Daniel Libeskind – A virtuoso in architecture

The language of emotions
 

The zigzag contours of Libeskind’s buildings, his way of playing with light and his use of crystal-like forms all make his work so unique that it is impossible to confuse them with works by other architects. Fans of his architecture are fascinated by his unconventional solutions: sometimes, as is the case with the Jewish Museum in Copenhagen, his buildings do not have one single right angle, for example. Another source of fascination is the connection he makes between sculpture and architecture. Here, though, the focus of interest is not statues or works of art, which are merely decorative add-ons; rather, there is a kind of coexistence in which the sculptural objects supplement the architectural framework in which they are embedded, and vice-versa. On the other hand, critics of his work accuse him of basing his building designs on the reproducibility of the forms, and of making too heavy use of symbolism. They also argue that the outlines of building forms are excessively clear-cut, claiming that this distracts from the exhibits presented within them. 

Regardless of whether or not you like Libeskind’s buildings, one thing is clear: first and foremost, his architecture speaks its own language, and almost inevitably elicits a strong reaction. His unconventional forms reflect his own personal motto when it comes to designing buildings: “If architecture fails, if it is pedestrian and lacks imagination and power, it tells only one story, that of its own making: how it was built, detailed, financed. But a great building, like great literature or poetry or music, can tell the story of the human soul.”[12]

Monika Stefanek, April 2021