Where'd ya pick up this crackpot.  He don't stay in one place long enough
to know whether he's a-comin' or a-goin'.  Ruth, who hasn't been more'n 50
miles from here in a coon's age






At 3:37 PM -0400 6/8/05, Met History wrote:



From the SPA (Small Practice Architects) website:

Our guest diarist this month is Daniel Libeskind, the world's leading
designer of sorrowful museums.

Monday. I am in New York, feeling very much like a New Yorker. This morning
as I was getting dressed - one boot at a time, like everyone else living in
a democracy - I looked out of my window at Ground Zero.

Not for the first time, I reflected that there are some very positive
things rising from the ashes of the September 11 disaster.  Not least a
world-class memorial, set within a Zone of Somber  Rememberin' . I have
been very lucky to get the opportunity to replan this area of Lower
Manhattan - though admittedly only up to ground level.

Above ground level, a dazzling array of brilliant architecture by some of
the best designers in the world will rise. It is my task to guide their
brilliance to fruition with constructive criticism and  public speeches. I
expect in due course to feel quite humbled by this.

Tuesday. There's an old English folk song, shrouded in half-forgotten
memory, and pain, which goes: "Maybe it's           because I'm in London
that I love London Town".

Standing today on Yesminster Bridge, I felt absolutely like a  Londoner. I
am here to meet the trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum to discuss
the future of the extension I have designed for them, the "Radical
Corkscrew".

They seem very impressed with my theory of architectural counterpoint -
built form/void, amnesia/remembrance etc. They set me a new challenge: to
"unthink the unthinkable". Sadly, by the end of our meeting, this concept
had evolved into decommissioning the unbuildable.

Wednesday. Today I am in Tel Aviv. As ever, it feels like home.   And, like
all homes, unique in its contradictions. Yes, there is sadness. But also
there is hope, and flattery.

We drove straight to the Museum of Infinite Misery But Also  Healing, where
I was given a gold medal for my Services to Anguish, and a lavish dinner
afterwards. It was a joyous occasion. I spoke about the unquenchable human
spirit, then took up my accordion and played a poignant version of the
Trini Lopez tune If I Had A           Hammer.

Thursday. Genoa? She's my wife! Seriously - every time I come to Genoa,
it's like rediscovering an almost atavistic sense of belonging, of
self-in-time-and-space.

To me, a city is the ultimate work of art, and every citizen is a
contributor to that work. I will shortly be extending the living canvas
here with several new skyscrapers, and today I got to meet the project's
investors, who are the modern-day equivalent of great Renaissance patrons.

I explained that my design will hold echoes of the Bubonic Plague that
swept Europe in the Middle Ages, but will also suggest the movements of
life-affirming peasant dances. My patrons looked a little uncertain until I
said that, of course, without guaranteed minimum areas of lettable
floorspace there can be neither joy nor tragedy.

Friday. As I stroll through Dublin's fair city (practically a second home
these days!) my mind is racing. "Plump, stately Buck Mulligan", fried
kidneys, the dialogue of gaslamps, Molly Bloom and yes crumbs in the bed
yes...

A double epiphany strikes me. Firstly, I am in Prague, not Dublin!
Secondly, the reason I'm thinking in this stream of consciousness way is
because I'm supposed to be pitching my ideas for a Museum of  Surrealist
Remembrance in half an hour.

The meeting goes well, of course. I explain my basic idea - a cluster of
exploding shards. But this time, they have a slightly melted look. How my
clients laugh when I hand them the drawings - I have written "These are not
the drawings" on the front.

Saturday. Berlin, my spiritual home. I have just called in briefly to pick
up my spiritual mail and feed my spiritual cat.

Sunday. Home again to New York. A family day, full of laughter.  And Bach.
And invoicing.



--
M L " Mike " Waller

Charrette Design Group Architects

>From soon to be walkable Mandeville, La.
The New Discourse List is a temporary forum for the discussion of
progressive and new ideas in support of traditional architecture and
urbanism. Please direct enquiries to the listowner, Dr Richard John
([log in to unmask]).

--
Ruth Barton
[log in to unmask]
Dummerston, VT

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>