SHOSTAKOVICH

A number of years ago (2004) when Santiago Calatrava came to lecture at the University of Washington, coincident with the opening of an exhibit of his work at the Henry Art Gallery. Fate had left me and many others plunked down in the overflow room with a terrible video and audio feed. Dejected and dizzy from the combination of slow and fast motion filming, roller coaster camera angles, and elevated CO2 levels in the room, it was hard to appreciate the screaming Shostakovitch soundtrack that had been the tortuous score for the slides and videos of Calatrava's work.
Though I remain uncertain as to the appropriateness of the score, I do now have some appreciation the intended rhythm and aspiration. Perhaps the Rachels would have been a bit more apt. -KD

SELENOGRAPHY

I was fortunate to have the house to myself this afternoon while painting (walls) for my mother. After running out the usual cast of NPR programming I cued up one of my Rachel's albums.

From the first, I have been attracted to the total strength and certain darkness of the Rachel's compositions. Part of the drawing power, I believe, is in the nuance of their energy and the spectrum it covers. At times the movements seem bombastic and at others, subtle and intimate. It seems that the conjured emotions are similarly diverse; aspirational and lively mixed with brooding and volatile. Their music is almost always provocative and somehow inevitable.

The parallel with architecture? As I was painting I was thinking about the vitality of that dynamic energy and how these moments might manifest themselves within structure, volume, and light. I thought about the importance of the inclusion of diverse movements in design and the particular challenge with designing such a large and volumetric structure as a 1200' long hangar for Zeppelins. In short, designing with nuance and scale that will energize the experience beyond that of shear volume. -KD

YOUR DISCIPLINE [ here ]

“Here it is.”

The local chain book merchant guided me back to where I had stood previously and pointed to the (half full) bottom shelf. I had falsely assumed that the Architecture and Design section had been moved. The few books that were there were certainly not treatises of Architecture, or for that matter, worth picking up.

Now it can't be said that southern Florida is by any means the literary or design center of anything, however I couldn't help being discouraged by my visit. I hope this is not a sign of the popular relevance of our discipline. -KD

THE ACT OF BREATHING

Somewhat unconsciously, I have been using the term 'aspiration' to describe the pursuits of the various figures in architecture, engineering, and aeronautics that my research has led me to. It has become one of my favorite terms or even ideas over the past number of years. Most often I use the term not in relation to its primary definition, as in the act of breathing, but in relation to its alternate meaning, as in the desire to achieve something high or great. The appropriateness of the term in the context of a thesis dedicated to lighter than air flight and impossibly large hangars is a nice bonus.

Among my thoughts this fall is a question of what makes up the wonderment that plants itself in our stomachs, say when we walk across the Brooklyn or Golden Gate bridges, or fly aboard a Boeing 747. For that matter, what is it about images of the great Zeppelins that still inspire awe, 60 years after their demise. It seems impossible not be to be captivated by the tremendous size and graceful forms of the Zeppelins, and in the same way, impossible not to be captivated by a span stretching out, to touch down at some point beyond belief.

For me, as I am sure it is for others, it is not just the stretch of the engineered span and accumulated volume that is captivating. It would seem that it is the inherent aspiration present in these graceful spans and evident in the form of the great Zeppelins- the aspiration of its designers, embodied within these structures that captivates us.

And so it seems that we are, as a whole, attracted to Zeppelins and large span structures not just because of the distance from support A to support B, but because materialized within, is the aspiration and perseverence of its designers and those that have built them. -KD

MORNING EDITION

From the road I was aghast, as I walked in- breathless.


My visit to the one remaining hangar had been long overdue. "Have you been out to the hangar in Tillamook?" Brad (Cloepfil) asked. I hadn't. "It is amazing!" And so it was. After the visit, my mind and spirit raced all that day, propelled by the volume and aspiration of the structure.

May 6, 2007, the day sixty years previous that the Hindenburg went up in flames, and with it- effectively, the promise and romance of airship travel. But it was also on that day last spring, as I listened to Morning Edition on NPR, that the topic for my Masters of Architecture Thesis took form. Through the morning I had thought much about the nature of hangars and airship travel, and wondered about the legitimacy of the idea might.

That afternoon, I tested it on a studio mate just before desk crits began. I had hardly finished articulating my thoughts when he decided to give it a run by our studio professor, Christopher Patano. Chris's immediate enthusiasm (and subsequent guidance) set the course for my thesis.

This post comes at an appropriate time, as I have a moment to reflect on my last 6 months in Portland, and at Allied Works, and plan for the final 6 months of my degree. When the plane banked low over Sauvie Island, Skyline and the West Hills yesterday morning, my heart sank a bit and I worried that it may be permanently grounded in Portland, Oregon.

However, the excitement for my thesis topic, and thoughts of graduation, have mostly displaced the sinking feeling. At the moment I am feeling very fortunate to spend the next few weeks with family and for the opportunities I have had and those that lay ahead. -KD

NEW BEGINNINGS

Stay tuned...