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Stefan Behnisch on UCU’s New Architectural Gem (end)

Aug 22, 2017 | Featured

Mariya Chubata for NP-UN.

From the previous issue.

This is your first project in Ukraine, with a Ukrainian partner. How was this experience?

I find that it is always rewarding to work with intelligent people and in a university you meet the most intelligent people. I did not come with specific expectations. I understand that this is Central Europe, which has a different history than Western Europe, and I know there is a German-Ukrainian past, which, to be honest, is a very difficult one. There is the new Ukrainian-Russian experience that influences society greatly. I think I knew what to expect, and I understood the necessity to both acknowledge and overcome the separation of generations. It is important to have these separations of generations to grow.

Honestly, I did expect more problems than I encountered. I expected a sadder overall situation than it is. Lviv is a welcoming city, interesting, unspoiled.

We decided to work with Julian Chaplinsky and his bureau because our experience has shown that this type of partnership will work well. We have found that it is always better to work with someone, who has not had much experience, but who considers a project to be very interesting, rewarding and a step forward. I find it to be a big mistake to work with someone who has had a huge amount of experience. They think that if they have built ten libraries, then they know everything about libraries. However, a library at the Ukrainian Catholic University is different from a library in Toronto. We had an excellent partner, one who was excited, believed that this was a good project for them, not just routine. Therefore, our working relationship was very good.

Apart from the changes in media in libraries, we also see that we now have a different generation of students than the generations before. How was that reflected in the building concept?

I belong to the older generation. Now we have the generation that does not remember Soviet times. Now we have a generation that, probably, is more oriented to Central Europe than to the East, especially here in Lviv, in Western Ukraine. There are people from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania on my team. We have become very international. For my generation, it made a difference where you came from. For this younger generation, it is more important to know how old you are. Their peer attitude is more international than that of my generation. Now we are talking about the so-called Generation Z, for example. It is the highest educated generation on this planet. While they are very strong individuals, who know what they want, they also are more into projects and working together as good collaborators, and they are loyal to brands and companies. They have a more assertive self-definition than my generation. This change has a big implication on how universities will function in the future and the types of facilities that we will have to provide. I think, the learning center is exactly the right thing. There is room for individual study, but more than ever before, there is emphasis on various types of common working spaces where people can meet and work on projects in groups, work and learn collaboratively.

With such a shift in generations, what changes will be made in education?

I am an architect, so therefore maybe not the right person to advise any educators about what to do. I think they know better than I do. I work for many universities in the United States. I think that a big misunderstanding, especially in the US, is the thought that a university is about the building environment. A university really is more a spiritual entity, it is an idea. A good university is not good only because it has great buildings, although great buildings may help raise a university’s popularity. Buildings are important, but, in general, good universities are built around a good idea, evolve around a good concept, a good teaching concept. Education should respond to the needs of society, of young people. A student is a person who will transform our societies in the future. It is not necessarily about influence, but about how can we give them the best opportunities to develop what is in them, rather than changing them. That, I think, is the main difference between classical and modern education. During the last ten years, we have had more innovation, more patents than in all of the 6,000 years before. So, how can we hope even to foresee how the future will develop, a challenge we may not fully meet? I have read that 60% of the professions that will exist in 2050 are not yet known. We have no idea what these professions will be. How can I teach young people about a new profession, if I do not even know what will exist in 60 years? Therefore, all we can do is prepare young people to be open and to develop their inner resources, give them tools, confidence to meet change and new challenges.

What are the main challenges that architects face these days?

The primary challenge is that the building and construction industry is the most conservative industry, probably next to lawyers. The industry is very inflexible. People always want to do what they have done for the past 20, 30 years. For example, builders are trained to install air-conditioning automatically, even if not necessary. Mechanical engineers think we should not open windows, instead, just crank up the AC. Another challenge is that older people are being asked to think about and decide what younger people might need, often with little or no input from the young. That is a challenge. I consider myself fortunate. I am in a profession where we always work for different clients. We have to be flexible. There are people in my office who are the same age as my children. Therefore, I know what they are thinking. To overcome some of these obstacles, I think it is important not to focus only on what you have been trained to do, do not focus only on your previous experiences and repeat, but be critical of your experience. Understand what went right, but also what went wrong. That is the challenge in the building industry that we must meet.

The opening of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Center will take place as part of UCU’s Week of Celebration, marking the culmination of the university’s first and successful seven-year Comprehensive Campaign. For more information please call Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF) office at: 416-239-2495 or visit a web-page: ucef.ca

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