One of my Christmas gifts this year was the book ‘How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built’ by Stewart Brand. Based on the belief that buildings need to be examined not only in terms of space but also time, Brand suggests that buildings have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances when appropriately reshaped by their occupants. Though I’ve only started reading what promises to be a very fascinating book, a paragraph in the opening chapter caught my attention.Brand states that: “Almost no buildings adapt well. They’re designed not to adapt; also budgeted and financed not to, constructed not to, administered not to, maintained not to, regulated and taxed not to, even remodeled not to...”
The idea of un-adaptable houses reminded me of the much discussed phenomenon of technological obsolescence (A blog entry by Patrick Mueller further discusses how Brand's work, although not dealing directly with software or hardware, holds many interesting lessons for those interested in technological design). Much in the same way that 12 inch floppy disks and the original Nintendo entertainment system (NES) have become outdated, so too have dumbwaiters, servants' quarters, and carriage houses. It is perhaps in terms of technology that I can finally explain to a certain classmate how I feel about historic buildings.
Just as computer emulators fail to capture the full experience of an original Nintendo game, so too does a digital model of a historic home. Even the best emulators never require one to blow on a game cartridge, a behaviour familiar to all those who grew up with the original NES. In a similar vein, there is something in the home itself; the smell, the texture of the building materials, the lighting, and perhaps something even more intangible, that can never be fully replicated. Though it would be extremely reassuring to be able protect my favourite homes on a memory stick, it just wouldn't be the same...that and the memory stick would need to be upgraded constantly to remain viable.
Images From:
1 - Patrick Mueller's blog. "How Buildings Learn." http://pmuellr.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-buildings-learn.html
2 - Ontario Architecture. "Second Empire." http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/Second.htm
3 - Businessweek. "Nintendo Entertainment System." http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/4.htm
1 - Patrick Mueller's blog. "How Buildings Learn." http://pmuellr.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-buildings-learn.html
2 - Ontario Architecture. "Second Empire." http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/Second.htm
3 - Businessweek. "Nintendo Entertainment System." http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/4.htm
2 comments:
Hey Grace. I really really like this comparison. I wonder though how far we would go with a historic building? Say, the ones we see here in London are still inspired by those built in Europe. Would people from back in those days look at our emulations and think they sucked just like a computer version of Duck Hunt?! I get quite a few laughs from my friends over in the UK who are like, you live where? and there's a river too? Good old emulations, we are totally surrounded.
I know what you mean Andrea. Once I took a friend from Britain to Eldon House and she looked at the year it was built and couldn't believe that it was the oldest remaining house in London. Her house back home was older!
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