http://qz.com/510081/this-coveted-architecture-prize-has-been-awarded-to-a-woman-for-the-first-time-since-1848/?utm_source=ff
I haven't yet met Dame Zaha Hadid, who's designed the building that won the prize announced in the link above, but I'm sure glad I'm getting to witness her accomplishment. Photographs tantalize: since it's not possible to completely convey a kinaesthetic experience in two dimensions, I just hope I will have an opportunity to go walkabout through the spaces defined and delineated by her structures.
What struck me as particularly provocative, contemplating the potency of her design vocabulary, her assertive use of curves in geometries not commonly found in buildings that are constructed in industrialized western societies, is how stylistically and evocatively reminiscent of Paolo Soleri they appear. I have little doubt her frames of reference architecturally are quite different from his. I also do not doubt that the execution of her design is likely much smoother (I mean, literally, as in: finely troweled, finished surfaces) than what was accomplished by the multitudes of mostly young volunteer laborers who worked on the construction of the designs of Paolo Soleri during his lifetime.
Just now, watching the sublimely gifted, determined athletes assembled at Arcosanti for the annual Stilt Congress rehearse and perform, I see with new eyes how wonderfully sensitive Paolo Soleri was to space as the backdrop for physical expression. The visiting stilt walkers make amazingly assertive use of the variety of material forms that constitute Arcosanti as a physical container. Seeing them strut across and fly through earth-cast concrete apses, arches, the forms and gardens delineated by the sculpturing of the mesa on which the structures of Arcosanti are built, it is clear that although the Colly Soleri Amphitheatre serves as Arcosanti's designated primary performance venue, it is, in fact, all of Arcosanti that is actual space for the expressive arts, for all manner of performance.
Following the thread of Jeff Stein's remark which titles this blog entry: the stories we experience as well as the stories we tell are ongoing events throughout our lives. Logan Phillips's poem (downloadable below) performed by the Carpet Bag Brigade during the 2015 Stilt Congress heightens (pardon: the pun is inescapable) Shakespeare's eternal human truth: "All the world's a stage; and all the men and women merely players." A truth to marvel at anew when insightful dramatic expression occurs in the dynamic space of wonderfully powerful architectural design.
What struck me as particularly provocative, contemplating the potency of her design vocabulary, her assertive use of curves in geometries not commonly found in buildings that are constructed in industrialized western societies, is how stylistically and evocatively reminiscent of Paolo Soleri they appear. I have little doubt her frames of reference architecturally are quite different from his. I also do not doubt that the execution of her design is likely much smoother (I mean, literally, as in: finely troweled, finished surfaces) than what was accomplished by the multitudes of mostly young volunteer laborers who worked on the construction of the designs of Paolo Soleri during his lifetime.
Just now, watching the sublimely gifted, determined athletes assembled at Arcosanti for the annual Stilt Congress rehearse and perform, I see with new eyes how wonderfully sensitive Paolo Soleri was to space as the backdrop for physical expression. The visiting stilt walkers make amazingly assertive use of the variety of material forms that constitute Arcosanti as a physical container. Seeing them strut across and fly through earth-cast concrete apses, arches, the forms and gardens delineated by the sculpturing of the mesa on which the structures of Arcosanti are built, it is clear that although the Colly Soleri Amphitheatre serves as Arcosanti's designated primary performance venue, it is, in fact, all of Arcosanti that is actual space for the expressive arts, for all manner of performance.
Following the thread of Jeff Stein's remark which titles this blog entry: the stories we experience as well as the stories we tell are ongoing events throughout our lives. Logan Phillips's poem (downloadable below) performed by the Carpet Bag Brigade during the 2015 Stilt Congress heightens (pardon: the pun is inescapable) Shakespeare's eternal human truth: "All the world's a stage; and all the men and women merely players." A truth to marvel at anew when insightful dramatic expression occurs in the dynamic space of wonderfully powerful architectural design.
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