Design Philosophy

Interview with Peter Stafford MacDonald

by Irene Rawlings

Mountain Living Magazine

Mountain Living:  What is your design philosophy?

Peter Stafford MacDonald:  Talking about design and architecture is always

difficult. The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto once famously returned the

advance he had received from his  publisher after working on a book for

over a year.  He sent it with no transcript... just a note saying, "When i write

three words about architecture i inevitably come to understand that two

of them are wrong." (My paraphrase)  With that qualifier in mind, I will

speak briefly about how I approach design.

Another story about Aalto related to me by my theory professor when I

was in architectural school many years ago has influenced how I approach

design.  He said that when Aalto would begin to design he first would study

the problem intensely.  He would look at all the parameters from all directions

and explore every detail  of the programatic requirements.