Five decades of ambitious work has firmly established Richard Meier as a leading figure of contemporary American design. To celebrate the semi-centennial of the New York-based architect's practice, Taschen is publishing Meier, a comprehensive special edition of the Philip Jodidio-edited monograph that chronicles his entire body of work. Along with Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey, Michael Graves and John Hejdukell, Meier was a member of the ‘New York Five,’ a controversial group of architects who believed in the purity of architectural modernism, as pioneered by the likes of Le Corbusier. He is responsible for such eminent buildings as the sprawling Getty Center in Los Angeles and Rome’s iconic Jubilee Church. His work shows a deep concern for the ways in which light informs space and has won him plaudits from the American Institute of Architects and the prestigious Pritzker Prize. 

How would you say your approach to architecture has changed over the past 50 years?
Richard Meier: The principles that guide the work in our office are rooted in timeless, classical design issues such as context, site, order, and the use of natural light. We are always interested and fascinated by the natural light of every place and how it then translates into light and open buildings.

Looking back on your body of work, do any projects stand out as favorites? Are there any with particular personal significance?
RM: I studied Architecture at Cornell University, and, after working in the offices of Davis Brody, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Marcel Breuer, I started my own practice in my studio apartment in New York City. A year later, in 1967, I received a commission to design the Smith House in Connecticut, a project that marked the beginning of my career. The opportunity to design and build the Smith House clarified my ideas about the making of space, and the house attracted a certain amount of attention that made it possible to take on additional projects.

Tell us about your fascination with the color white.
RM: As far as I am concerned, white is all colors. If I look through my office window, and there is a brightness to the sky, one appreciates the density of that blue sky against the whiteness in my office; one appreciates all the colors of nature more clearly, by looking at the way in which the whiteness sort of bounces that color all around us.

What do you think is most quintessentially American in your designs?
RM: Fundamentally, my meditations are on space, form and light. My goal is presence, not illusion. I pursue it with unrelenting vigor and believe that is the heart and soul of architecture. Openness and clarity are characteristics that represent American architecture at its best, and they are the principles that I hope to bring to every design endeavor.