World Famous Architect Robert A.M. Stern on Architecture and Design: What Makes His Buildings Special? (#91)

Robert A.M. Stern, who designs the most sought after buildings in the world, shares how he sees architecture and design, and what makes his buildings so special that they regularly set records for the highest price per square foot, even when they're not in the best neighborhoods.

He explains how his buildings are informed by the past but situated in the future, how he sees detail and ornament as the grace notes of architecture, and how he favors second glance architecture, as opposed to “screamers”. The new J.P. Morgan building going up in New York City, he says, is “a screamer on Park Avenue and [may] be the final death of that once noble and coherent boulevard.” He also shares what and why he wants “to connect” and how making a building is a symphony.