Interview with Wesley Wei FAIA,
Principle, Wesley Wei Architects, Philadelphia
By Will Ngo 4th year student
Units: You graduated from Penn State in 1976 with a B. Arch. What stands out as particularly memorable from your years in the architecture department at Penn State?
Wesley Wei: Probably the most important thing I learned from my professors is how much I didn’t know, and that once you commit yourself to a discipline, it’s a long journey…a lifelong pursuit. Studying five years is just the beginning. At Penn State, Julian Weiss, Roy Vollmer, and especially Lou Inserra were very, very important professors for me. Lou, in particular, was a great, great teacher, very committed and passionate about his craft. He was the one who inspired me to consider teaching.
Units: Was there any point during the program when you thought it was the wrong commitment?
WW: No, never. From the very beginning I knew it was what I wanted to do. How I defined what it was I was going to do within the discipline was another matter. I had to find out for myself the specific direction I would take.
Units: Did you find that much of this direction came through your undergraduate work or later on?
WW: Some of my interests in tectonics, structure, and materiality were inspired very early on by my professors. It was a very different time; Kahn was still alive, and the reality of the master architect was still very much alive. We studied Corbu, Alto, Mies, and Kahn, whereas today’s education doesn’t seem to rely as heavily on the masters and their bodies of work.
Units: Can you share some of the reasons you went to the University of Pennsylvania for your M.Arch?
WW: At the time, I was interested in Kahn’s work, but also interested in (Robert) Venturi’s work. He presented a counterpoint to the modern and quite a few people from his office were teaching at Penn. I had the good fortune of having Bob on several juries of my work and always appreciated what he had to say.
Units: Have you ever worked for anyone else?
WW: Of course. I worked with small offices and large offices just to get various experiences before going out on my own.
Units: How did you decide to form your own firm?
WW: I’ve always had an independent side and wanted to do two things that occurred simultaneously. At the time, I had a few small projects and wanted to go out on my own when Raniero Corbelletti called me to see if I was interested in teaching. That was my first actual teaching position, and I was at Penn State from 1981 to 1987. That was a very important time personally because I learned how to teach next to great professors and colleagues like Lou Inserra. We were all able to hone our skills, which is exactly what Corbelletti wanted us to do.
Units: How would you describe your practice?
WW: It’s a small practice. We focus on intimate projects that we’re able to study very well and detail very well. Right now we’re primarily focused on residential projects, and some community-based projects.
Units: How have you managed to keep your practice small?
WW: It’s by choice. Since I’m involved with everything, I like the scale of smaller projects and the opportunity to work with a number of young architects.
Units: Has there been any pressure to grow?
WW: Not really. If I wanted to grow, I would just pursue projects and types of work that would mandate more staff and a bigger office, but that’s not my interest.
Units: What are some of your current projects?
WW: Quite a few different residential projects. Beautiful houses in the city here, one of which will be one of the great private homes on Rittenhouse Square. We’re also working on community-based projects, prototype houses, and affordable houses for New Kensington.
Units: Your firm has won numerous awards. How has this type of recognition affected your office?
WW: I think being recognized for one’s design work is hopefully an acknowledgement that we’re doing something right, and our work has value. That’s very rewarding and I think that some potential clients respond to that type of publicity.
Units: What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
WW: Professionally, I don’t think I have a single, greatest accomplishment. When I look at my work over the past twenty years… it’s not just the architecture. I think I’ve done some good teaching, and I’m very proud of the times when my former students find their own voice and do some good things.
Units: What about your greatest accomplishment outside of the profession?
WW: Being a father—everything else pales in comparison.
Units: How does a Penn State education prepare students for work in an office?
WW: Although I don’t like to generalize, I have found some Penn State students have a great work ethic that I think is a particularly important quality to have in a small office. Here everyone has to be almost good at everything. There isn’t the room for people to specialize. Everyone has to be able to draw well, model well, conceptualize well, research well, talk on the phone well... The thing that’s unique to my office is we do a lot of construction and fabrication for my projects. Our office space here was primarily made by us—we did the construction, finishing, painting... People who work with me tend to be very skilled in the craft of making.
Units: How does making fit into a student’s architectural education?
WW: The issue of making as a point of inquiry in architecture is a very broad one. Obviously thinking about making and the consequences of that action are difficult to avoid, because as architects that’s really what we’re doing…choreographing the means by which materials come together in some kind of artful way. The architects I have always admired the most know how to build well, they know how to detail well, they understand materials. For me there’s an ethical position as well. There’s a responsibility towards quality, a responsibility towards weathering, and having a building detailed and designed to persist over time. In my office, we just have a desire to make things and that’s why we build a lot. We see making as an extension of what we do.
Units: How has the architecture education/profession changed since you graduated?
WW: I think the biggest problem is the inability of many graduates to draw by hand and sketch. I see a trend and shift towards the use of computers, which is leading to more than a few graduates who can’t see or visualize through their drawings. Not that I have a problem using computers in my office (gesturing to rows of computers that run through the center of the office). I still think there’s a problem, although I’m glad to see there still remains a strong tradition of drawing by hand at Penn State.
Units: Congratulations on being named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (in May 2002). Have you found the AIA to be useful for you as an architect with a small office?
WW: As a professional organization, the AIA affords, through its different committees, a means by which one can contribute to various causes and community service within the architectural discipline. Also I think camaraderie with other architects is a good thing periodically, and that the design award is a good forum to recognize responsible design.
Units: In 1994, you were awarded a Rome Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome and the Pew Charitable Trust. What is your advice to students studying overseas today?
WW: Don’t sleep a lot, keep your eyes open. The most important things to bring are a camera, sketchbook, and tape measure. Rather than taking the postcard shots, look at details. If you’re walking up steps and they feel good, measure them. Draw a profile of the steps. Draw a section of the steps. Don’t draw a postcard picture. Measure how things are working. Do something that’s empirical, something you can recall later on. Why is it a good railing or why is the door that you’ve just walked through such a beautifully proportioned door? What are the proportions? Do an analysis of spaces and buildings. Measure piazzas, go to ruins. Analyze why spaces work, why they don’t work, and learn how to really use your power of observation to appreciate what you’re seeing.