a sense of time

spinning prayer wheels - bhutan

architecture is design in at least four dimensions.  there are more dimensions i wonder about, that physicists theorize on – 10, maybe 11 dimensions - though they are not physically evident.  translating the others into concrete, or even words, is an obscured, mystical and magical act –  like the infusion of spiritual and magical powers into layered metals in the making of the keris blade. 

this master keris maker – a national treasure of java (who passed away only months after our time together), told of the final fusion - made during days, maybe weeks of meditation – no eating, no sleeping – a trance-like state where the spirit and magic of the blade is evoked.  it is physically manifest in the intricate layered metal patterns on the finished blade, and serves as powerful protection to the family for whom it is made - it takes about one year to complete the process of folding and fusing metals in the creation of one blade.

javanese keris master - national treasure

keris maker's workshop - java

what dimension is this?  on a neverending exploration into realms only glimpsed, returning to the fourth dimension seems simple.  time is powerfully and clearly the fourth dimension that is embodied in architecture – and when not considered as essential to the foundation of a design – it is powerfully and tragically missing.  architecture defines the passing of the day - dawn to dusk to midnight, the passing of the season – heat, wind, rain, snow, the passing of eras, the rise of empires, the dissolution of cultures. 

bursa mosque

 

bhutan - rammed earth structure

when i look at buildings i see time – forgotten or treasured.  i see the evidence of time – through the weathered patina of materials, the craft and construction of the culture, the purpose of the structure reflecting the industry of its time.  i see the line and wave of people moving from one place to another, mixing across cultures and landscapes - the alchemic mix of east and west, islam and christian, buddhist and animist, merchant and shintoist, dutch farmer and frontier settler… 

skagit valley barn

i see strata of time, layered one over another. of one time, re-made anew, or left to dissolve..

essaouira morocco

palouse agricultural outpost

as we draw, we can move from left to right (width), forward and backward (depth), and upward and downward (height).  in time, we can only be in the present, being taken toward our future.  in our minds, we go back – our memories – in our minds, we go forward – our dreams. 

in studying the sufi concept of time – it’s beyond the inevitable past, present and future line – it’s the whirling, cycling, spiraling continuum, no beginning, no end…it is a connection from the infinite to the present, from the present to the infinite – that is the hand, upward, the body, whirling, the feet, grounded.

whirling dervish - istanbul

my son reminds me that everything we see in the present moment is actually in the past – due to the fractional amount of time it takes for light to move through space.  the idea that our reality is not real – that is well proven – our brains are designed for survival, not reality – and our perception of reality is limited by the capacity of our senses along with the contained past experiences our brain has stored - which means even with the aid of telescopes and microscopes we can still only percieve less than 25% of what actually exists. 

infinite invocation

as we create buildings, we reference what has been known, and anticipate what will be – the act of architecture is fusion of the past, present, and future.  memories, senses, and dreams – together.  if we take great care in that orchestration, it can be beautiful.  it can be perfectly imperfect, wabi sabi, impermanent, organic, cyclic,  temporally ambiguous, time shifting, both of the past and the future.  transformational.

sinan's bath - istanbul

seeking beauty, always.

the richness of the marketplace

there are places that are powerfully magnetic -

forests, for their dark earthy scents, filtered light patterned canopies and mysterious layered sounds..

kyoto - bamboo forest

java - merapi

java - merapi jungle

mountains for their high view, crystaline air and physical challenges – and the power and force of their creation and ongoing evolution..

himalaya

mt. st. helens - 2008

merapi - march 2006

spiritual places for the sacred energy, celestial light, soaring volume, echoing chants, and feats of architecture - from the mosques of istanbul and morocco, the temples of kyoto and bhutan, and the cathedrals of europe..

istanbul - 2008

instanbul mosque

aya sofia - istanbul

kyoto - kiyomizu temple

bhutan - takstang monastery

duomo di siena

and in all this exploring that i love to do, i am always drawn to the richness of the marketplace. 

what makes these captivating places so dynamic, so full of energy, discovery, inspiration? 

grand bazaar - istanbul

the people – creatively displaying the fruition of all their hard work, and those that are seeking a discovery.  it is the public living room of the community – the best place to experience the diversity and connection to a culture in any place on the planet.

berber market - atlas mountains

delhi - chandni chowk

marrakech - nutshop

the craft – what is made, how it is displayed, the care in which the shop is curated.

instanbul - textile shop

delhi - chandni chowk shopkeeper

the richness of the sensory experience – scents – food, leather, flowers, tobacco, spices – colors – brilliant arrays of fruits and vegetables, vibrant patterns and materials in a vast saturated spectrum – sounds – the shopkeepers calls, intimate chatting, collective sighs, calls to prayer – textures – woven textiles, hammered and etched metals, smooth pottery, ancient cobblestones. 

marrakech souk

marrakech souk

spice market - istanbul

marrakech souk - blankets

From the berber markets in the foothills of the Atlas mountains, and the souks of Marrakech, to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and Chandni Chowk in Delhi, from the Pike Place Market in Seattle to the food markets of central Java – there is a universal language.  From the line of time back to nomadic trade routes and crossroads, to the modern day markets of urban cities – it is the fabric of human life, the celebration of human connections, the epicenter of human creative spirit – the marketplace.

istanbul - spice market

berber market - atlas mountains

working on the design of retail spaces, i’m learning to infuse that sensorial richness, layered experience, and inspiring memory of these places.

dac @home in the pike place market

moroccan architecture – light, texture, color, and detail

In Marrakech, after a short flight and descent of looping figure 8′s from Casablanca, there is a small hint of what is to come – the wrapping envelope of light and shadow, layered textures on every plane – though the saturation of color has been stripped away, in a modernist move, to pure white.  The effect is a striking geometry, softened by the intricate cast of shadow and light on a heavy structural diamond web.

marrakech airport - arrival hall

marrakech airport - exterior canopy

 Within the old city’s original walls, the medina, it feels like travelling back in time – in some places just a century or two, in others, thousands of years. This was a crossroads of trade routes – from the original Berber tribes in the nearby Atlas mountains, the blue-robed south Saharan Tuaregs, to the Atlantic.  Other than the city walls, only one small fragment of the original city remains – the mosque dome of Koubba El-Badiyin – the origins of Moorish building and the basis of North African architecture.

marrakech - koubba el-badiyin mosque

koubba el-badiyin mosque

A series of dynasties have since left traditions of incredible richness in the skill and craft of architecture – in palaces, tombs, schools, and mosques.  Even today, the highly detailed cut tile mosaics, carved and painted wood panels and cut plaster are all created by hand.  There are an endless number of details and textures wrapping every surface, a complete enveloping of beauty in color and pattern.  The French also left a tradition that continues – all buildings are pink – and the variations of hue are infinite, and especially beautiful in the late afternoon sun, as the city and people glow in the reflected shades of cinnamon, rose and sienna.

ali ben youssef medersa

ali ben youssef medersa

ali ben youssef medersa

 Diving in today – it’s vibrant, overwhelming in the riot and chaos of the souks and labyrinth of streets filled with hand carts, motorcycles, bicycles, donkey and horse-drawn carts, speeding Mercedes taxis, and people weaving through it all. Spice, smoke, incense.

marrakech souk

marrakech souk

marrakech souk

 Behind the doors are the hidden calm – the riyads – traditional courtyard homes filled with hand cut mosaics, carved and painted wood paneling, lace-cut metal lamps, hand cut plaster ceilings – all with a level of intricacy that continually captivates and changes with the time of day.

riyad al moussika - marrakech

jardin majorelle - marrakech

 

Everything here feels like a powerful reminder of time – the line of ancient cultures, the traditions handed from generation to generation, and the light of this very moment, just for an instant.

Grateful, in Marrakech.

the hand of fatima in morocco

In Istanbul a few years ago, I was exploring the amazing collection of old artwork and calligraphy in a little shop nearby the grand bazaar, and a small well-worn silver talisman caught my eye.  It looks and feels like someone has stroked it so many times that the silver has started to slowly melt.  The edges of the form of the hand have softened to an organic shape, and the pattern detail is nearly dissolved. 

turkish talisman

I’ve worn the talisman on a silk cord around my neck since then, and kept my eye out for others like that – but I had not seen any.  Today I’m in Marrakech, and there are many of these symbols – everywhere.  Mostly they are mass produced tourist trinkets in thin stamped metal with a fake stone mounted in the center, the eye.  Nothing in the character of these objects is captivating – except for the idea that they have a powerful symbolic meaning. 

the souks of marrakech

There is the captivation of the place – the souks – an endless labyrinth of shops.  At first it’s overwhelming – the chaos of motorcycles, bicycles, hand carts, and people of amazing diversity.  Discoveries emerge as you immerse, and go deeper – patterns, layers under layers of what is sensed, seen, tasted, scented.  The hand talisman are found in every small jewelry collection in hundreds of shops.

marrakech souk - jewelry shop

essaouira - souk jewelry collection

In this part of the world the symbol is called The Hand of Fatima, and links back beyond ancient Egypt; its meaning represents both power and protection, on the temporal plane as well as the spiritual. The hand works, it creates, it guides, it protects.  The symbol is also known as khamsa and the Eye of Fatima in Islamic tradition. The Hand of Fatima is made in the form of talisman, amulets, jewelry and architectural details. Although predating Islam, the symbol has been widely assimilated into Islamic art and popular culture.  There is also a symbolic link to the number 5, five fingers, the five pillars of Islam.

And when you keep looking you find it in more places.

marrakech - spice shop

And more places – as a protection…

essaouira port

ourika valley - the shadow of the atlas mountains

And as a greeting, a way of entering…

marrakech - door

All individually crafted by hand, sculpted metals with all variations of finish, texture, form, pattern, color, and composition with the door and it’s hardware – carefully displayed works of art, design, identity – punctuating the pink earth and stone walls of the city.  A small detail discovered in the amazing complexity and richness of this place. 

A few of them made their way home with me, along with the collection of images.  There are many meanings I think about as I study these, the hand as an eye – a way of seeing, as a way of connecting to others and to the world, as an opening of the individual spirit to the universal, as a tool of making, of loving, of being, human.

paris boutique window