Alumnus Tszwai So in conversation with Hugh Pearman

Friends and Fellows were present for the opening of a very special exhibition in the Combination Room. Following on from the recent Joseph Joseph exhibition — which also displayed the work of an alumnus — Emotional Architecture: transforming responses to space.

"In this exhibition Tszwai So was invited to trace his ideas from their origins through their transformation to the finished buildings, and we find, unexpectedly, that he is inspired as much by observing people as by studying and recording buildings or architectural details. There is a remarkable sensitivity to the emotional attachment his clients and their communities have to the environment he designs for them, including the space around and the space enclosed by his buildings. His thoughtful, considered approach to his building design is philosophical and artistic."

During their conversation, they discussed whether Tszwai approaches his work as an artist or an architect, why charcoal is his preferred medium for drawing, and how he approaches each project based on the needs of the client. Tszwai also related how he came to design his award-winning Belarusian Chapel and Pan-European memorial.