pjwsr.com
PHILIP WHITE
intro
When Homo-Sapiens first stood upright, an evolution in his existence brought about a sense of consciousness and being. This elevation and turning the horizontal vertically was a pivotal moment in time where his place in the universe became apparent. In the context of this project, the horizon is viewed as a spatial metaphor describing the limits of human existence.
I believe imagination to be man's greatest attribute. But imagination is limited insomuch as being mortals living in a finite world. The romantic notion of reconciling this reality with our desires is at the heart of the human condition and the foundation of modernity.
In the words of the poet Robert Browning, "a man's reach should exceed his grasp". ¹ No where is this more evident than the desire for perfection or the 'ideal'. Within all things, living and non-living there exists a hidden structure or what I'll refer to as 'essence' or 'spirit'. To the Alchemist, hidden within the structure of base metals lies the potential for perfection. Turning base metals into gold, gold being the embodiment of perfection, is the universal essence of physical and spiritual existence, and is the essential agent to the 'elixir of life' that when consumed brings immortality. This project explores the architectural possibilities within the realm of these ideas and establishes a correlation between the goals of Alchemist and Architect. A transliteration of alchemy to architecture is beyond the scope of this project, however, there are analogous mechanical operations to consider i.e., turning material from one form to another.
Poet Wallace Stevens said, "Death is the mother of beauty". ² I believe the garden is the quintessential physical manifestation of reconciliation between life and death, paradise as it were. Hypothetically speaking, this is where my project begins. As I reflect on this 'ideal' starting place, I propose that a building can be a metaphor for life and death. The proposal is a pavilion in a garden.
Einstein theorized the speed of a moving object across space is relative to the position of the observer(s).
Mathematical equations are to the physicist what drawings are to the architect.
² Wallace Stevens, Poetry Magazine of Verse, Vol. VII, NO. II: Seymour, Daughaday and Company, 1915, Sunday Morning, 81.
¹ Robert Browning, The Complete Poetry, New York & Boston: Crowell, 1898, (e-artnow, 2017), Andrea del Sarto, 730.
