need someone to know something about art and history so he doesn’t say to me later, ‘What’s this dumb thing you’re doing with the molding?’ ”

Indeed, the client selection process is an increasingly significant element in high-end residential architecture, whether it is conducted casually or done pro forma. At the New York office of Richard Meier of Getty Center fame, the director of new development screens hopefuls prior to any meeting with Meier. When the architect is a known entity (widely published, often with a practice devoted to a range of building types), it’s axiomatic that not everyone who crosses the firm’s threshold is going to walk away with a contract for the design of a new house. In every case, the architect-owner relationship will become too lengthy, too intimate and too important for each party not to determine from the outset if it’s a good match.

Michael GravesRenowned Princeton architect (and Target product guru) Michael Graves explains, “Since I’m the design principal for each project undertaken by my office, I have to be very selective in taking on single-family residences, which are always design-intensive.” Adds Jacobsen, “I don’t do the pitch, the sell—and I’m not running in a popularity contest. My first job is simply to make sure I don’t get a stick of a client.” (Click image to enlarge)

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