the back40 has been published! Recently released by Princeton Architectural Press is Ron Rael’s book, Earth Architecture. It features the back40 amoung some 47 projects from around the world that
..are exemplary of contemporary and progressive earth architecture… only designs that advance the state of earth architecture. Technological, economic, or aesthetic advancements in earthen construction that create a dialogue with industrial materials, or that explore form, texture, color, building techniques, or use earth to represent a political or social concern are present in some way in every project. …all the included projects tackle an important contemporary issue relevant to the culture of earthen architecture. ((from the introduction))
…needless to say, it’s a super honor to have our baby among the works of Murcutt, Joy, Eddie Jones, Rural Studio and others. But probably more inspiring is to see the work in the context of the greater movement around the world towards better ways. It’s a really nice book, and while we won’t get a cut, you should think about picking it up yourself! If you can’t find it at your local bookstore, you could always order it via Amazon.
a commercial for TBA:08… starring our one and only Hazelwood building and the creative scheming of Mr. Justin Gorman. It was a riff on his recent work, results under action. Justin’s been documenting the evolution of the building for months now, and most of the interior shots you find on the leftbank site were framed by his eye and clicked by his finger. In preparation for Results Under Action, he executed several pieces within the building as well… (see bangbang). Anyway, enjoy the show… oh, and hey- dig me in the blue shirt, and jason in black in the back!
one saturday morning a few months back seth nehil conducted a work session in the bomb shelter of the leftbank… a dozen collaborators descended to make recordings to be used in a future performance piece. for a few hours, the sounds drifted throughout, bathing the old walls with fresh spirit… a gimpse of what’s to come.
the key element in the design of the madaras center is what we’ve termed the ‘weave wall’. In a square shell of a room, it’s a screen wall that separates the performance area from the entry and lobby. Beyond the separation, it allows a nice transition from entry to seat - a time to lose your sense of the ranchy strip mall environs and immerse yourself in ‘the event’. Drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions of the area, the wall is not unlike a basket, holding the event. It is itself woven, in this case with round tube steel verticals and 1/4″ MDF strips. We still haven’t done a good shoot of the space since completion, but we did take some pics with the ol’ iPhone not too long ago.. here’s a peek:
In the soggy Portland days of January 07, we got a tip. Someone came in to Someday one night, for some now-anonymous show, and liked what she saw. She was going to open a speakeasy on the other side of the river in some old, neglected (but beautiful and landmark) building over there. She asked the door lady, Ms.Mensen, about who made it and lo and behold, it was the guy who was in the back, fixing the toilet.
…I was reluctant to come out. The toilet needed attention. After 4 1/2 months of running a construction site that was a performance art bar by night, and nightly coming to the question: ’should I keep working, or should I…(insert art-bar distraction here)’ I had developed a somewhat regrettable ability to keep working. An hour later, after a third reminder from Mensen, I came out, grabbed a beer and said Hello.
That hello led ultimately to the aforementioned building, some saturday morning weeks later. There we found Maria, and a big guy named Daniel. Daniel turned out to be the owner of the building, which turned out to be enormous, and unbelievably rich in character. He wanted to heal it- it was on the tail end of about 30 years of neglect- and to make something meaningful there. And to make this story short, I’ll say this: the speakeasy gig didn’t work out for us, but the building did. And now, a year and a half later, it’s emerging from its long slumber with a new name and a reason to live. It’s called The Leftbank Project. Today marks the day its website goes live, and it’s quite lovely. It’s one thing of many that we’ve spent an enormous amount of time on up here, and I sincerely hope you check it out.
a collection of shots from the days of building the back40…
Created with Admarket’sflickrSLiDR.
there was a time that we had put together a ‘construction diary’ in the ol pre-blog days of 04.. I updated it periodically with images (these are a lot of them) and words… I just came across some of those –
spring of 04
Let it be known that from here on the word ‘week’ means nothing. There are only cycles of time. The cycle described in these pictures is one focused on making stemwalls. It builds upon the previous, the footings, and one day will be the foundation for the walls of earth that enclose this humble dwelling. Everyday now we find ourselves surrounded by images and and words in bold type describing widespread de-struction: the taking apart of a culture, its buildings, and the bodies of the people who occupy them. And everyday, even away from such topics, we are engulfed in a heaving sea of other images, words and sounds that unwittingly sap our own culture, hearts and minds in pursuit of endless profit, power…whatever, simply encouraging a taking apart of another kind. And what that pursuit does not destroy, it certainly defaces, be it a desert ecosystem, a naturally beautiful face or body, or a building downtown that used to be pretty cool (viva el edificio Lerner!). Simply said, to be truly engaged in the act of construction, of building something of value for people, not markets, and to be doing so in a quiet, thoughtful way is a choice, and it is a gift… these days in particular, but really, always.
those were the early days… and not much later came the rammed earth:
1st of september
my hands are sore, there are dishes to do. turning loose earth into walls has proven tremendously taxing, and fantastically inspiring. tomorrow we do more. last week was 80 hours of labor, producing four walls. some good, some producing lessons, some great. this is my life. tomorrow we do more.
