LINKS

Le Corbusier copied history. That is to say, he self educated himself on the great historical precedents, and then used those examples as a direct basis for his work.

I don’t know about everyone else, but this historical linkage continues to surprise and intrigue me. As has been written in these pages, the historical links thru architectural history is not taught. At least I was not taught that. Who knows, maybe I was, and I just did not hear it. If so, then that is par for the course. I still believe that I am self educated. Actually, we all are self educated to a large extent.

One of the reasons that I have been motivated to get the Transparent Drawing message out, is that it has opened many links for me. I have been looking at images of Schinkel’s Altes Museum in Berlin for about 30 years. This is a building that I visited before I went to architecture school, so I do have sensory memory of it.

And I have been looking at images of Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh Assembly building for the same 30 years. These two buildings are incredibly similar to each other.

Each has a basic rectangular floor plan, a horizontal proportion, a cylindrical shape in the middle, a colonnade across the front, water, and an important function within the culture. So why has it taken me 30 years to really see these associations and links? Why weren’t we shown this linkage in our history courses?

Transparent Drawing gives you the additional tools with which to make these associations. I will tell you that the ability to draw these forms and shapes transparently has established these links for me. And this could just be how my mind works. Quite possibly, these links are readily apparent to others and you might be saying, um, so it took you 30 years to link this? Really?

One great aspect of Transparent Drawing is that you can use it in ways that might not have occurred to you before. Because these two buildings are so similar, I thought why not draw them on top of each other? It is the transparency that makes this exercise meaningful. I tried to capture the similarities that are listed above in one drawing. And I can honestly tell you that the understanding that I have of this historical linkage is profound. My historical understanding has been expanded. I can now understand Corb’s modification of the colonnade to create the signature entry at Chandigarh; before, I did not know where that came from. I see Schinkel’s classical dome at the heart of his building with much more understanding. And I have made a link between historical and modern. In one drawing.

If you are following along at all, you might want to try this. Overlay two objects that you find interesting. The two objects could be anything. Overlay a computer mouse with the shape of your smart phone. Or draw a paintbrush and a banana transparently. You might be pleased with the unexpected result.