Going home.

Ben and me at Mühlekram, Neuthal, Switzerland. Photo: D. Moedinger. Jan 2011.

Ben at Mühlekram, Neuthal, Switzerland. Jan 2011.

While in Switzerland, we were lucky enough to visit the original Wäber homestead of Mühlekram, in Neuthal. Though we discovered that the house had been rebuilt in the 1830s, the land was still in agricultural use, over 300 years after our ancestors left. The area was [up until recently] inhabited mostly by weavers, hence our ancestors' surname, and my brother Ben's and my middle name: Weaver. They were forced off their land because of their religious beliefs [Mennonite], which ran counter to the state churches [both Catholic and Protestant]. Our great-X11 grandfather was imprisoned for 18 months in Zürich, the family lost their farm, and after fleeing through Germany, they settled with several other families in Lancaster, PA in the first quarter of the 18th century. 

Visiting Mühlikram was a profound experience - quiet and still. I love the picture of Ben walking amongst the footprints left in the snow, casting a long shadow into the trees. 

In the architecture world, words like "place" and "home" get tossed around so much it's easy to forget what profound concepts they are, what deep associations and meanings they have, and how complicated they can be. These concepts are charged - with history, culture, emotion - and it's in the context of pondering those concepts that filling out my weekly IDP hours [Did I spend 5 hours on Code Research, or was it Systems Coordination?] seem so silly, so completely counter to what an architect actually needs to know, and is called to do.

I think IDP could do with a few additional categories: Thinking, Drawing, Making, Traveling, Looking, Listening, Building, Reading. Oh, and Writing Blog Posts. Meanwhile, I should probably get back to work.

 

Shout-out to Dürer.

No one's home. Diana ringing the doorbell at Albrecht Dürer's house, Nürnberg, Jan 2011.

While in Nürnberg, we stopped by Albrecht Dürer's house. He's one of my favorite draughtsmen ever - though he was also a theorist, painter, engraver, and printmaker. Apparently, he also contributed [continuing the process begun by Martin Luther] significantly to the development of the German vernacular language with his books, including "Four Books on Measurement" and "Four Books on Human Proportion." In them, he used everyday craftsman's language [like Schneckenlinie [snail's line!], describing a spiral] to explain concepts of proportion, geometry, mathematics, spatial relationships, etc.

I also liked the giant doorbell he had out front. I imagine that it threads all the way up to the studio, so he knows when someone wants to come in and talk about art. 

Here are some oldies but goodies from Dürer. I love the Nativity; instead of the stable existing as a flat backdrop for the scene, it's dramatically thrust forward and cropped, a semi-ruin crowding the shepherds and wise men at the thresholds, and providing Mary a fleeting moment of privacy with her newborn son.

The Muzzle of a Bull, a watercolor sketch, shows Dürer's layering technique, and how the drawing is built using lines, patches of color, and areas of unpainted paper.

And the Rhinoceros is just awesome.

Dürer, Nativity.

Dürer, Muzzle of a Bull.

Dürer, Rhinoceros.

Odds and Ends

Some things I learned this week:

1. Century Gothic is "the greenest font." According to the University of Wisconsin, Century Gothic uses 30% less ink than the most common default font, Arial. And at $10,000/gallon, it's a hell of a lot cheaper too.

2. Kindergarteners are taking shop class. A NY Times article explains why it's important that kids learn to work with their hands. I couldn't agree more!

3. Time to throw out the Prismacolors? Urban planning based on a computational understanding of space, rather than wishy-washy conceptions of "tradition," or adherence to self-referential zoning standards - after hearing a lecture on this at work, I'm fascinated - and wondering [again] about the value structure of belief. More on this later.

The Backsides of Buildings.

Nürnberg Castle, Nürnberg, Deutschland. Jan 2011.

Nürnberg Castle has much more famous facades, but I like this one: between the castle's inner walls, moving down the hill through tunnels to the gate, there's a break in the tunnels, and an unexpected vertical view of the sky. In my mind, there are always reasons behind architectural moments like this - usually a completely practical one - such as providing a strategic opportunity to pour boiling water on invaders' heads, or the mason ran out of stones, or later generations needed to make a quick addition to an old space. 

Perhaps that why architecture born of necessity, or practicality, is sometimes the most beautiful, and why I love the backs of buildings, barns, and workspaces. When designers [trained or otherwise] are freed from the expectation that they make Architecture or Something Beautiful And Important, perhaps that's when they can really get to work - inspired by what's there [revealing, interpreting, utilizing], and the desire to make something that works - in every sense of the word. To wit: Zumthor's Shelter for Roman Ruins, in Chur, Switzerland: utility, purpose, economy, wood, steel, and light. YES.

Shelter for Roman Ruins, Zumthor. photo: B. Moedinger. Jan. 2011

Shelter for Roman Ruins, Zumthor. Jan 2011.