As a child, Peter Pelsinski he was convinced that astronauts and garbage collectors had the coolest vehicles, and as a science buff, he thought that space travel could very well be in his future. But when he got to college, he hadn’t registered a class.
One day a simple search for a payphone on the block of the school of architecture upended his plans. “I wandered in and before I knew it, I found myself looking at all the wonderful designs and models the students were working hard on and losing sleep,” says Pelsinski. “Everything clicked at that moment.”
Pelsinski entered his chosen field as an intern at Diller Scofido. In 1995 he was a co-founder SPAN Architecture with Karen Stoneley. Whether it is a client’s commercial or residential project, the studio is committed to exploring new building techniques and construction details.
Never focused on solitary pursuits, Pelsinski is energized when working with his teammates. He is fascinated by each individual’s creative process and how their thoughts move from idea to completed structure in unique ways.
When his own inspiration strikes, Pelsinski will doodle and then start assembling. “There’s no better way to figure things out than to occasionally turn off the old mind and make things,” he notes. “Most design guesses aren’t even ideas when they come into your head, and since they’re not formed in the first place, we have to give them some space to come to life.”
Today, Peter Pelsinski is with us for Friday five!
Photo: Ant Farm (American, est. 1968), Curtis Schreier (American, b. 1944). DOLΦN EMB 2 (Embassy of Dolphins).
1974–1975. Brown line on hand. 18 x 22″ (45.7 x 55.9 cm). University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and
Pacific Film Library
1. Science/Science Fiction.
Science fiction. Science. Novel. Love them both together and apart. The wonder of man-made science is that it is supposed to objectively explain the world in inviolably logical (sorry Spock) terms. Architects and designers have traditionally loved science as a means of legitimizing aesthetic purpose. Perhaps not so surprisingly, science often gets human-observed “facts” wrong and creates a form of Science. Fiction- supposedly real but fictional at the same time. Like building embassies to communicate with Dolphins, the essence and perhaps the absurdity of the best plans lies in the serious simultaneous application of both.
Electric Tree Haircut \\\ Photo by P. Pelsinski
2. Natural/ Unnatural
Humans do a strange job of living with the world and its other life. We seem both constantly aware of the world through science and art, and inexplicably oblivious to having left our marks on it. There is still beauty in play when humans and nature interact. Occasionally mild but always opposite situation.
Photo: P. Pelsinski
3. Play
If it’s not play, it’s work. I vote for the game as an example. Play represents a lightness of activities done for enjoyment, rather than those done for “serious” or “practical” purposes. It’s great to make new connections in design.
Strange Weather \\\ Photo: P. Pelsinski
4. Shadows and Light
Tanizaki writes “In Praise of Shadow” about the dilemma of light and darkness, which he argues epitomizes the dichotomy between Eastern and Western values. AC Graylings beautifully sums up the value of Tanizaki’s insights as ‘..praise of all things delicate and delicate, everything softened by the shadows and patina of age, everything understated and natural, such as the grain patterns in old wood, the sound of rain dripping from eaves and leaves and garden washing. mosses growing for it – and in so doing suggests an attitude of appreciation and awareness, especially awareness of beauty, as central to the good life.’ Definitely a message for designers. The Sublime is very undefined, but the everyday phenomena of churning atmosphere and the shaping of light and wind convey so many qualities and evoke admiration, awe (even fear!) and can strike the mind with emotions that go beyond the simple qualities of beauty that are perhaps the cornerstone of aesthetics.
Photo: P. Pelsinski
5. Color
What can I say. It’s a shame people can’t see beyond the spectrum. But what we can see can be very beautiful.
Projects by SPAN Architecture with Peter Pelsinski:
The Bindery
A sculptural white stair volume and floating black treads distill the architecture to its most essential geometry, a quiet study in shadow, light and restraint.
Riverview
Dark walnut screens and open-tread steel staircases choreograph views of the surrounding landscape in this SPAN-designed residence built around the life of a globe-trotting family.
August moon
SPAN Architecture reimagined this 200-acre waterfront property as a biophilic retreat where custom interiors remain in constant dialogue with the surrounding forest and bay.
Dichroic Sky
A ceiling of two-tone glass panels shifts through a painterly spectrum as daylight moves, turning an ordinary upward glance into a kinetic art experience.
L. Samaras Homage Bathroom
A fully mirrored bathroom with polished chrome fixtures and suspended pipe elements creates an Infinity Room effect in direct homage to Lucas Samaras’ legendary mirrored environments.
