Dominique Perrault: The landscape in Ult-
zama is truly magnificent…
Pachi Mangado: Yes, that is why it is dif-
ficult to raise a building here. I was interested
in this estate because it had wonderful quali-
ties. In fact, the most complicated part of the
project was the discussion with the architect
of the regional government on how to main-
tain it. He wanted me to build a conventional
house identical to those in the valley, made
of red brick. It took me months to convince
him of the fact that one of the main char-
acteristics of the architectural landscape is
density, and how to manage it respectfully.
Architecture is part of the landscape and not
something imposed, and color is not what’s
important; what’s important is the idea of
compactness.
DP: Yes, I was imagining some kind of un-
«Here they give the go-ahead
to any urban arrangement
with small houses just because
they are white and red, and
that is stupid because it
destroys the landscape»
derground architecture. There’s the woods,
there’s the river… and we must know how to
protect the landscape and live in it. That is
why I think one can adapt to the landscape
and make the most of its topography. With-
out touching anything.
PM: There is one incredible thing though:
here they give the go-ahead to any urban
arrangement with small houses, fragmen-
tation, just because they are white and
red. That is stupid because it destroys the
landscape. The idea is to preserve density
and compactness. This building has stables,
tracks, the caretaker’s house… if I had com-
partmentalized all of them it would have
been a disaster.
DP: That’s what’s important about large
volumes. In a large volume it’s important
to share, and that is the key: sharing. It is
an ideological and political matter. If you
make many small buildings: my small house,
my small car…, there’s no sharing. Now, in
Paris, we are developing the project to unify
the whole region, the Grand Paris. Evidently
it will be complicated because there will al-
ways be a battle between the richer western
areas and the more modest eastern sections
of the city. But it is really a good idea. We
must invent or find a structure to let twelve
million inhabitants coexist. It is a matter
