Lady Liberty Enlightening the World
During my internship at Swanke Hayden Connell Architects in DC, I was privileged to be part of the team working on the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. I was the Liaison to the National Park Service and at times our French team. Thierry Despond, the Parisienne Architect, taught me the value of Transformational Architecture. The Flame of Liberty that Bartholdi had conceived was to be a solid copper form. Repeated attempts to make it a brighter beacon resulted in leaking and deterioration. This was solved by being faithful to Bartholdi's original concept; solid copper, gilded in gold, illuminated from the exterior. “Original ideas are transformational too”.
- Yves B Springuel AiA