One really could imagine lesser occasions to take up the camera and never abandon it: in 1954 Phyllis Lambert was vacationing in Rome and in her mind sought to determine what the Seagram Building might look like, how it might fit into the fabric of New York. Inspired by this process she began to take closer looks at the buildings surrounding her through the camera lens, observing their qualities, their connection to ground and city as well as the details that made some of them stand out above others.
Later and back in New York she would become the Seagram’s planning director and monitor its construction also through her camera which by now had become her constant companion. In the decades following Lambert became a real photography buff, carrying around all sorts of lenses in order to be able to zoom in or out on buildings, people, cities and landscapes. Together with her friend, the well-known architectural photographer Richard Pare, she later also built up the photography collection of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the institution she essentially founded.
With “Phyllis Lambert. Observation Is a Constant That Underlies All Approaches” Lars Müller Publishers recently released the first ever overview of Lambert’s decades-long camera observations. In a handy format, a nod to Lambert’s preference for small cameras and nowadays the iPhone, the book presents some 300 photographs taken all around the world. The photographs alternate between personal snapshots of friends and colleagues, iconic buildings and structures, architectural details and even an occasional mirror selfie. What Lambert teaches us, in keeping with the book’s title, is the essential importance of observation: no matter if its an architectural projects, a trip, a conversation or just a relaxing moment in the own living room, observation is an activity that helps us understand, appreciate and situate ourselves in the world. An important realization that pervades every page of this beautiful book!
