Richard Holschuh :: Building with Toothpicks

I have been thinking a little about what lies behind the concept of building, using the example of a house but not necessarily limited to that per se. These thoughts can be applied to any creative undertaking…however, constructing a dwelling most definitely fits into the paradigm spawning many of my mental meanderings of late. I often think of the abstract in terms of metaphor and analogy – the fun of wordplay, double entendres, and the layers of meaning that can be embedded in the written and spoken word are a wonder to me. The power of language to convey a message, even to evoke the senses in an actual physical response is a never ending source of inspiration and food for thought – sustenance for my hungry brain.

The analogy that has been occupying my thought lately is that of framing and building out a structure. The parts within parts….. It could be said (playing fast and loose here) that an average stick-built house is made of 60 trees. Or it is made of 13,000 2 x 4′s. Or possibly 120 million toothpicks. Point being, that anything can be looked at through a myriad of viewpoints. The perspective is colored by the viewer – the act of viewing changes the whole picture. One person sees (or feels, or believes) a certain thing – it is incontrovertible to them, because they saw it with their own eyes. But someone else sees something entirely different – again, with their own two eyes. They are both right, but perhaps some are more right. Some people see shallowly, others see deeply. The depth of impression can depend on many things, one of them being awareness based on intrinsic understanding, gained through experience and intimate familiarity and the attunement that follows. The act of getting your bearings or finding the beginning in a process are examples of this.

Let’s take an example: a layperson, a random average pedestrian walking down the street, who sees a building at the side of the road. That may literally be all they see. Another person comes along, and sees a block shaped house that has been there for quite a few years. There’s a small registration in second-passerby that this is older construction in a certain geometric form. The next person sees a turn of the century residence with a stucco exterior, strong symmetry, and a pyramidal roof. They have some sense of what makes this house different from another. The following onlooker sees a Foursquare Style with a hipped roof:  gracious wide overhangs and ornate Arts and Crafts wooden detailing show under the eaves, whereas the nearly identical house across the street has no corbels or brackets, having been vinyl-sided and stripped of its characteristic trim. They have a more comparative perspective. All of these viewers are completely correct, but some see more deeply and can respond closer to the core of the situation. The layers of the onion have been exposed a little more.

The building of a house is a series of steps within steps, endlessly broken down into sub procedures and decisions. And these separate parts, such as the building shell, the insulation envelope, the HVAC, the surface finish, the orientation, etc. are all interrelated and in the best examples, fully integrated and cohesive. The systems, each complex in their own right, form a system of systems. This does not happen accidentally or as the result of reading a book. It’s the result of awareness, choosing to care, and maintaining focus on the things that matter, all the while keeping peripheral vision scanning the corners. Noticing interactions, relationships, details. From the tree to the toothpick, it’s all there, if you look for it. Keep your eyes clear, go beyond the surface, squint a little, see the shape of what lurks within the obvious. Hone this ability – let it become second nature. What lies beneath is a never-ending fascination.

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Note from the hosts:  Rich is definitely on a roll with this exploration into the essence of perception.  We are always glad to have him, and we hope to have him back, well, again and again.  You may also find him blogging here: http://concretedetail.com/blog/. Check out his most recent post on Successful Design . . . now!

Photo Credit: Thanks too to Barry for makin’ it happen with a late afternoon photo shoot. Love what you came up with b. jb