Siamak Hariri: How do you build a sacred space?
Siamak Hariri: Come si costruisce un luogo sacro?
Siamak Hariri holds deep respect for the transformative potential of architecture, specializing in creating works of enduring value. Full bio
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that I studied at some 30 years ago
ho studiato circa 30 anni fa
from the wonderful art gallery
alla magnifica galleria d'arte
architect Louis Kahn.
architetto Louis Kahn.
and I used to visit it quite often.
e lo visitavo molto spesso.
across the concrete wall.
con la mano il muro di cemento.
was moved by the building
si era fatta trasportare dall'edificio,
a reaction of the heart.
the emotional response.
alla reazione emotiva.
an open call for designs
di gara aperto a tutti,
il Tempio Bahá'í in Sudamerica.
in all of South America.
di tutto il Sudamerica.
for the Bahá'í community,
per la comunità Bahá'í,
of the continental temples
dei templi dei continentali
for national and local temples to be built
di templi nazionali e locali
nine entrances, nine paths,
nove entrate, nove percorsi
from all directions,
al tempio da tutte le direzioni,
in the Bahá'í faith.
nel credo Bahá'í.
altro che alzare muri,
esprimere in forma
walks of life, backgrounds,
ceti sociali e background,
churches for Christianity
chiese per il Cristianesimo
al giorno d'oggi?
what's sacred today?
cosa è sacro?
from the Bahá'í writings,
frase dagli scritti Bahá'í,
attraverso la preghiera
which is already very interesting --
che di per sé è già molto interessante,
will become ashine.
risplenderanno.
of the inner and the outer,
dell'interiore e dell'esteriore,
and you say, "That person is radiant."
e dici, "Quella persona è radiosa."
how could we make something
possiamo ricavare da tutto ciò
it becomes alive.
dalla luce, diventa vivo."
da due strati, traslucidi
che catturasse la luce.
a single form of emanation
forma di emanazione
was looking too much like an egg.
a fare assomigliava troppo a un uovo.
letting the process take you,
dove ci si fa prendere dal processo,
of a plant moving in light,
di una pianta che si muoveva alla luce,
could have reach,
potesse essere
could mean movement and stillness,
potesse essere movimento e immobilità,
per quanto umanamente possibile,
as is humanly possible,
well, what is perfection?
quindi, cos'è la perfezione?
of this Japanese basket
nell'immagine di questo cesto giapponese
of perfection need to be challenged,
che la nostra idea occidentale
of this basket, this wonkiness,
di quel cesto, la sua instabilità,
of what you might imagine a shoulder
che si può immaginare per una spalla
e a fare modelli,
folding but torquing --
dei ripiegamenti,
and the way it was reaching.
in cui si protendeva verso l'alto.
an interesting form,
una forma interessante,
were received from 80 countries,
da 80 Paesi,
of how to build it.
come costruirlo.
many experiments with materials,
tanti esperimenti con i materiali,
this kind of shimmer,
a questo tipo di scintillio,
as you know, is very strong,
sapete, è molto resistente,
just so and melt them
e si fondono
about two years to make.
per cui ci vollero due anni di lavoro.
something with a soft light,
con una luce tenue,
but on the inside you touch it.
ma all'interno è a contatto con te.
in a huge quarry in Portugal
in un'immensa cava in Portogallo
for seven generations in his family,
nella sua famiglia per sette generazioni,
if you can believe it.
riuscite a crederci?
it has that translucent quality.
è semitrasparente.
all individual shapes,
tutte modellate individualmente,
with aerospace technology,
con tecnologia aerospaziale,
of our $30 million budget
del nostro budget di 30 milioni di dollari
to that beautiful quote,
a quella bellissima frase,
of mysterious ways.
nei modi più misteriosi.
14 years ago when we made the submission,
quando consegnammo il progetto,
set against the Andes.
con le Ande sullo sfondo.
where we ended up,
dove ci siamo ritrovati,
nothing but pure nature,
nella natura incontaminata,
nothing but the city below you,
la città ai tuoi piedi,
in tutte le direzioni,
d'inaugurazione:
from all over South America,
da tutto il Sudamerica,
lasciato i propri villaggi.
belongs to people,
appartiene alla gente,
and walks of life,
ed estrazione sociale,
is what it feels like on the inside;
è l'effetto che fa dall'interno;
as that security guard,
di quella guardia di cui parlavo,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Siamak Hariri - ArchitectSiamak Hariri holds deep respect for the transformative potential of architecture, specializing in creating works of enduring value.
Why you should listen
Siamak Hariri is a founding Partner of Hariri Pontarini Architects, a 120 person practice based in Toronto. His portfolio of nationally and internationally recognized buildings has won over 60 awards, including the Governor General’s Medal in Architecture, celebrated as one of Canada’s Artists who mattered most by the Globe and Mail and with his Partner David Pontarini, the 2013 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Architectural Firm Award.
One of Hariri's earliest HPA projects, the Canadian headquarters of McKinsey & Company, is the youngest building to receive City of Toronto heritage landmark designation. He has recently completed public and private projects include the award-winning Richard Ivey Building, Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University, the Jackman Law Building for the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, the Schulich School of Business at York University and the Integrated Health Sciences campus, with the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy and the McMaster University Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine in downtown Kitchener.
In the fall of 2016, Hariri completed a project he began in 2003, the Bahá’í Temple of South American, located in Santiago, Chile, the last of the Bahá’í continental temples. Won through an international call and a rigorous design competition (185 entries from 80 countries) the temple is poised to become an architectural landmark at the foothill of the Andes. It has already won some of the top architecture awards including the RAIC Innovation Award, the World Architecture News Best Building of the Year (selected by ninety-seven judges around the world); Architect Magazine’s Progressive Architecture Award (architecture’s top unbuilt projects award); the Canadian Architect’s Award of Excellence; the International Property Awards and was profiled by National Geographic Magazine.
Hariri is currently working on the complex Princess Margaret Space Transformation Project and has recently won two international design competitions, the first, the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, and the second, selected from over 92 international architects, for the new Tom Patterson Theatre, poised to become the heart of the Stratford Festival.
Born in Bonn, Germany, Hariri was educated at the University of Waterloo and Yale University where he completed a Master of Architecture. He has taught at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, as well as been a lecturer and guest critic for numerous organizations across North America. Hariri was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Architecture from Ryerson University for his contribution to architecture in Canada and abroad. The University of Toronto also honored him with an Arbor Award for his contribution to the University experience as a lecturer and adjunct professor. Hariri lives in Toronto with his artist wife, Sasha Rogers and their three children; Lua, Yasmin and David.
Siamak Hariri | Speaker | TED.com