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noun. 1. A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible.
- An object, place, or area that reflects its history
Like many people I see the beauty in those sparse, monastic, gallery-like spaces we regularly see in the architectural press. Devoid of clutter and unencumbered by superfluous possessions these calming, controlled spaces seem the perfect antidote to the hectic modern world with its 24/7 connectivity and endless distractions and diversions. However, I also know that after about 5 minutes of sitting cross-legged on the floor I will be hungering for something new to occupy my mind. Mankind inherently seeks novelty and stimulation and this variety of experience allows us the rewards of surprise and delight.
Robyn and I have recently been working on a project in Reading for a large, mid-1980’s office block. It’s a curious building, not instantly lovable to most, I’m afraid, but very much of its period and with a bit of investigation and imagination you can see how it sprang from the Post-Modernist Movement, albeit it somewhat diluted. It is however at least interesting to look at and sometimes it makes me smile. It may be bulky and lumpy and have a peculiar array of window shapes and projecting balconies and be clad, to our 21st century eyes, in a rather strange mix of materials and colours but at least it isn’t bland or dull. It represents a moment in time as much as the Victorian red-brick buildings adjacent to it and it’s not so long ago that they themselves were so out of fashion and despised that gems like St Pancras Station were threatened with demolition. Now it is beautifully refurbished and proudly shows off the riot of colour and detailing that to many in the mid-20th century looked so out-dated and ridiculous.
It would have been all too easy to surround the building in Reading in a sea of neat monochrome paving, trying in vain to update its appearance and dilute its impact. However, that would be like trying to make Zandra Rhodes wear Jean Muir, totally out of character and probably unsuccessful.
We took the bold step to embrace its colour and embrace its history and proposed a scheme that celebrated the strange coloured cladding with splashes of mauve, pink and purple throughout the hard landscaping and some bold walls and plinths clad in coloured glazed bricks. The planting scheme is all also dominated by flowers and foliage from this colour palette.It’s very tempting to imagine that what we design today is ‘classic’ or ‘modern’ or ‘timeless’, however one only has to look back at period films to see how clearly they speak of the time in which they were made as well as the time in which they are set. It is the same in most design fields. Whatever we create is to some degree subconsciously influenced by the fashions of the day and we should embrace this layering of history rather than trying to fight it and allow this richness and interest to build up to tell our story to future generations.
