CROWN HALL HOMAGE

One of the themes that has developed in these pages is the worship of famous buildings. At first, I was not sure why I was compelled to draw famous buildings. But now I get it. I was following my own unrealized need to engage with buildings that have been touted as superior. I realized that till I started making these drawings, I had accepted a superficial and representational understanding that had been dictated by the powers that be as well as the books.

But who really cares what the books say and what someone in front of a lectern says? If I were to structure the perfect architectural history lecture class, all the students would do is draw. They would draw famous buildings. And they could not make representational drawings. Instead, they would have to draw thru the building. As you might guess, I would have them drawing transparently.

The building that has served as an emotional touchstone for me has always been Crown Hall on the IIT campus by Mies. Given that I went to architecture school about two hours south of Chicago, a favorite activity was to drive to Crown Hall at dusk. And there it was, right off of the highway, sitting there absolutely glowing in the early evening light. And we would just stand there looking at it for awhile, before driving on to Chicago.

A few months ago, we had the chance to visit the building again. You can still enter the building freely. We just sat on a small bench by the front door in the low winter afternoon light. Simultaneous studio classes were going on, and the acoustics of the building remained quiet.

The building is innocent. It just sits there and does not call attention to itself. You could easily walk right past it if you did not know what you were looking for. And it’s reserve is in stark contrast to newer buildings directly across the street, one of which was drawn here.
And isn’t it amazing how expressions that were revolutionary in their day, now are absolutely main stream? Think of the criticism leveled at Mozart directly; too many notes. Or think of how the music of the Beatles was at first taken to be signs that our society was going to hell in a handbasket. And think of how Crown Hall was scorned as a cultural blight.

So one of the broad messages in these pages, as has been said before, is to come to your own personal terms with powerful cultural forces. If you do, you will have internalized these objects. They become part of you. So that when you are problem solving, you have much deeper cultural resources with which to draw on.