Homogenization, Architecture and Mr. Man
Today i went for dinner at my uncle's place, and as i sat down at the table, i saw the very characteristic yellow borders of a national geographic magazine peeking out from the book pile. Carefully pulling it out and leaving the others untouched, i realized that this was the "travel edition" of national geographic. The merits of having a photographer uncle and an aunt who likes to travel and buy strange ornate byzantine looking lamps is that they leave these good short reads lying around the house. Didnt know nat geo produced more than one type of magazine. Anyway the cover read, "America's TUSCANY, villas, vineyards, fine food, and old friends. And no passport required."sounds wondrous aye, but it wasnt the living on a vineyard estate, the bourgeoisie raisins in port, wine on the patio(which by the way probably spans acres) and wife carrying sourdough scene that caught my attention.
you can tell all that from the photo? suuure. Well neither did the other titles "Last real Africa- On safari in zambia" or "turkey's magic carpet ride" send me flipping through the pages with anticipation for what i might observe. Instead, it was an interview with a Washington based architect Travis Price- who i quote, "once built a windmill on a new york city rooftop- was an alternative-energy consultant to the Carter Administration...and who teaches Spirit of Place, a multi disciplinary program that enables architecture students to research, design and construct projects in remote locations as a team." that was rather inspiring.
now if u know me well, im quite the conventionalist, and am not a fan of an even bigger one sitting on top of a new york city rooftop. Neither am i a dedicated supporter of the go green movement that would actively seek to reduce the drain of oil and pollutants by constructing the world's largest solar office buliding in Chattanooga(wherever that is) like he has.
and so, it was the answers to the questions " you grew up in places like Georgia, Panama, Germany. Has authenticity been lost in those places?" and "what should we look for in a well designed structure?" which really got me going.
To the first question, he says "Sadly, everything has morphed into generica, it seems. (what an accurate way to describe things! I look for an ungay word that means gush but cannot find it.) I see Europeans looking more like hip-hop Americans than i see Americans looking like Europeans. This flimsy sort of homogenization has begun to put a bogus veneer over everything. That kind of subtle soft, washing away of diversity is a problem. Its dangerous for all the arts, but particularly for architecture. You go to Paris and see a Gap store. You go to Tokyo and see a Gap store. It seems to me that people dont care enough about homogenization or the lack of authenticity. When you try to take it, you put a phony neocolonial front on a resort, or you create the silliness of a Tuscan village ten miles from Las Vegas. That desperation to decorate drowns the human spirit, desensitizes you to genunie cultural differences and the power of nature."
and to the second question of "what should we look for in a well-designed structure?" he replies: First, you want to feel that a place creates the sense of being a temple. Its your home, your sanctuary. The second ingredient is a relationship with nature. Natural rythms must be a big part of a well-built space; its an indoor-outdoor experience that reminds you you're not in a fossil-fuel cocoon. The third part is that architecture should reflect the period you live in, unless of course, its a great historic place. When you're building new, you really have to embrace modern industrial technology. Otherwise, you're creating a false sense of the past. Combine those attributes, and you have contemporary authenticity. The spirit of place is evoked. "
Now how well crafted is that. The bottom line is, i love his cry for contemporary authenticity. You dont hear concepts like that these days, plus its so elegantly put. The ability to preach such depth through what was probably a verbal interview is definitely something.
http://www.travispricearchitects.com/ is Travis Price's architectural website. It has quite a dramatic entrance scene but i havent had time to look through it yet..will have soemtime soon i hope!
posted by gneh-snah @ 5:44 AM
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