The first weekend continues

ARISE STORIES
(photo montage by Susan Englert)

Later on Saturday (May 20), Claire ran into the vice president of the Braddock's Field Historical Society, who also happens to be a protein biochemist at the University of Pittsburgh. He visited, and told us something about how the topography around of Braddock and its surrounding areas affects its fate. He explained that, in many ways, the Battle of Braddock, which took place in 1755 during the French and Indian War, where General Edward Braddock and his forces suffered an ignominious defeat, was determined by the shape of the hills. The montage below gives a sense of the configuration of the hills and the river.
This led to a conversation about how, in the past, topography (the lay of the land) really used to be destiny, and how a renewed awareness of the actual shapes and characteristics of a particular landscape are a part of designing a more sustainable day-to-day life. In The Philosophy of Sustainable Design(1), Jason F. McLennan calls this principle of learning from the landscape "Respect For Place."

In the past, people had no choice but to adjust to their surroundings. "Architecture was designed with local materials and harnessed sun, wind, and light for comfort." Design choices changed dramatically between different climate zones. "Structures were built 'of the place,' and would return safely to the land when their useful life was over. The igloos of the north and the wooden longhouses of the Pacific Northwest [are examples on the North American continent]. The philosophy of sustainable design rejects the notion that our buildings should look the same and be built the same way in any region...it demands that our buildings respond to place--from the level of the site to that of climate and bioregion. Sustainable design suggests that technological fixes be applied only after natural ones have been exhausted," for example using breezes for natural cooling instead of relying on air conditioning. We need to pay attention to what is unique about each place, and use the qualities of that place to inform our design for space and place. As McLennan notes, "...there is something sacred and profound in all places."

On Saturday we also got a repeat visit from two little girls, Patience and Chances, who were part of a group of kids who had come in at Dawn's invitation a few weeks before (we were there on a reconnaissance mission). That group, mostly girls, was shy at first, then came in and swept through the church like a whirlwind, exploring and exclaiming, playing the piano and making dances. Two of the older ones told us they used to come to a summer program in the basement about two years ago. This time the two brought their two aunts, Deedee and Patricia, both recently graduated from high school. The two older girls were reluctant at first, but once they came and saw the space, the first comment was, "Wow, this is so NICE!" Patricia said that ever since she was a little kid the church had been basically dormant, and they wondered what would happen with it. I asked her what was so nice about the space, and she said, "It's so BIG, there so much space." She liked the light and feeling--she found something unique and special in this place that had been abandoned off and on for so long, something profound and worth preserving.

(1) McLennan, Jason. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design. Ecotone:Missouri c2004

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