This publication offers a detailed overview of the New York City-based firm Morris Adjmi Architects' extensive practice.
A Grid and a Conversation presents a survey of work by the New York City-based firm Morris Adjmi Architects, well known for the Samsung building along the High Line and the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Morris Adjmi Architects interpret the complex forces that shape our cities to create buildings that are contextual but unmistakably contemporary. Deeply embedded in the firm's practice is a belief in the Renaissance tradition of architecture, wherein buildings are inextricable from their cultural situation and intellectual function. With a rapidly rising profile and projects under construction in major cities across America, Morris Adjmi Architects are building on their previous ten-year partnership with the Italian architect, designer and scholar Aldo Rossi, with an understanding that the built environment is constantly evolving as it both absorbs and reacts to greater historical narratives. Within the post-industrial areas and landmarked districts where the office often practices, this rich inheritance unfolds through a distinctive formal language and creative use of materials inspired by its urban milieu.From unexpected twists on classic building types like the all-glass interpretation of a cast-iron facade or the ghostly metallic duplicate of a brick warehouse, to the literally twisting steel tower that embodies the collision of Manhattan's two primary street grids, this text traces the development and distillation of MA's unique practice through key projects completed during its first 20 years. A Grid and a Conversation is interlaced with reflections from writers, scholars and collaborators including Diane Ghirardo, Bill Higgins and Jimmy Stamp. These essays and conversations offer an insight into the array of influences that shape the work of Morris Adjmi Architects. These include the inspiration of visual artists like Donald Judd or Rachel Whiteread, the importance of embracing civic issues like historic preservation, and how the firm synthesises tradition and innovation to design buildings that are imbued with a sense of place and purpose.
