From Slab to Fab: The Concretus Ambitions of Modern Society

As we build taller, we are confronted with a small window into the aspirations of a societies' people. From the cathedrals of Europe, to the Pyramids of Giza, fast forward to today's modern day steel structures such as the Empire State and Taipei 101 buildings. We have arrived at an era where cultural landmarks 'of the people' are now 'for the people' - cathedrals of commerce and private opulence that are in a perpetual state of skyward-reach.

The impending arrival of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai equals - perhaps supersedes other modern marvels - epitomizing the stunning achievements of structural design and material advancement. Erected as an impressive series of rotations toward the heavens, the newly built structure - now the worlds tallest - was made entirely of reinforced concrete.

More than simply an aesthetic obsession with concrete, it is of particular interest (to me) that over the past centuries, buildings have made a significant shift from vernacular materials - locally quarried stone - to a seemingly generic and 'placeless' material that is reproduced with varying degrees of success around the world. With a response to creativity and gravity defying feets, concrete may never replace the timeless and human qualities of stone, but it will most certainly support today's designers and engineers in crafting the ambitions of today's modern societies.

Stunningly, the compressive strength of concrete has tripled over the last half century, further facilitating the physical legacies of our social and cultural achievements. Our cities, bridges, and buildings have become taller, lighter, and increasingly streamlined. While we can all attest to such advancements in construction and engineering, less can be said of our horizontal experience of this world. With the punishment we inflict on our roads and public spaces, and the expectations for endurance we expect but take for granted from each, our dependence upon them grows with every passing day. Unfortunately, our vertical pursuits are given much higher priority - a result of an evolution toward upright cities for the affluent. Such is certainly the case at the Burj, with resdiences priced for the nearly-royal.

From an historical worship of stone to the modern day eruption of "free enterprise" - signified by the advancements of steel - there is something to ponder about our lofty achievements with today's most prolific building material, concrete. I suspect the rest of us plebeians will continue to persevere however. Traveling between such impressive yet ironic structures of our time, we shall hold a contemptful jealousy for the impromptu matches of hopscotch we continue to endure - forever avoiding the cracks, gaps, and outright upheavals of our horizontal world.

Everyday Brush Strokes

As a glimmering exodus of people emerge from their homes the evidence of a thawing winter abounds. Like memorial monuments arranged in homage to an historical event, the remains of snowmen dot the Oval Lawn at Central Park - reconvening themselves to a place within the hydrological cycle of the living landscape.

While standing proud and defying even the most casual observer, the landscape architect's eye is particularly obsessed with such banal details of everyday life. Decay, death, and their inherent acknowledgement of the passing of time all manifest an environmental patina of change that measures our engagement with the built and natural environment. Embracing, enhancing, and simply revealing these changes remains our biggest challenge and our greatest achievement.

Central Park is, perhaps, one of these more fundamental and momentous achievements - a place before and of it's time. The gloriously colourful passing of seasonal time is manifest in the manmade arrangement of such subtle but impressive events  - a carefully crafted choreography of elements that respond to the worlds cyclical processes. Independently they may be taken for granted. As a bold expression of character, form, and perhaps even personality, however, these elements possess the ability to command an attention that may otherwise be superseded. 

This art, that lives as part of our daily lives, brings a softer and quieter resistance to the more brazen and ostentatious realities that abound. As architects create shapes to appropriate voids and musicians create sounds to capture silence, I posit landscape architect's have the earthly ability to understand the basic human requirements of inhabitation amongst our tumultuous present realities of urban life. 

The formulation, manipulation and arrangement of objects and space itself create places that serve as testimonials and careful reminders of our closest ally - the natural world. While our experience of light exists in the patient and brooding presence of darkness, our connection to place and our sense of belonging is experienced in the passing of time. Finding beauty not in the arrangement or physical presence of things themselves, but in the patterns they create, the shadows they cast, and the passing of time that they document, provides a more lasting impression. One can only hope that we take the time to notice, and to dwell.