Mr T talks about 2009

Our old acquaintance Mr. T dropped by our office yesterday to have a chat. Our faithful intern Felipe caught it mysteriously on tape and here follows the printed conversation.

Mr. T.
You call this an office?

AB
Well, this is what we can afford at the moment. We're actually quite proud of it.

Mr. T.
You don’t even have a terrace! Why don’t you move back to Buenos Aires, hadn’t you guys a rather decent place over there? Swimming pool on the roof and what else. Whats up with Sweden anyway, it is cold and dark all the time, and people have no ambition whatsoever, how can you stand to be a part of this country?

UM
It’s a great place to work in, because there are hardly any distractions and that keeps your motivation on a high level all the time. And comparing to the rest of northern europe the food is actually quite ok here, the music scene is world class, the only thing missing is great architecture but hey that is why we are here. What about yourself, where is your office located nowadays?

Mr. T.
I don't like to talk so much about myself, but I've inherited some piece of land in Costa Rica, and I have been digging out a big excavation there to make the earth more uneven so that the rotation will get disturbed and that will cause bigger waves, which is great, cause I'm a big surfer fan. Its all on a small scale now, but I have started a fundraiser group and who knows.

So guys, 2009, during this year your firm pops up more and more frequently on the internet and in the magazines, I was actually heading to Dubai this autumn and I was sitting there half-boozed out in my first class seat when your grotesque statue project stares at my face in the in-flight magazine. I lost my appetite completely I remember. But I loved it in some strange way. How come that you gained so much media attention this year? You guys have hardly realized anything and still you are one of the most published firms in Scandinavia.

AB
It started out with one or two projects that we got published on the leading architecture sites, and then we almost immediately got a lot of attention and various magazines and other sites wanted to be on our mailing list and asked for projects that they could publish. We make projects that are quite spectacular; therefore it also makes a good reading, and the magazines and their readers likes that of course.
We have just started to get our ideas realized, and you will see some villas and other projects getting erected in early 2010, and people will know that we are not just a paper project firm.

Mr. T.
Villas? You mean extensions of villas? That’s a huge difference there. A villa is a free-standing piece, which makes it higher up on the architectural ladder. Or am I wrong mister?

UM
Actually extensions are more complicated than a new free-standing house, both in adaptation and style. We are very happy with the outcome of our two extensions and those houses are necessary reinforcement to the Swedish architecture stockpile. We will send you images next months.

Mr. T.
That won’t be necessary; I’ll probably read about them in Archdaily or Designboom, you media sell-outs.
So you got two extensions? That’s all?

UM
Well, we also have three shoe shops and an outdoor facility for a big client in Stockholm among other things.

Mr. T.
Ok, sounds silly.
I see some sort of attitude change in your firm. You seem to have grown softer than before. Where have your criticism and wild heart gone? I’m quite worried actually.

AB
To be honest we are quite tired of people complaining about other architects, as always the criticism is turned against the famous architecture firms which honestly often are or was the people that have struggled the hardest for a brave new architecture. A lot of the famous and erected architecture of today could indeed be much greater, but it is mostly the unknown and commercial architecture mass that constantly bore our society with meaningless architecture that should be criticized. That rejected Wikipedia submission you sent us is perhaps not totally correct but it focus its criticism at the right people and that's why we published it.

Mr. T
Ok, I get your point, but what about your own projects? It seems like the infamous Swedish fade has struck you except for that hideous statue, the waterfall and the mushroom building. Why not any space shuttles or evil projects this year?

UM
That is true that we haven’t made any space shuttles this year, our clients could not afford it I’m afraid. We will try harder next year! What do you mean about “evil projects”? I cannot recall that we have made any of these.

Mr. T
Well I meant a bit more dark projects like that fly project you talked about, what happened to that? Are you self censuring your own blog now a days?

AB
Hmm well that was an experiment and we lost some vital documentation but it’s true we should publish it, so here are some pictures from it. We try to make a proper post out of it when we find time.

Mr. T
I like that one, so evil yet so noble to the birds! Keep those kinds of work going guys and maybe I could actually consider doing a project with you people again, after all, worthy collaborators are not growing on trees. Perhaps we could do that sun divider thing that we talked about? Do you still keep rum under your desk?

Ok thanks guys, got to split, but it was nice seeing you, I really mean it. But please, try harder next year. I want to see something marvelous; I know that you can do it and I’m looking forward to see your next year in the lime light. And don’t you dare to become cheesier, then I’ll be back to kick your ass. Where is my coat?