Richard Meier - The Getty Center (17_36)

Before that, even in Germany, you know, again because of the recognition from some of the smaller works, you know, people like Siemens and Dammler-Benz all asked me to do projects for them, you know, for fairly large scale office complexes. The Getty was an amazing experience in terms of the whole selection process. Since they didn't quite know what they were doing, they asked 110 architects to send a resume and samples of their work for them to review. They had a professional advisory committee that went through all the brochures and out of the 110, selected 30 architects. So then from the 30, they asked for more information and recommendations and an interview. And so from the 30, they then selected 9, and they disbanded that first committee and had a second committee, which was composed of members of the Board of Trustees and other advisors. And they went to all of the 9 to look at a building and to come to the office, and from that they selected 3. And with the 3, they went, every member of the committee came to the office at different times, they had to show them different projects. I remember going to Atlanta 3 times with different people to show them the High Museum, and went to Frankfurt. They went everywhere. I mean, they traveled around the world. And after a year of this, finally I was chosen as architect. Who were the other two? Jim Sterling and Maki were the other two finalists. Dr. Johnson was there too? And so that was the beginning of the Getty. And that took a year. And I remember when I, it was a Sunday night, I was sitting at home with my children, Joseph and Anna, we were having dinner and the phone rang, and it was Harold Williams, who was the president of the Getty Trust, and he called to say, Richard, we're very happy to tell you that the Board of Trustees has finally chosen you as the architect for the Getty. And I said, that's great, Harold. That's wonderful. And he said, do you think we could have the building completed in 3 years? He says, it's taken a year to select the architect. I don't think we're, we don't even have a program for what we're going to build there. I don't think we're going to complete it in 3 years. I said, but maybe in 12 years. It would be finished. It took 12 years. That took 3 years, just to move the earth. But it was worth it. If you go there today, it's amazing. It's really, if ever I'm seriously depressed, I should just get on a plane and go to the Getty.