James Harkrider founded Studio D+FORM’s New York City office in 2000 as a practice dedicated to the design and construction of modern structures and spaces that are considerate of and appropriate for the environments and contexts in which they exist. Since its inception, Studio D+FORM has completed a variety of commercial and residential projects throughout New York City, California and Texas. D+FORM maintains studios in both New York City and Austin, Texas and its work has been featured in national publications such as Architectural Record and The New York Times.
Meet James Harkrider’s Home: 2011 Peach Tree Street
Go to Modern Home Tour Featured Architects
An Interview with James Harkrider
Q: What is it about architecture in general and modern architecture in particular that excites you enough to make it your profession?
A: Of all of the visual arts, architecture interested me the most since it is the one medium in which the final product is a built environment that people can experience and use over time instead of being a tactile object that one may experience for only a brief moment in time. The most appealing aspect of modern architecture is that all design elements and materials serve a function thus it is devoid of gratuitous decoration.
Q: Tell us something about you or your work that differentiates you and/or your work?
A: Having had to opportunity to work in such varied environments and contexts as we have has provided us an invaluable breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from when approaching each new project. It is my hope that these various influences show in our work.
Q: Give us your list of the five buildings, anywhere in the world, that have most inspired your design philosophy.
A:
1. Grain silos in the Texas Panhandle.
2. Adobe structures in the Southwestern United States.
3. Robert Bruno’s steel house in Lubbock, TX
4. The Schindler House in Los Angeles, CA
5. The Empire State Building in New York City
Q: In 500 words or less, describe what you would do, architecturally, to Austin if you could design it to be your dream city.
A: With the upcoming F1 United States Grand Prix 2012, and the 1st annual Food & Wine Magazine sponsored Austin Food & Wine Festival, Austin seemingly appears to be on a trajectory towards striving to be considered a world class city. If this is the case, then in my opinion it must eventually build world class cultural venues just as other smaller cities throughout the world have done to achieve such status. A good example would be Bilbao, Spain which had no international exposure prior to the completion of the Guggenheim Museum, which has since put it on the map as an international art and architecture destination.
James – Congratulations on being selected to showcase your project at the upcoming Modern Home Tour Austin. I love the clean lines of your design…hope to be able to see it in person. All the best to you.