Elul Day 8
Dear Elul Writers,
When my next-door neighbor, Ed, an architect, asked me if I’d ever encountered Mostafavi and Leatherbarrow’s important work on the temporality of architecture, On Weathering, I let him know that I had never read any important works on the temporality of architecture. Sadly, my knowledge of architecture is limited to being able to distinguish between doric, ionic and corinthian columns, a lesson that was repeated an oddly large number of times during my early education. But, I let him know that, based on the title alone, I felt certain I would enjoy having a look at On Weathering. A few days later, he left his copy on our doorstep and I cracked it and, perhaps for the first time, I considered the temporality of architecture.
The thesis of the book is laid out pretty early in the book and it’s stated with such clarity that I thought I would just place it here:
Our aim in the argument that follows is to revise the sense of the ending of an architectural project, not to see finishing as the final moment of construction but to see the unending deterioration of a finish that results from weathering, the continuous metamorphosis of the building itself, as part of its beginning(s) and its ever-changing “finish.”
The book seeks to recast weathering, which might be seen as unfortunate or shameful, as inherent in the very act of creation. The authors first present the view of weathering as a negative reality, “What is the value of this accumulated dirt or this erosion of a finished edge? Is it not tragic?” Only then do they shift and consider a different perspective, “Alternatively, does it not show the rightful claim nature has on all works of art? Is not this return of matter to its source, as a coherent body, already implied in its constitution, insofar as every physical thing carries within its deepest layers a tendency towards its own destruction– death as a birthright?”
Prompt
We seek to build ourselves up during this month of Elul. We create an edifice that, we hope, reflects something of who we are, our sturdiness, our values. Yet, in aiming to build a sound and beautiful structure, are we forgetting that deterioration and diminishment are an inherent part of the process> To paraphrase Breishit, we are dust and to dust we will return. Or, to paraphrase On Weathering, implied in our constitution is our eventual return to our source. On this eighth day of Elul, consider how you might build weathering into your design for yourself in the year to come. How might acknowledging the inevitable change and degradation, help us to lovingly, carefully and realistically set goals for ourselves. Might our ever-changing finish be seen not as tragic, but as natural and just?
Take care,
Jordan