Jordi Viñals y Xavier Bosch: We are doing some research into the project of Frankfurt Römerberg. But to approach the matter itself, let’s talk before about your general experiences as an architect. You were born in 1934 in Worms (Germany), you studied at the Technische Schule in Darmstadt, you worked with Candilis-Josic-Woods from 1962 to 1973 and you have also been invited to many universities all around the world to give lectures in the 70’s. Nowadays, looking back to those days, which moments or decisions changed the development of your career?
Manfred Schiedhelm: Heavy question! We worked in Paris, which was a huge influence on our work. You know, the daily life in Paris’ streets and cafés and theaters…all this was very important. And we were a group of very international people. I mean, all the young people who worked at Candilis office. There were Japanese, Polish, Irish, English, American, and so on, and that has had a lot of influence on me.
JV & XB: But was there a concrete moment, a specific decision that you took, a competition, a person…
MS: I think it’s more continuous, a continuous influence that you get. Thinking, discussing with people and of course in Team X it always happened like that. Team X was very important because it was a permanent exchange, not only every year but also in-between. We wrote letters and discussed things. I had a very close relationship with the Smithsons, with Alison…
JV & XB: … and Le Corbusier? How did he at the time influence your career?
MS: Big! Big! Of course he was very present in Paris, although he didn’t have too much to do in the city. But, we went from place to place every Sunday, we went around to look at his buildings, which was really good. I was also very much influenced by Marcel Lods, who is not very known but I think he was very influential.
JV & XB: And you worked with him, didn’t you?
MS: Yes, I worked with him. And he made this Marché de Clichy, this market placed in Clichy, have you seen that? You should! This was a fabulous building for the time. It was built in 1939 I think, and was made in collaboration with Jean Prouvé. And this building, it could move the roof, it could move the floor slabs, it could move a wall around…it was fantastic! It was more a sort of mechanic in architecture, in the good sense!
JV & XB: What do you think about the CIAM platform and the relation between Team X and its theories. How did all this affect you?
MS: Oh, it was the 10th Congress. The 10th CIAM Congress was the decisive moment when Bakema, Candilis and the Smithsons decided to split up with Le Corbusier. It is the young generation who said “we don’t want that anymore!” I have to admit that the theories of CIAM were not fitting the reality anymore. They were just a mechanical way of looking at architecture. What I learned from Team X and his discussions was always that it sees history, not like the postmodernists, but it sees the history as a lesson from which you can go further in architecture without copying the stuff but learning about how people live together and what they did with architecture. That was very important! We almost always met in tiny little towns too. We met and walked around and looked at them which brought us inside of discussion immediately.
JV & XB: And talking about the C-J-W partnership, Candilis and Woods started a close relationship in Marseille and Morocco, and Josic met them later in Paris…
MS: They had a close relationship like that!! (crashing hands and showing tension)
JV & XB: Yes!! But what role did they each have in the partnership?
MS: Candilis was the bossman. He was Greek-Armenian and was a merchant. He could sell things and he bought the stuff in the office. And without him there would have never been that group. Whereas Woods, he was more the thinker, you know, Anglo-Saxon. He had not studied architecture…
JV & XB: he studied philosophy I think…
MS: Yes. I had lots of troubles with him at that moment. Working with a non-architect is okay when you discuss things. But when it comes down to building stuff, it is different! And Josic, he was very easy-going, a fantastic guy. He was also an essential part.
