a Romantic among

In  the beginning,” the elderly Edgar Degas recalled, “Fantin, Whistler and I, we were all on the same road from Holland.”

What he meant was that in the early 1860s, just as the moribund polarities in French painting between the neo-classical and Romantic schools were giving way to the full-blooded realism of Gustav Courbet, he was among a band of young artists who aspired to bring up-to-date the Dutch 17th-century landscape, portrait, still life and genre traditions.

One of the artists Degas mentions was Henri Fantin-Latour, painter of that great aubade to the Romantic movement, Homage à Delacroix, the 1864 group portrait in which (among others) Baudelaire, Manet, Whistler and Fantin-Latour himself boldly stake their claim to the leadership of the cultural avant-garde.

Whistler and Manet in their different ways went on to become two of the most progressive artists working in European painting during the second half of the century. Fantin-Latour did not. Neither reactionary nor innovator, his absolute dislike of plein-air painting and preference for a nearly monochromatic palette set him apart from the generation of young artists who allied themselves with the Impressionists.

Yet there is something schizophrenic about Fantin-Latour’s talent. On the one hand he was a portraitist of extraordinary ambition and psychological acuity whose works in the genre always impress but never enthral. His chilly, grey-black palette, the emotional distance he keeps from his sitters, and the stiff poses contrived in the interest of compositional balance rather than for natural effect cast a funereal pall over all his group portraits.

to Ethnograf Installations

Museums in Botswana

In Gaborone, there is a collection of ethnographic and historical treasures, as well as Sub-Saharan art, in the National Museum and Art Gallery. Kanye and Mochudi also maintain ethnographic museums, named Phuthadikobo Museum and Kgosi Bathoen Ii (Segopotso) Museum. There is also a postal museum in Gaborone. In 1986, the Supa-Ngwao Museum Centre in Francistown opened to host ethnographic and historical installations.

Encyclopedia of the Nations

Phuthadikobo Museum (Botswana)
Telephone: +267 577 72 38
Fax: +267 574 89 20
Supa-Ngwao Museum Centre (Botswana)
Telephone: +267 240 30 88
Kgosi Bathoen Ii Museum (Botswana)
Telephone: +267 544 11 35
Telephone: +267 544 25 52
The National Museum & Art Gallery (Botswana)
Telephone: +267 374 616
Fax: +267 302 797
E-mail: national.museum@gob.bw

evolution OF discipline

The architecture for performance and exhibition, being museums, galleries, music halls, pavilions, etc., has been in the leading edge of architectural innovation throughout the history and evolution of the discipline. Architects and designers experiment on new aesthetics, concepts, and ideas with projects that tend to have a flexible program and a large budget. In many cases, the main requirement of such structures is not only to accommodate a specific program but also to inspire the imagination of its users and challenge the current state of architectural design. Some examples, such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry or the Sydney Opera House by Jørn Utzon are considered design masterpieces of the 20th Century. Gehry’s Museum transformed the city of Bilbao from a small industrial Spanish city into a world destination, while Utzon’s Opera House become the symbol of Sydney and Australia.

This issue of eVolo studies the most innovative examples of performance and exhibition architecture today. These are projects that revolutionize architecture on many levels, including sustainability, aesthetics, technology, and urban design. It is interesting to point out that these works are not concentrated in one specific region, but are located in every corner of the globe; from MVRDV’s Comic and Animation Museum in China, to the new Broad Museum in Los Angeles by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, or Kengo Kuma’s Victoria and Albert Museum in Dundee, Scotland.
The variety of programs is as diverse as their location. Steven Holl’s Museum of Ocean and Surf in Biarritz, France creates awareness of the oceans’ fragile state and emulates the kinetic sensibility of water through sweeping walls and carefully articulated volumes. Holm Architecture’s circular Samaranch Olympic Museum in Tianjin, China is a study on framing and juxtaposing artificial and natural landscapes to generate a continuous exhibition loop. X-TU Architects’ Prehistory Museum in Jeongok, South Korea was parametrically designed as a futuristic vessel erected as a bridge atop hills along the Hantan River preserving the untouched historic landscape. Among other projects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Museum of Image and Sound in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is an interface between exhibition spaces and the city. Other smaller scale projects are WORD’s Holocaust Memorial for Atlantic City’s Boardwalk, which acts as an inscriptive apparatus, which etches the history of the Holocaust in our memory, and the America’s Cup Pavilion by Daniel Carper, which functions as an epicenter for various activities. The design is based on the tectonic and function qualities of high-end sailing vessels.

For this issue we had the opportunity to interview one of the most promising architects of Mexico: Fernando Romero, who recently completed the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City. The museum has been praised by the critics as one of the most outstanding works of architecture in the country this decade. Fernando also shares with us the his experience in practicing architecture in Mexico, the United States, Europe, and China – an interesting insight on the major differences, challenges, and advantages of working in different cultures and economies.

The Opinion section includes essays on morphogenetic computational design and zero-energy buildings. Emmanuel Ruffo from the Graz University of Technology explains structural patterns formation and the digital tools utilized to explore these geometries and their potential use in architecture. On the other hand, Dr. Eugene Tssui, from the University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou, China, proposes the first true zero-energy building based on studies of the Termite’s nest of central Africa. Dr. Tssui´s “Evolutionary Architecture” is an in-depth study of living organisms and their natural processes. Finally, Beatriz Ramo, from Tilburg’s Architecture Academy exposes the abuse by architects, designers, writers, politicians, etc., of the so-called “green” sustainable architecture, which in many cases is just an advertising gimmick and not true environmentally responsible designs.

In the News section Kurt C. Hunker from the New School of Architecture in San Diego examines the consequences and changes in high-rise architecture since 9/11. In this section we also present the winners of the 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition. The contest recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations. Studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution are some of the multi-layered elements of the competition. It is an investigation on the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of dynamic and adaptive vertical communities.

 

a Love, a Paper, a Ballerina

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (Danish: Den standhaftige tinsoldat) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. After several adventures, the tin soldier perishes in a fire with the ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 October 1838 in the first booklet of Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. The booklet consists of Andersen's "The Daisy" and "The Wild Swans". The tale was Andersen’s first not based upon a folk tale or a literary model. "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" has been adapted to various media including ballet and animated film.

On his birthday, a boy receives a set of 25 toy soldiers and arrays them on a table top. One soldier stands on a single leg, having been the last one cast from an old tin spoon. Nearby, he spies a paper ballerina with a spangle on her sash. She too is standing on one leg and the soldier falls in love. That night, a goblin among the toys angrily warns the soldier to take his eyes off the ballerina, but the soldier ignores him. The next day, the soldier falls from a windowsill (presumably the work of the goblin) and lands in the street. Two boys find the soldier, place him in a paper boat, and set him sailing in the gutter. The boat and its passenger wash into a storm drain, where a rat demands the soldier pay a toll. Sailing on, the boat is washed into a canal, where the tin soldier is swallowed by a fish. When the fish is caught and cut open, the tin soldier finds himself once again on the table top before the ballerina. Inexplicably, a boy throws the tin soldier into the fire. A wind blows the ballerina into the fire with him; she is consumed at once but her spangle remains. The tin soldier melts into the shape of a heart.

 

The Nukus Museum

The Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art named after I.V. Savitsky - also known, simply, as the Nukus Museum - hosts the world's second largest collection of Russian avant garde art (after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg). It is also home to one of the largest collections of archeological objects and folk, applied and contemporary art originating from Central Asia.

Igor Savitsky (1915-84), a Russian born in Kiev and the Museum's founder, first went to Karakalpakstan in 1950 as the artist in the Khorezm Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition led by the world famous scientist, Sergei P. Tolstov. Fascinated by the culture and people of the steppe, he stayed on after the dig (1950-57), methodically collecting Karakalpak carpets, costumes, jewelry, and other works of art. At the same time, he began collecting the drawings and paintings of artists linked to Central Asia, including those of the Uzbek school, and, during the late-1950s/early-1960s, those of the Russian avant garde which the Soviet authorities were then banishing and destroying. Today, the Museum houses a collection totaling about 90,000 items, including graphics, paintings and sculptures, as well as thousands of artifacts, textiles and jewelry, ranging from the antiquities of Khorezm’s ancient civilization to the works of contemporary Uzbek and Karakalpak artists.

Perhaps the most remarkable, indeed unique features of the Savitsky Collection are the paradoxes surrounding its existence. For example, Karakalpakstan - the remote northwestern region of Uzbekistan where the Museum was founded - was, and remains one of the poorest of the entire former Soviet Union. On the other hand, despite its poor economic prospects, Karakalpakstan’s culture has been preserved and provided the intellectual raison d'être and nourishment for the Museum’s creation in 1966.

Second, the Museum may be one of the few places in the world where Russian avant garde art hangs alongside that of Socialist Realism - the former slandered by the Soviet State, the latter glorified by it.

Third, the Museum’s collection of Russian avant garde is the only one that was initially condemned officially by the Soviet Union and, at the same time, financed partly by it, albeit unwittingly. Evidently, Nukus’ status as a ‘closed’ city and, especially, Savitsky’s good relations with the Karakalpak regional authorities enabled this to happen.

Finally, Savitsky, the European, trained the Karakalpaks, his Asian counterparts, in the value of their own culture and the importance of preserving it. His approach and sensitivity instilled trust not only in the older generations of Karakalpaks who sold him their textiles and jewelry, but also in the local government which played a large role in the Museum’s foundation and continued existence. It was this mutual affection and trust that has ensured the renaissance of both a forgotten nation and a neglected generation of artists and their work.

This pearl in the desert - or, as the French magazine Télérama recently called it, 'Le Louvre des steppes' - is located in Nukus, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan in northwest Uzbekistan at the southern base of the now dying Aral Sea, which until the mid-1960s was world's fourth largest inland lake.  Although the ancient Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva may be better known, the Nukus Museum is in fact the fourth splendor of Uzbekistan. Indeed, the Savitsky Collection has been called "one of the most outstanding museums of the world" by the UK's Guardian newspaper.

Alaska, is portrayed...

The Call of the Wild is a novella by American author Jack London published in 1903. The story takes place in the extreme conditions of the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush where strong sled dogs were in high demand. After Buck, a domesticated dog, is snatched from a pastoral ranch in California, he is sold into a brutal life as a sled dog. The novella details Buck's struggle to adjust and survive the cruel treatment he receives from humans, other dogs, and nature. He eventually sheds the veneer of civilization altogether and instead relies on primordial instincts and the lessons he has learned to become a respected and feared leader in the wild.

The Call of the Wild is London's most popular work and is considered the masterpiece of his so-called "early period."The novella is often classified as children's literature because of its animal protagonist, but the maturity of its subject matter makes it valuable for older audiences as well. Major themes include survival of the fittest, civilization versus nature, and fate versus free will.

The Yeehat, a group of Alaska Natives portrayed in Call of the Wild, were a figment of London's imagination.
 

electro Magnetic FIELDS

Designed by Alisa Andrasek, the Seroussi Pavilion was “grown” out of self-modifying patterns of vectors based on electro-magnetic fields (EMF). Through logics of attraction/repulsion trajectories were computed in plan and than lifted via series of structural microarching sections through different frequencies of sine function. Additional feature built into script allows for local adaptation to the site in regards to the section (pavilion is implanted into a steep hill _ EMF trajectories needed to “find the ground”). Six different geometrical systems were used for design and are all steaming out of primary trajectories.

The plan of the pavilion differs greatly from a classical notion of architectural plan drawing _ it is a dynamic blueprint closer to musical notation _ deep ecology of imbedded algorithmic and parametric relationships are the seed for possible materialization procedures and adaptation to the site conditions. In a design of the roof tilling resolution was increased by the algorithmic differentiation of components features.

Σελιλόιντ στον Τίβερη

«Όταν δεν έχω τι να κάνω, αρχίζω να κοιτάζω. Όμως αυτό το βλέμμα προς τα πρόσωπα και τα πράγματα απαιτεί μια τεχνική. Κι εγώ έχω τη δική μου». Στα τριάντα τρία αφηγήματα του "Μπόουλινγκ πάνω στον Τίβερη" -ιδέες για ταινίες που δεν έγιναν, πυρήνες ιστοριών που δεν ολοκληρώθηκαν- ο αναγνώστης θα ξαναβρεί τα γνώριμα στοιχεία του αντονιονικού σύμπαντος: τα πάθη που κρύβονται πίσω απ' τα τείχη της καθημερινής ρουτίνας, έρωτες δίχως τέλος, που όμως δεν υπήρξαν ποτέ, την έμμονη ιδέα του θανάτου, τα μισοτελειωμένα ταξίδια μέσα σε τέσσερις τοίχους. Όπως λέει κι ο ίδιος έχει πάντα την ανάγκη να αποτυπώνει την πραγματικότητα με έννοιες που δεν είναι ποτέ εντελώς ρεαλιστικές....

Film historian Virginia Wright Wexman describes Antonioni's perspective on the world as that of a "postreligious Marxist and existentialist intellectual." In a speech at Cannes about L'Avventura, Antonioni said that in the modern age of reason and science, mankind still lives by "a rigid and stereotyped morality which all of us recognize as such and yet sustain out of cowardice and sheer laziness". He said his films explore the paradox that "we have examined those moral attitudes very carefully, we have dissected them and analyzed them to the point of exhaustion. We have been capable of all this, but we have not been capable of finding new ones."Nine years later he expressed a similar attitude in an interview, saying that he loathed the word 'morality': "When man becomes reconciled to nature, when space becomes his true background, these words and concepts will have lost their meaning, and we will no longer have to use them."

One of the recurring themes in Antonioni's films is characters who suffer from ennui and whose lives are empty and purposeless aside from the gratification of pleasure or the pursuit of material wealth. Film historian David Bordwell writes that in his films, "Vacations, parties and artistic pursuits are vain efforts to conceal the characters' lack of purpose and emotion. Sexuality is reduced to casual seduction, enterprise to the pursuit of wealth at any cost."Antonioni's films tend to have spare plots and dialogue, and much of the screen time is spent lingering on certain settings, such as the seven-minute continuous take in The Passenger, or the scene in L'Eclisse in which Monica Vitti stares curiously at electrical posts accompanied by ambient sounds of wires clanking. Virginia Wright Wexman summarizes his style in the following terms: "The camera is placed at a medium distance more often than close in, frequently moving slowly; the shots are permitted to extend uninterrupted by cutting. Thus each image is more complex, containing more information than it would in a style in which a smaller area is framed ... In Antonioni's work we must regard his images at length; he forces our full attention by continuing the shot long after others would cut away."Antonioni is also noted for exploiting colour as a significant expressive element of his cinematic style, especially in Il deserto rosso, his first colour film.

Στη Γη των Ανθρώπων, Στη Γη του Εξυπερύ

[...] Η γη μας διδάσκει περισσότερα απ’ ό,τι όλα τα βιβλία μαζί, διότι μας αντιστέκεται. Ο άνθρωπος ανακαλύπτει τον εαυτό του όταν αναμετριέται μ’ αυτό που του αντιστέκεται […] Γερογραφειοκράτη, φίλε μου, που κάθεσαι πλάι μου και είσαι ο ίδιος ο εαυτός μου. Τίποτα δε σ’ έκανε να ξεφύγεις απ’ όπου βρίσκεσαι και δεν είσαι διόλου υπεύθυνος γι’ αυτό. Έφτιαξες την ηρεμία σου όπως κάνουν οι τερμίτες, έχοντας για τα καλά φρακάρει όλους τους δρόμους που οδηγούν από τη φυλακή τους στο φως. Τυλίχτηκες μέσα στην αστική ασφάλεια, με τις συνήθειές σου να πνίγουν την επαρχιώτικη ζωή σου˙ σήκωσες τούτο το ταπεινό ανάχωμα ενάντια στους ανέμους, τις πλημμύρες και τα άστρα. Δεν έχεις κέφι να νοιαστείς διόλου για τα μεγάλα προβλήματα και είχες αρκετά τέτοια για να ξεχάσεις την ανθρώπινη υπόστασή σου. Δεν είσαι πλέον ο κάτοικος ενός περιπλανώμενου πλανήτη, δεν θέτεις πια ερωτήματα στον εαυτό σου χωρίς να παίρνεις απάντηση: είσαι ένας μικροαστός. Κανείς δε σε άρπαξε από τους ώμους για να σε ταρακουνήσει, όταν ακόμη ήταν καιρός. Τώρα, έχει πια ξεραθεί και σκληρύνει ο πηλός που σ’ έπλασε˙ κανένας δε θα μπορέσει να ξυπνήσει τον κοιμισμένο μουσικό μέσα σου, ή τον ποιητή, ή τον αστρονόμο – αν υπήρξες ποτέ κάτι απ’ όλα αυτά. […] Ο πιλότος, ο μηχανικός και ο ασυρματιστής δεν οδεύουν πια σε μια περιπέτεια, παρά μόνο κλείνονται μέσα σ’ ένα εργαστήριο. Παρακολουθούν το παιχνίδι που κάνουν οι βελόνες στα καντράν και όχι το ξετύλιγμα των τοπίων, τα οποία είναι αόρατες δυνάμεις των οποίων την απόσταση πρέπει να υπολογίσουν καλά […] Έτσι προχωράει η ζωή: στην αρχή φροντίζουμε για χρόνια κάτι που έχουμε φυτέψει, αλλά κάποτε ο χρόνος καταστρέφει και ξεριζώνει ό,τι έχουμε φτιάξει […] Νομίζοντας πως δουλεύουμε για κάποια μοναδικά και σημαντικά υλικά αγαθά, το μόνο που κάνουμε είναι να χτίζουμε οι ίδιοι τη φυλακή μας. Κλεινόμαστε εκεί ολομόναχοι, με το ανούσιο και το παροδικό του χρήματος […] Μερικές φορές, βαδίζουμε ο ένας δίπλα στον άλλον, μέσα στη σιωπή, ή ανταλλάζουμε λέξεις οι οποίες δε μας εκφράζουν καθόλου. Όμως, όταν φτάνει η ώρα του κινδύνου, ακουμπάμε ο ένας στην πλάτη του άλλου και νιώθουμε πως ανήκουμε στην ίδια κοινωνία. Πλαταίνουμε τον κόσμο μας, ανακαλύπτοντας πως υπάρχουν κι άλλες συνειδήσεις. Κοιταζόμαστε μ’ ένα πλατύ χαμόγελο, σαν τους αποφυλακισμένους που τους αφήνει εμβρόντητους η απεραντοσύνη της θάλασσας […] Να είσαι άνθρωπος, σημαίνει ακριβώς να είσαι υπεύθυνος˙ να γνωρίσεις την ντροπή απέναντι σε μια δυστυχία που δε μοιάζει να έρχεται από σένα. Να νιώθεις περηφάνια για μια νίκη που πέτυχαν οι συνάδελφοί σου. Να αισθάνεσαι, βάζοντας κι εσύ το λιθαράκι σου, πως συντελείς στο κτίσιμο του κόσμου […] Σε πόσο μικρό χώρο παίζεται αυτό το παγκόσμιο παιχνίδι του μίσους, της φιλίας, της ανθρώπινης χαράς! Από πού αντλούν οι άνθρωποι αυτήν την αίσθηση της αιωνιότητας, διακινδυνεύοντας επάνω σε καυτή λάβα; Οι πολιτισμοί τους δεν είναι παρά στολίδια που σκεπάζονται εύκολα: αρκεί ένα ηφαίστειο, μια αμμοθύελλα ή μια θαλασσοταραχή για να τους εξαφανίσει [...] Δεν είναι η απόσταση που έχει τη μεγαλύτερη σημασία. Ο φράχτης του κήπου μας μπορεί να κλείνει περισσότερα μυστικά από το Σινικό Τείχος και η καρδιά μιας νεαρής κοπέλας να είναι καλύτερα προστατευμένη από τη σιωπή, απ’ όσο θα ήταν προστατευμένες απ’ την παχιά άμμο οι οάσεις της Σαχάρας […] Άνθρωποι οι οποίοι για καιρό έζησαν έναν έρωτα και μετά τον στερήθηκαν, αφήνονται κάποτε στη μοναχική περηφάνια τους. Ψαύουν ταπεινά τη ζωή και, μ’ έναν μετριοπαθή έρωτα, χτίζουν την ευτυχία τους. Βρίσκουν ευχαρίστηση στην παραίτηση και στην υποταγή, εισχωρώντας στη γαλήνη των πραγμάτων. Ο σκλάβος φτιάχνει την περηφάνια του από τη στάχτη του αφέντη του […] με τον θάνατο ενός ανθρώπου, πεθαίνει κι ένας κόσμος άγνωστος […] Πιστεύουν πως ο άνθρωπος προχωράει ευθεία μπροστά. Νομίζουν πως ο άνθρωπος είναι ελεύθερος. Δε βλέπουν το σχοινί που τον καρφώνει στα πηγάδια, που τον κρατά σαν ομφάλιος λώρος στην κοιλιά της γης. Αν κάνει ένα βήμα παραπάνω, θα πεθάνει […] Πού βρίσκεται η αλήθεια του ανθρώπου; Η αλήθεια δεν είναι κάτι που μπορεί να υποδειχθεί. Όταν μέσα σ’ αυτή τη γη και όχι σε μια άλλη, οι πορτοκαλιές ριζώσουν με γερές ρίζες και γεμίσουν καρπούς, η γη αυτή γίνεται η αλήθεια των πορτοκαλιών. Αν αυτή η θρησκεία, αυτή η καλλιέργεια, αυτή η κλίμακα αξιών και αυτή η μορφή δραστηριότητας, γεννούν μέσα στον καθένα έναν παντοδύναμο κύριο που ο ίδιος δε θα κατανοούσε, τότε όλα αυτά αντιπροσωπεύουν την αλήθεια των ανθρώπων. Η λογική; ας πάει να χαθεί, αν μ’ αυτήν πρόκειται να χάσουμε τη ζωή […] Μόνο οι κλίσεις βοηθούν τον άνθρωπο να ξεσκλαβωθεί, αλλά είναι εξίσου απαραίτητο να τον ξεσκλαβώσουμε από τις κλίσεις του […] Γι’ αυτό ο κόσμος μας αρχίζει να θρυμματίζεται γύρω μας. Ο καθένας εκστασιάζεται για θρησκείες που του υπόσχονται πληρότητα. Όλοι, κάτω από αντιτιθέμενες λέξεις, εκφράζουμε τις ίδιες τάσεις. Μας χωρίζουν οι μέθοδοι, που είναι καρπός των όσων σκεφτόμαστε, και όχι οι σκοποί μας˙ αυτοί μένουν ίδιοι […] εκείνος που φυλάει ταπεινά μερικά πρόβατα κάτω από τα’ άστρα, αν κατανοεί τον ρόλο του, είναι κάτι περισσότερο από ένας υπηρέτης˙ είναι ένας φρουρός, και κάθε φρουρός είναι υπεύθυνος για ολόκληρο το βασίλειο […] Μόνο αν αποκτήσουμε συνείδηση του ρόλου τον οποίον καλούμαστε να ερμηνεύσουμε, θα μπορέσουμε να είμαστε ευτυχισμένοι˙ μόνο τότε θα μπορέσουμε να ζήσουμε και να πεθάνουμε ειρηνικά , αφού ό,τι δίνει νόημα στη ζωή μας δίνει νόημα και στον θάνατό μας […] Ό,τι με ενοχλεί δεν είναι τα κυρτωμένα κορμιά, ούτε οι καμπούρες, ούτε η ασχήμια˙ είναι ο Μότσαρτ που έχει δολοφονηθεί μέσα στους ανθρώπους […].

Άγρια Φοινικόδεντρα

...Το χτύπημα στην πόρτα ξανακούστηκε, διακριτικό κι επιταχτικό μαζί, καθώς ο γιατρός κατέβαινε στη σκάλα, με το ηλεκτρικό φανάρι να ρίχνει την αχτίδα του μπροστά, πάνω στα καφετιά σκαλιά και στην καφετιά σπηλιά του κάτω χολ. Ήταν ένα παραλιακό σπιτάκι, αν και με δυο πατώματα, και φωτιζόταν με λάμπες πετρελαίου -δηλαδή με μία λάμπα, που η γυναίκα του την είχε φέρει πάνω μαζί τους μετά το βραδινό φαγητό. Κι ο γιατρός φορούσε νυχτικιά πουκαμίσα, όχι πιτζάμες, για τον ίδιο λόγο που κάπνιζε τσιμπούκι, που ήξερε πως δεν του άρεσε και πως ποτέ δε θα του άρεσε, ανάμεσα σε κανένα πούρο που τύχαινε να του προσφέρει κάποιος πελάτης του μες στη βδομάδα, ενώ τις Κυριακές κάπνιζε τα τρία πούρα που ένιωθε πως είχε το δικαίωμα ν αγοράσει μια και ήταν ιδιοχτησία το παραλιακό σπιτάκι καθώς και το πλαϊνό, όπως και η καθαυτό κατοικία του με ηλεκτρική εγκατάσταστη και σουβαντισμένους τοίχους, στο χωριό τέσσερα μίλια πέρα. Επειδή ήσαν τώρα σαράντα οχτώ χρονών, και τον καιρό που ήταν δεκάξι και δεκαοχτώ και είκοσι χρονών, ο πατέρας του του έλεγε (και το πίστευε) πως τσιγάρα και πιτζάμες ήταν για τους λιμοκοντόρους και για τις γυναίκες...

Στις 25 Σεπτεμβρίου 1997, ο Ουίλιαμ Φόκνερ θα γιόρταζε τα 100 του χρόνια, αν ζούσε. Μια παράξενη σιωπή έχει πάρει τη θέση των εορτασμών με αφορμή αυτή την επέτειο. Και όμως, αν έπρεπε να διαλέξουμε έναν αμερικανό συγγραφέα ως τον πιο σημαντικό του 20ού αιώνα, αναμφίβολα θα καταλήγαμε στον Φόκνερ. Από τους συγγραφείς της αγγλικής γλώσσας ίσως μόνον ο Ουίλιαμ Σαίξπηρ και ο Τζέιμς Τζόις μπορούν να θεωρηθούν ισάξιοί του ως προς τη μυθοπλαστική τους δεξιότητα και την επίδραση που άσκησαν στις επόμενες γενιές. Η σιωπή αυτή λοιπόν δεν μπορεί παρά να δηλώνει το δέος των κριτικών και του κοινού μπροστά σε ένα μεγαλειώδες, διαχρονικό και αινιγματικό έργο.

a Lion! a Masterpiece!

The first unquestionably-for-adults novel Russell Hoban published, and the first Russell Hoban book I ever read (at about age twelve!), The Lion is a masterpiece by any standard. It's set in a time when there are no more lions: lions are extinct, almost legendary, like dragons or unicorns. Jachin-Boaz lives in an unspecified town in the Near East, where he owns a shop that sells all kinds of maps; maps to find water, love, money, whatever the heart desires. He tells his son, Boaz-Jachin, that he's making him a master-map that will be given to him when he is a man; a map that will contain all the secrets of the other maps combined, so that he will be able to find whatever he decides to look for, thus assuring him of a proper start in life. Jachin-Boaz shows his son the map and asks him what he would like to find. 'A lion,' says Boaz-Jachin. 'A lion,' says Jachin-Boaz. 'I don't think I understand you. I don't think you're being serious with me. You know very well there are no lions now.'

Cut to scene two, in which Jachin-Boaz, the father, in the throes of existential despair and mid-life crisis, quietly leaves home, taking the master-map and half the family's savings, and leaving behind a note which reads 'I have gone to look for a lion.' Boaz-Jachin is left alone with his embittered mother to run the map shop and wonder where his father has gone with the map that was supposed to be his inheritance.

In the desert not far from the town where Boaz-Jachin lives, there is a palace where the last king is entombed, and his lion hunt is carved in stone on the walls of the great hall. Boaz-Jachin, who has decided to track his father down and ask for his map, takes the bus to the palace where he makes a powerful connection with the image of the dying lion carved in stone. Through a simple but artistic act of sympathetic magic, Boaz-Jachin removes the spears from the throat of the wounded beast and sets its spirit free, then sets off on a cross-country journey to find his father. Meanwhile, Jachin-Boaz, who has established himself in a "great city" in another country, is working in a bookshop, living with a beautiful young woman named Gretel, and dreaming furtive, guilty dreams of the family he abandoned. It's about this time that he turns around one morning on his way to work, and finds himself face-to-face with a very live, powerful and dangerous lion--a lion that he, Gretel, and the son journeying to find him must face, understand and ultimately embrace if they are to find their way out of the uncharted territories of fear, guilt and alienation in which they've gotten lost.

to Dream of outside Lima

Sergio F. Bambaren (b. December 1, 1960, Lima, Peru) is a writer. He is noted for his love of the ocean, unknown horizons and for his books related to surfing, dreaming and journeys in a metaphorical context.

Roggero was born the first day of December of 1960 in Lima, Peru. Educated in a British High School, Sergio has been captivated from his early years by the ocean, having been born in a city that meets the sea. This would influence him for the rest of his life, and put him in a journey he would have never expected: to become a writer. His spirit of traveling took him to the United States, where he graduated as a Chemical Engineer at Texas A&M University. However, the ocean was still his greatest love, and traveling gave him the opportunity to go surfing to places such as Central America, Mexico, California and Hawaii.

After a brief stay in the country in which he was born, Sergio decided to migrate to Sydney, Australia, where he worked as a Sales Manager for a multinational company; however, he also managed to travel to the Southeast Asia and African coasts in search of the perfect wave. Legendary places like Bali, Nias, Jeffrey´s Bay, Agadir in Morocco and the Philippines, as well as Australia and New Zeeland were part of his surfing travels.

After several years in Australia, Sergio took a sabbatical and travelled to Europe in search of the perfect wave. It was in Portugal, in a wonderful beach surrounded by pine forests called Guincho, that Sergio found the purpose of his life and a very special friend. A lonely dolphin that gave him the inspiration to write his first novel: “The Dolphin, Story of a Dreamer”.

After he returned to Sydney, Sergio self-published his book in Oz. This happened in 1996. Suddenly everything in Sergio´s life changed. He sold more than 100,000 copies of “The Dolphin” in Australia in less than a year. “The dolphin” has now been translated into 40 languages and dialects. Other books followed, such as “Distant Winds”, “The Guardian of the Light”, “Thoughts by the ocean”, “Tales from Heavens”, “Nightingale Story" and others. His books have been published in more than seventy countries.

a Full color Snake

Albertus Seba's monumental 18th-century collection is a stunning visual record of the thousands of animal specimens he collected. Here are 240 full-color snake and lizard illustrations — a riot of brilliant colors, shapes, and sizes with unlimited potential as graphic and decorative elements in art, craft, and educational projects.

to Live like Him

The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities (Spanish: La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades) is a Spanish novella, published anonymously because of its heretical content. It was published simultaneously in two cities, in 1554 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain (seven years after Cervantes was born there), and, in 1555 in Antwerp, Flanders, then under Spanish rule, and where the similarly picaresque book Till Eulenspiegel had been published in 1529 and become popular. The book was published during the Spanish Inquisition, when the first Spanish trials against Lutherans were about to take place.

Lazarillo de Tormes was banned by the Spanish Crown and included in the Index of Forbidden Books of the Spanish Inquisition; this was at least in part due to the book's anti-clerical flavour. In 1573, the Crown allowed circulation of a version which omitted Chapters 4 and 5 and assorted paragraphs from other parts of the book. (An unabridged version did not appear in Spain until the nineteenth century.) It was the Antwerp version that circulated throughout Europe, translated into French (1560), English (1576), Dutch (1579) after Flanders came under Dutch rule (1578), German (1617), and Italian (1622).
 

to be HWKN mind

Each year the Young Architects Program creates opportunities for emerging designers to build a temporary, outdoor installation at MoMA PS1′s facility in Long Island City, Queens. New York-based HWKN is this year’s winner, with a proposal  for a multi-program structure. The project Wendy proposes a network of scaffolding on the site, combining high-tech materials with sustainable functions.

“Wendy does not play the typical architecture game of ecological apology – instead she is pro-active”, state the architects. The 5,000-square-foot structure is composed of nylon fabric treated with a ground breaking titania nanoparticle spray that neutralizes airborne pollutants. As the Titania nano-particles, used as coating for the fabric, are hit by sun, they trigger a catalytic and chemical reaction that neutralizes nitrodgen dioxide. The shape of the object has to do with amplifying the surface area, so that more air is cleaned. Also, the spiky arms spray water and push out blasts of cool air and water mists that cool the hot summer air.

The spiky structure is more of an environment than a space. The dominant object is supported by multiple social zones established throughout the courtyard and defined by tools like shade, wind, rain, music, and visual identity to reach past the confines of physical limits.

Ιεραποστολική Επίσκεψη της ΑΘΜ στη Νιγηρία

Ιεραποστολική επίσκεψη στην Νιγηρία πραγματοποιεί η ΑΘΜ ο Πάπας και Πατριάρχης Αλεξανδρείας και πάσης Αφρικής κ.κ. Θεόδωρος Β΄, από 14ης έως 22ας Φεβρουαρίου ε.ε.
Ο Μακαριώτατος αφίχθη στο Λάγκος της Νιγηρίας το απόγευμα της 14ης Φεβρουαρίου ε.ε., συνοδευόμενος από τον Πανοσιολ.Αρχιμ. κ.Παντελεήμονα Αράθυμο, Αρχιγραμματέα της Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου. Στον διεθνή αερολιμένα την ΑΘΜ υπεδέχθησαν οι Σεβ.Μητροπολίτες Νιγηρίας κ.Αλέξανδρος και Καμερούν κ.Γρηγόριος, ο Εξοχ.Πρέσβης της Ελλάδος κ.Διονύσιος Σουρβάνος, ο Εντιμ.Πρόξενος της Αιγύπτου στο Λάγκος κ.Άχμετ Μπαχάα Ελ Ντιν, κληρικοί και κρατικοί αξιωματούχοι.
Στα πλαίσια της ιεραποστολικής οδοιπορείας Του ο Μακ. Πατριάρχης θα μεταβή αεροπορικώς στην Ανατολική Νιγηρία, όπου την 17η Φεβρουαρίου ε.ε., ημέρα κατά την οποία άγει τα σεπτά ονομαστήριά Του, θα τελέσει τα εγκαίνια του Ιερού Ναού του Αγίου Χριστοφόρου, ενώ την Κυριακή, 19η Φεβρουρίου, θα τελέσει την Θεία Λειτουργία στον προσωρινό Καθεδρικό Ναό Αναστάσεως του Κυρίου στο Λάγκος και θα θεμελιώσει τον νέο Καθεδρικό Ναό.
Ακόμη, θα απονείμει εκκλησιαστικά οφφίκια και διακρίσεις σε κληρικούς και λαϊκούς συνεργάτες του πολυσχιδούς ιεραποστολικού και ποιμαντικού έργου της Ιεράς Μητροπόλεως Νιγηρίας, θα έχει συναντήσεις με πολιτειακές αρχές και τοπικούς κυβερνήτες της Ομοσπονδιακής Δημοκρατίας της Νιγηρίας, με διπλωματικές αποστολές στη χώρα και εκπροσώπους χριστιανικών ομολογιών. Επίσης, θα επισκεφθή ορθόδοξες ενοριακές κοινότητες, ιεραποστολικά κέντρα και ελληνικές κοινότητες.
Την 22α Φεβρουαρίου ε.ε. η ΑΘΜ θα μεταβή στη Σιέρρα Λεόνε, ενώ την 27η του ιδίου μηνός στην Γκάμπια.

Κατά την επίσκεψή Του ο Μακαριώτατος εξέφρασε την αγάπη Του για την χώρα του Νείλου, η οποία πάντοτε σέβεται και τιμά την δισχιλιετή παρουσία του παλαιφάτου Πατριαρχείου Αλεξανδρείας ως τον αρχαιότερο ζώντα αφρικανικό χριστιανικό οργανισμό, καθώς και την βαθεία πεποίθησή Του για την πορεία προόδου και ευημερίας της χώρας.
Από την πλευρά του ο Εντιμ.κ.Πρόξενος χαρακτήρισε τιμητική την επίσκεψη του Πατριάρχου και ιδιαίτερη ευλογία.
Στην συνάντηση παρέστησαν οι Σεβ.Μητροπολίτες Νιγηρίας και Καμερούν, ο Πανοσιολ. Αρχιγραμματεύς της Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου, ο Εξοχ.Πρέσβης της Ελλάδος κ.Διονύσιος Σουρβάνος και ο Εντιμ. Άρχων του Θρόνου κ.Ανέστης Αρνόπουλος.
Αρχιμ.Παντελεήμων Αράθυμος
Αρχιγραμματεύς

MUMA, geometrically

Under a commission for the show Pavilions for New Architecture at the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) in Melbourne, Australia, Elenberg Fraser Architecture contributed a darkly disorienting space. The pavilion is built at 1:3 scale for the exhibition and explores the viewers spatial relationship with form, creating a geometrically altered reality. Visitors crawl through the black plastic envelope on a glass walk and can be observed from various ‘portals’ extending from the vessel. The play in scale, shape and light give the pavilion a sensory manipulation often only described in two dimensional renderings of geometric abstract environments. The manipulation of visual space within the small pavilion creates an illusion of a vast inner world not connected to the same plane of that of its outer vessel in our reality.
The architects dwell on the capacity of architecture to distort environments: 1% is the development of an Architectural position that confirms the key role of the architect as manipulator. Our formula is as follows: Architecture = 1% Conception + 99% Manipulation

Our pavilion is a mirror world; contorted, modified, manipulated by design. The plastic experience of space dissolves conceptions of structure and form into the surface, our continuous world of contortion and deformation. It is an imaginary world – or is it? The reflection in the surface, shadow on mirror, this place is real and not – our disbelief is suspended – and architecture is possible.

as it was Private

Moh architects is a Vienna based group of architects dedicated to developing an innovative approach towards architecture, urbanism and design. Their work encompasses both methodical research as well as the application of innovative design strategies through built work.

The Askim Museum Competition was about designing a museum for a private art collection. The functional program of roughly 2800 sqm had to be embedded in the surrounding urban fabric in an intelligent way, credibly delivering a strong figure/anchor for the region while not overpowering the delicate natural backdrop.

The site given is located on sloped terrain, slightly elevated from the nearby city center. It is connected through a single road which terminates at a derelict quarry. The design proposes this derelict quarry to be an alternative building grounds rather than the original site, as the existing topographical changes and the resulting voids within the hillside lend themselves almost ideally for the museum’s functional spaces.
Therefore, the proposal’s programmatic distribution and spatial differentiation are directly derived from the conditions given: all primary spaces, i.e. the museum itself, are proposed to be located within existing chasm while the appending library and administration spaces are envisioned to be situated on top of the exhibition spaces. The enveloping surface of these programs is in large areas walkable and serves two main purposes: Firstly- it consolidates the different figures into one cohesive composition and secondly- it merges the surrounding natural landscape with the synthetic roof ‘landscape’ of the museum.
 

a Spherical Museum

The project for Milan’s new Museum of Contemporary Art is designed by Daniel Libeskind in cooperation with his Italian partner CityEdge. It features a vertical structure of five floors which twists from its square base and forms a circular terrace at the top. Its design references Da Vinci’s golden section, transforming in accordance to principles of self-evolution and spherical astronomy.

The most important design objective sought by city authorities and the designers was the greatest possible flexibility in order to respond to all of the, nowadays often unpredictable, needs of a space dedicated to contemporary art. This is why the five galleries of the new building are presented as stand-alone units, with a minimum height of 5.5m and equipped with complex lighting and air conditioning systems that make it possible to stage any type of exhibition while at the same time keeping the dominant line of the structure visible to the visitor, the square that becomes a circle, as it moves from the ground to the sky.

The building uses cutting-edge materials and building techniques with the objective of achieving the highest possible level of environmental compatibility. Enveloping the volume is a screen-like structure which visually speaking, enables the perception of the initial geometry of the building. The “screen” is formed by a series of bronze-colored varnished aluminium strips that also provide a great sense of lightness and luminosity.
 

to Mimic the Birds

“The birds have to keep a safe distance from each other while staying safe from possible aggressors; this makes them fly close together to form dark spots in their formation so the attacker cannot pinpoint an individual bird.”

Studio Drift’s concept for Flylight is inspired by flight patterns found in flocks of birds. The idea is to determine behavioral patterns and transpose then into a seemingly arbitrary ensembles of light sources. The installation is made up of 160 glass tubes which interact with the viewers through sensors that translate changes in the environment to computer stimulations. The impulses drive the electronics, making the lights react as if they were a flock of birds maneuvering away from or towards the attacker/viewer.
Behavior is not programmed to a repeated pattern, as each light is controlled individually, but is dependent on the DNA that has been given to the group. The “free will” of the group creates situations in which the flock can either move away or attack the viewers as a defense strategy.

The light installation was presented at the FOO (Flight of Objects) Dutch designers’ group exhibition at Ventura Lambrate in Milan, along with other new projects of Studio Drift.
 

a Diamond Pavilion

Apostrophy’s is a multi-disciplinary design studio, working in the field of new media technologies, visual design, motion graphic, animation, game application, lighting programming design, etc. Their design strives towards empowering users to actively participate in the design. Their Diamond Tile Pavilion was part of the Bangkok Architect Fair in 2011.

Project description:

“In Bangkok Architect Fair 2011, Apostrophy’s favorable circumstances from our companion, Diamond Building Products Public Company, their product lines are ceramic, laminate, construction hardware and construction service in Thailand. Apostrophy’s role in this project is one of the “artist” for the “ Diamond Art – Diamond Lounge” concept in 2011.

The purpose of the Diamond Lounge space is to apply the “HOW TO” of the “Purlin”, hardware for roofing, the highlight of their product launching this year. We transform its function into the element of booth’s construction by “joint” the bent–angle of the purlin together. To describe the main structure, wall, huge lamp ceiling, it’s like we sketch the structure with clean white matt Purlin, appeared-shadow with the rhythmics of space & line of the structure, color the pavilion with lighting, which we layered-hang LED PAR, fluorescent light box to create Lounge environment sense with our various programming pattern of lighting scene design, shown as dimension of Diamond Reflection.”
 

Sakura is the Heart

Οι Κερασιές στο Εφήμερο
Το Φούτζι στο Αιώνιο

Cherry blossoms at Fukushima
Cherry blossoms at the Tokyo Imperial Palace
Cherry blossoms within a field of Phlox subulata at Yachounomori Garden in Tatebayashi, Gunma
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese (桜 or 櫻; さくら).

Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus.
 

Τα Οχυρά των Λαών

Του Βασιλη Kαραποστολη*

Ολοι το βλέπουν πως τα χρόνια που έρχονται θα είναι τα χρόνια μιας θητείας σε πόνους. Με ποιον τρόπο όμως θα θητεύσουμε; Είναι άλλο πράγμα να βάζεις άρον άρον τη στολή σου και βλαστημώντας τους πάντες (και τον εαυτό σου μαζί), να τραβάς την πορεία σου και άλλο να προχωράς με το βήμα εκείνου που νιώθει πως από μέσα του δεν του αφαιρέθηκαν όλα. Ποιος λοιπόν θα είναι ο βηματισμός μας;

Χωρίς αμφιβολία οι απαντήσεις που δίνουν στα βάσανά τους διαφορετικοί λαοί αποκαλύπτουν το βάθος και τη διάρκεια των δοκιμασιών τους, αλλά και τις δυνάμεις που επιστρατεύονται για να τις αντιμετωπίσουν. Οι Ινδοί, για παράδειγμα, αμύνονται με εκείνη την απάθειά τους που όσο κι αν τη μελέτησαν οι Δυτικοί -και όσο κι αν τη μαϊμούδισαν σε διάφορα «κέντρα γιόγκας»- παρέμεινε γι’ αυτούς ακατανόητη. Εβλεπαν τους βουδιστές να αποσύρονται με τον διαλογισμό τους από τον κόσμο τον γεμάτο αγκάθια, και νόμιζαν ότι αποτραβιούνται σε κάποιο ησυχαστήριο χτισμένο εντός τους. Αυτό ήταν το σφάλμα των δυτικών παρατηρητών. Γιατί ο ζηλωτής της αυτοσυγκέντρωσης στην πραγματικότητα μεταφερόταν έξω από τον εαυτό του, σε ένα Ολον μέσα στο οποίο χωνευόταν η συνείδησή του. Αντεχε στις οδύνες γιατί είχε πάψει να έχει ένα «εγώ». Ποιον να χτυπήσουν τα βέλη του κακού, αφού δεν υπήρχε εστία, δεν υπήρχε προσωπική επιφάνεια πάνω στην οποία να καρφωθούν; Η ύπαρξη διαλυόταν σε άπειρα μόρια και ο άνθρωπος έφτανε στην αταραξία με το να καταργεί τα σημεία επαφής του με τον πόνο.

Στους αντίποδες θα βρούμε τη ρώσικη στάση. Οχι μόνο δεν θωρακίζουν την ψυχή και το σώμα τους οι Ρώσοι, αλλά τα εκθέτουν σε συνεχείς τριβές και ταλαιπωρίες. Θέλουν να δουν ως πού φθάνει η δύναμη που είναι βέβαιοι πως έχουν, όταν τους επιτίθεται η πείνα κι η δίψα, όταν το ψύχος τούς κυκλώνει τόσο ολοκληρωτικά ώστε να φαίνεται ότι ο έξω παγετός μοιραία θα φέρει και την εσωτερική τους νέκρωση. Τότε ακριβώς είναι που αντιδρούν με τη μεγαλύτερη σφοδρότητα, αν τουλάχιστον δεχτούμε όσα μαρτυρούν για το πνεύμα του λαού αυτού οι μεγάλοι εξερευνητές του. Ακόμη κι ο Ντοστογιέφσκι απορούσε με το σθένος τους. Παρατηρούσε τυραννισμένους ανθρώπους γύρω του να διατηρούν στο βλέμμα τους μια κάποια αλλόκοτη θέρμη. Κάτι κρατιόταν ζεστό μέσα τους και τους εφοδίαζε μ’ ένα είδος χαρούμενης καρτερίας φτιαγμένης από «εμπιστοσύνη, άγνοια κι ελπίδα».

Σταθερή πίστη

Μοιάζει -ειδικά σήμερα- εξίσου ακατανόητο αυτό το σλάβικο σφρίγος με την ινδική εξαΰλωση. Από πού αντλούν τόση δύναμη οι κακοπαθημένοι Ρώσοι; Οι ίδιες οι πράξεις τους και η ιστορία τους μας το εξηγούν. Μας δείχνουν ότι διαθέτουν μια πίστη στη ζωή τέτοια που να τους επιτρέπει να νιώθουν απ’ ευθείας κληρονόμοι της. Ο,τι ζωντανό, ό,τι πηγαίο, ό,τι εκρηκτικό υπάρχει στο υπέδαφος της γης, θεωρούν ότι κυλάει ανεμπόδιστο στις φλέβες τους, για να τους μετατρέπει σε Ανταίους, όταν χρειάζεται. Χάρη στην πεποίθησή τους ότι η γήινη ζωή συμμαχεί μαζί τους, άντεξαν πολλά οι Ρώσοι. Αλλά πήγαν ακόμη πιο πέρα από το να αποκρούουν σθεναρά τις επιδρομές της μοίρας. Πιστεύοντας ότι αντλούν συνεχώς από το αρτεσιανό φρέαρ της ζωής, θέλησαν να διαπλάσουν επιπλέον κι έναν «νέο άνθρωπο». Τα δάκρυα, τον ιδρώτα και το αίμα τους να γίνουν λίπασμα για τη μελλοντική ανθρωπότητα. Εδώ -κι ας σκανδαλιστούν μερικοί- θα συναντηθούν ο Τολστόι, ο Ντοστογιέφσκι, ο Γκόρκι και ο Λένιν. Μπορεί κανείς να κρίνει όπως νομίζει αυτό το πείραμα - ένα όμως δεν δικαιούται να πει: ότι ήταν πείραμα εργαστηρίου. Αυτός ο λαός ό,τι κάνει, το κάνει βάζοντας στη φωτιά τα χέρια του.

Ας πάμε τώρα σε μιαν άλλη εύφλεκτη περιοχή. Στην Ισπανία αυτό που καίει δεν είναι, όπως στη Ρωσία, η επιθυμία για την ανύψωση της ζωής, είναι η επιθυμία για τη συνάντηση με το Απόλυτο. Αυτή η έλξη κι αυτή η ένταση υπαγορεύει στους Ισπανούς να περιφρονούν βαθύτερα την υποχρέωση να είναι προσαρμοστικοί, «ρεαλιστές». Χειρότερη ταπείνωση, εδώ, θεωρείται να μην μπορείς να διαβλέψεις κάτι το αόρατο πίσω από τα ορατά. Αυτή η ασυμβίβαστη ονειροπόληση θα αποφέρει το παραλήρημα της Αγίας Τερέζας, τις εξορμήσεις του Δον Κιχώτη, τις εξορμήσεις επίσης των θαλασσοπόρων κατακτητών, όπως και τις σκοτεινές δαιμονικές μορφές του Γκόγια, ή, σε εντελώς άλλη κατεύθυνση, τη μεθοδική αδιαλλαξία των Ιησουιτών. Αν όλοι αυτοί μπορούν να μη συντρίβονται από τα εμπόδια που ορθώνονται μπρος τους, είναι γιατί φαντάζονται έναν άγγελο, ή μια σαγηνευτική γυναικεία μορφή, ή και μιαν άγνωστη ήπειρο να υπάρχει πίσω απ’ τα φράγματα. Συμπέρασμα. Οι Ισπανοί αντέχουν τα βάσανα επειδή παθιάζονται. Οι Ινδοί επειδή είναι απαθείς. Οι Ρώσοι επειδή πιστεύουν. Κι εμείς;

Ραψωδοί της ζωής

Σε εμάς δεν υπάρχει ούτε η ικανότητα για λυτρωτική απάθεια, ούτε για ακραίο πάθος, ούτε για σταθερή πίστη. Τότε πώς καταφέραμε να μην κατρακυλήσουμε στην εξαθλίωση ενός λαού που θα ήταν άθυρμα των καταστάσεων; Μπορούμε να πούμε πως μας έσωσε η ασίγαστη επιθυμία για έκφραση. Υπομείναμε έως πρόσφατα όσα μας έτυχαν, με την προσδοκία ότι από τα δυσάρεστα θα φτιάχναμε μια διήγηση ή ένα τραγούδι. Κάποτε οι Ελληνες «έζων δι’ έναν έπαινον, κι απέθνησκον δι’ ένα τραγούδι». Σήμερα, είμαστε υποχρεωμένοι να μην ελπίζουμε σε επαίνους - είναι το πιο σπάνιο πράγμα. Πρέπει επίσης να ομολογήσουμε ότι το τραγούδι δεν βγαίνει πια από τα χείλη μας. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, κάτι μένει. Είναι η ανάγκη να ανακοινώνουμε τα δεινά μας, να κουβεντιάζουμε με τους ομοιοπαθείς, να παρασταίνουμε με χειρονομίες αυτά που δεν λέγονται - έχουμε ακόμη κάποια δυνατότητα να είμαστε ραψωδοί της ζωής. Θα ήταν καταδίκη, αν μας επέβαλαν να παραμείνουμε σιωπηλοί και συλλογισμένοι. Οχι, αδύνατον να γίνει αυτό. Πρέπει να το πάρουμε απόφαση: η περίσκεψη δεν είναι το ατού μας. Εχουμε μόνο την έκφραση. Αλλοι λαοί τη θεώρησαν σχεδόν σπατάλη. Για μας είναι μια πηγή δύναμης. Θα τη διατηρήσουμε;

* Ο κ. Βασίλης Καραποστόλης είναι καθηγητής Πολιτισμού και Επικοινωνίας του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών.
ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ
 

a Translucent Network

Prickly Pear is an installation proposal for the work of Nicola Formichetti designed by Barker Freeman Design Office that proposes an immersive sensory environment with changing color tones that can correspond to changing music, body movement, or merchandise within the space. Our concept was to insert an enveloping volume of stretchy translucent netting that would capture and reflect the shifting light spectrum emitted from the system of custom LED fixtures. The lighting could be programmed on a pre-set script or it could be set to respond to environmental changes.

These fixtures are coupled to steel tension rods that attach to grommets in the fabric and to surface-mounted hooks fastened to the walls and ceiling of the existing space. More steel rods would be breakformed into u-shaped forms that would connect to the grommets inside the space to form hanging surfaces for merchandising.

Changing rooms are formed of smaller fabric pods that attach to the main volume through adjustable portals made from fabric gaskets. These spaces would have their lighting that can be programmed separately to indicate vacancy.

The form is inspired by the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, a plant that has its origins in the west but that has grown to become a staple of Mediterranean regions as well. The prickly pear is a source of inspiration and sustenance and celebrated in a wide range of cultures and in this way is a symbol of the global cross-pollination which inspires Nicola Formichetti, whose Italian-Japanese heritage has been a source of inspiration.

Project Team: Alexandra Barker, AIA LEED AP, Principal
Adrien Allred, Phuong Nguyen, Adam Jakubowski, Bridget Rice

to Be a Membrane, to Save a City

To confront with the sea level rising of New York, Tingwei Xu and Xie Zhang from the University of Pennsylvania designed an idea for protecting certain areas against water by wearing a “membrane’. Deriving from the intelligent components, we created a surface system that can reveal a continually changing expression. The transforming surface can combine the multiple functions such as waterproof, lighting and agricultural planting. Rather than a traditional hierarchy design thinking, each component on the surface has equal essentiality. It is a irreducible integrity.

As the surface serves as a waterproof for the buildings, in turn, the building provides structure support to the surface. To blur the boundary, the surface seamlessly dissolves the old and rigid layer system of the buildings. Thus, the space between the old building and the new surface is totally fluid. Then, all sufaces form a new lattice system on the site. Finally, the system simultaneously evolves into an unprecedented ecological area in New York.
 

just Constructions!!!

by S.M

Visionary Schools

Cheap, dull, unattractive and unpleasant spaces – that’s the reputation of school ‘relocatables’. They’re the decades old, utilitarian solution to changing school demographics, remote community needs and disasters such as fires, floods and cyclones.

But a new plan by the Laboratory For Visionary Architecture [LAVA] turns these unpleasant spaces into smart buildings, the design an education in itself. In sustainability, social interaction, nature and adaptive technology. Chris Bosse, Asia Pacific director of LAVA says: ‘we wanted to turn this idea upside down and create spaces that are sustainable, practical, cost-effective whilst fun and exciting to be in’.

The sustainable design includes a modular façade system that is manually operable, flexible for light and shade, enclosed space or open space, bringing the outside in or the inside out. Using eco-materials it is low cost, low carbon, with off-site prefabrication allowing responsive assembly, with small lightweight, easily transportable modular elements. This cellular ‘space for learning’ strengthens the connection between mankind, nature and technology. ‘Three-axis’ geometry allows the interlocking of each module to form large groups with smaller learning clusters. This results in the building itself learning how to adapt to future methods of learning and future modes of operation.

The future classroom adapts to multiple sites, unusual configurations and different climates and topographies through a simple telescopic system of posts integrating the classroom into the landscape. The concept received a commendation in the Australian Future Proofing School competition to future proof relocatable learning spaces. The aim of the ideas competition was to produce effective spaces for 21st century learning that are sustainable, integrate with the landscape and connect with the school environment, suitable for prefabrication and mass customization.