Richard Meier - Meeting Le Corbusier (4/36)

After I finished Cornell, studying architecture, I went into the army for six months. And when I got out, I decided, I took my little portfolio of student work, decided I would go to Europe, work for somebody. And I went first to Israel, I traveled around Israel, and looked at the work being done there, and met architects, and was offered a job. But since it was the first place I went, I didn't really want to stay there. You know, I wanted to move on, so I went to Greece. Saw architects, saw architecture, had a great time. And then went to Rome, and spent a month or two in Rome, traveling around, going to Florence, went north to Milan. And, of course, it's not so easy for a foreigner to work in Italy, so when I carried my portfolio of student works, they all said, oh, that's interesting, but, you know, it's hard to work here. So I left Rome, and I went to Germany. Traveled through and looked at Baroque churches, met architects. I wasn't offered any work in Germany. I really wanted to go and work in France and work for Le Corbusier. So when I went to Paris, I knocked on Le Corbusier's door at 35 Rue de Sevres, and they said, what do you want? He interviewed for a job. Get out of here. We don't do that. But anyway, went back the next day, knocked on the door, same thing happened. So I decided, oh, I'll just go and look at things in Paris while I'm here. I went to see the Cité University, the Swiss Pavilion of Le Corbusier, other things. And I happened to be there at the Cité University the day of the opening of the Maison du Brésil building Le Corbusier did with Lucia Costa. And it was an opening ceremony, and Le Corbusier was there. It was early. So I went up and introduced myself, and I explained to him that I was trying to get to see him, to come and work for him. We were sitting on this bench in the lobby, preparing for the opening event. And he explained to me why he would not have an American in his office, which went back to the League of Nations competition, which he was disqualified because he used the wrong kind of ink. And then United Nations, when his sketchbooks were lost and American interests sort of didn't appreciate his talent. He was supposed to have a show at the Museum of Modern Art, which was canceled because that's the beginning of the war, and that never happened. And then at UNESCO in Paris, he was supposed to do the project, but it went to Marcel Breuer instead. So he was angry against American interests, and therefore he wouldn't have an American in his office. So I left, and I came back and worked for Skidmore and St. Merrill for six months. And then I went to work for Marcel Breuer, where I stayed until I opened my own office. I had slept in one room, and I worked in the other room. Not really an office, but I called it an office.