Tag Archives: Karin Payson
Karin Payson wins the Kirby Ward Fitzpatrick Prize 2013
The Architectural Foundation of San Francisco presents the Kirby Ward Fitzpatrick Prize every year to a small San Francisco architectural firm for design excellence. This year the prize has been awarded to Karin Payson for her work on the new Bayview Public Library.
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Karin Payson on Architectural Practice – Part 1
“Hugh Hardy once said to me that the problem with architects is a fear of drapery! Interior design is more tactile than architectural design… I think that many architects are afraid of this tactility. They’re afraid of color.
“Before I saw Aalto’s houses in their natural setting, I was married to the grid… [but] Aalto’s floor plans, while rigorous, did not use a grid. Instead, they focused on grabbing light, on nature, and on circulation.”
(Photo: Stephen Barker)
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
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Karin Payson on Architectural Practice – Part 2
“40% of my graduate class were women, but only 9% of licensed architects are women. You know where I think they are? Buried! A few years ago, Robert Venturi got the Pritzker Prize. He had a practice with his wife for over 30 years, co-wrote his books with her, but she wasn’t originally listed. So now, when he got the Pritzker Prize, she was ignored! It was a huge scandal, in my opinion.
“I don’t play therapist with my clients. I play teacher. I educate my clients about the possibilities. Sometimes clients don’t get it until they actually see the walls come down.
“I’m not interested in floor plans that are full of dead ends and pointy angles. In museums, I like simple floor plans. It makes for a more peaceful experience. I always know where I am.”
by Rebecca Firestone with Mark English AIA
