Alison and Peter Smithson J The Nature of Retreat ‘These four texts, edited from lectures given at the University of California, Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, in March, 1991, are about persistence, about ideas reflected on, carried on, through time. We take persistence to mean not only that ideas persist in the Three Generations @ ‘way, in which the three generations of people at work at che same time learn and absorb from each other, but also that ideas persist from deep time and work within a single long work-life. For example, in the fourth text, “Phenomenon in Parallel,” the 1947 work-life connection between Charles and Ray Eames and Mies van der Rohe records a sudden Three Generations insight. Ic might seem extraordinary, the comparison implied in the third and the fourth texts, among the nature of the two habitats, study and desert, of St. Jerome; the way the Eameses thought in 1949 about their site in the Santa Monica Canyon; and the objec- tives of our Patio and Pavilion exhibit at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1956. The real St. Jerome lived in the fourth century, and the painters of the allegories of his life, the idylls of inhabitation, worked between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. We follow on, it would seem, an idea and an ideal persisting from deep time. And to discover within our own work an unconscious persistence of “the track,” as a binding element, an essential part, of the mechanism of “conglomerate ordering,”? is an example of observing persistence within a work-life “The randoms aesthetic, dhe as found,” the Cluster, persist in our work in response to place; they have to do with appropriate place making. Through all four texts runs a con- cer for the way we should act in the present, and for us, the texts are pointers towards what we will do nextTHES GENERATIONS °Outline drawing of Thi x Tomorrow exhibition, 1956. enc on tracing paper drawing ‘House ofthe Future, Daly ‘Malt dea! Home Exhibition. Pen axonometi by Alison Smithson, IDEAL HOUSE OF UTUR y" PATIO AND PAVILION, 1956, RECONSTRUCTED U.S.A. 1990 ‘The 1950s ave recalled by the ecanstrueton of onr Patio. and Pavilion iv The Inelependent Group exbibi- tien that i bing inte in four art galeries inthe US. during 1990-91. The yea 1 1956 happened to be ineredibly rich for us in terms of built-ideas. Many of the ideas in the Pato and Pavilion see= tion of the Thi Is Tmorroe exhibition bad aleeady been explored in the spring of that same year in a different form in the House ofthe Future, pare of the Daily Mail Idea! Home Exbibitioion. © © Patio an Pavilion was a pavilion in a pati, “The House of the Future was a patio encapsuled by its pavilion Both speak to a portion of the sky, for this was also the period in which we had created our *Private Sky” diagram that would allow dwellings their right 0 address a portion of the sky with its as yet, un- breathed air. “The change in thinking, in attitude, that both of these 1956 exhibition buildings effected still represent — was our beginning of a response to climate, a response that sought to enhance the quality of life inthe house and and protect the house from the disidvantageous effects (ofa northern island eli- imate. This reflected a con sciousness of the house that celebraees the material pleasures of being in a spe cific location, a part a its response to place: an extension of the idea ofthe house as a vehicle for the celebration of the life lived within it, decorated by its use for the day-to-day cel- ebration by its inhabitants, Our 1950s atitude w 2 change from the vener bile pavilions that we Inherited from the Modern Movement. The "pavil- ions” of our erchitectural grandparents, such as Le Corbusier's Eiprit Nowsea and Mies’ Barcelona Pasion, belong co workd innocent of machines and technology. All ou pro~ jeets, from our Team 10 housing clusters to the houses and housing we managed t0 build, ty 40 protect che occupants and position them so they ean appreciate the seasons, enjoy quiet and feel pro- vected. Mies could take quiet ness for granted in the frst half ofthe century: He could he sure of the indi- ‘dual rights of the undis- curbed, inhabited place situated aay fom inds- ‘ey until almost ac the end of his life, when the newstate highway was built directly opposite his last pavilion, the Famsworth House, (A mobile home camp grew on the other side of the river; the tree sereen had to be left so dense one is barely con- scious of the river when in the house or on the prop= erty) Society in its great rnuimbers its machines and technologies, now pene trates everywhere and impinges on everything. Starting to work in the 1950s we never could make the innocent assump- tions available to the Horaie Pera of Modern Arebiteeere, In the American magazines of the 1940s and 1950s we could foresee the consumer-ori- enced society that would, through advertisements, ‘change all our lives. But, primarily, World War I hha acted as the great divide between ourselves andi our grandparent archi- tects, who built for the few tall cars and for the genteel who shopped for rarely replaced objects. Similarly, other realities must divide us From those of the gener- ation that follows us, those who feel the need r0 reconstruct pavilions Here I must make @ slight digression to do with this seemingly universal need to represent a pre ‘ous actuality: [both value ‘memory and am frightened of my own uncalled-for remembering (by this I ‘mean, when something sve recalls something I do rot want in my head). What can remember is composed of things seen and heard [consider my memory a sampler of Euro= ppean and British Empire history. I work with memo- xy, and it allows me to make connections to the past, interpolations of the present and gives foresight — a most valuable facility for an architect —as to a possible future. ‘Take a working exam- ple I visita site in England for Europe for the first time, Lam a first cme visi tor to place that has been living many years, has been VERTICAL TUBE rotated by many hand. (Even a green field sie in Europe has been worked over for anything up toa thousend years.) [am an intruder and, as such, instinerively respect place. Learning about previous pattems of use ofa place allows me to understand hhow the all-around of the sive came about. This knowledge is part of the richness of information necessary to my thinking about how meaningfully Diagram of unbresthed private ait Ink drawing by Peter Seithson, OF UNBREATHED PRIVATE AJRFold Houses, 195. Project, taken to CAM 10 at Dubrownte to extend the existing built fabric and how to insert the new so that people may better appreciate the exist- ing all-around of the place. Asarchiteets we involved with the history of people’ use of places. Memory is also valuable to me because my mind is able to turn history into an ‘energy to ereate new things, which people ean then use withour having to this about how to use thems or new places that people ean feel Si their needs, in the same way they feel comfortable in their choice of clothing. Remembering is therefore an enabling deviee. Presumably the generation thar follows ours feels chat the reconstruction of pavil- ions is an enabling device What [do not understand is, what for? Thave to go on about this will-ro-reconsteuet, because ies a happening of four time. Twas in and out of Barcelona during the 1985-86 reconstruction of the Mies Pavilion and enjoyed watehing it go up, for we knew Mies and when the Pavilion’ work- ing drawings were first die played in London in the 1970s we met the man who ddl them and so on. Our initial arvirude was that reconstruction destroys a dream and chat, by way of recompense, it cannot recreate for a subsequent generation th or the impact, experienced by architects of our third generation on frst discow= cering photographs ofa lost Heraie Period of Modern Architeoure pasion, ‘Therefore, my attitude toward reconstruction remains ambivalent, as does my attcude toward the formation of so many reconstructions of “what life was lke.” This activity isnot as creative as that of| the nineteenth century, which invented a new type of building in which to view painted panoramas of cities (which were then still containable within an overview): Our century has only been able to add sound to this experience, Since F eannat belie that those walking into the reconstructed Patio and Pavilion this year in the , | at IrUS. (even if they know impact of th « original time of 1956, oF see in it the promise of so many of the ideas and attivudes thar wwe are still unfolding, extending, let my quote from to initiatory mani- festos of ours of winter 1955 prior to the Thi Ir Tamora exhibition: At the Whitechapel Gallery fom August September 1956 there wil be Introduced a mews order of are + iv the exploration ofa new fed, manifestation, le that of large-scale art works; the border beeen avcbiec ere and the plas Tb be considered a kine of art ole exbibition ca proving ground. Our ex agraup interprets the general sting ofthe exhibition in a sather special ay, for Deve that we are concerned in our separate di ipliner sb satisfying different aspects of man. He ary inal our calla rations to establish contast berven th dna ata level of ideas, not aa ollad~ aration devoted to an aevtbe In this instance we bive worked ata kind of symbolic “Habitat” in which ar found in same frm or eh the Buse bumnan needs — a pee of ground, a view of be sky, prcugy, the presence of narure ane of aninals shen iced ther, and symbols of the basic human urges — extend ad contro, 10 move Tee architect's work of proving « contest forthe imcelf of individeal v0 rel in, and the arti’ giving signs and images to the stages of thir realization, meet ina single ac, fll of inconsistencies nd apparent inrelevaness of € dat fl of if The 1950s was a period of exploration of appropri- ate forms for grouping together buildings, prinel- pally housing. The Fold Hower of 1955, intended for infill ofa Yorksh village, are an example offered at the They we start of our Team 10 thinks ing at La Sarraz and taken to CIAM 10 at Dubrovnik, 1956, o answer the theme of Habitat." @ Starting in 1951 we made a series of ouster din rams @ and clnstr- mate that Peter Smithson explored in watercolor images. At that cime we spoke (oF a random aetherc that sometimes entailed a “free fall of ideas that allowed things to take up their own inerinsie patterns. The arrangement of the pho: rtographs in the Parallel of Life and Art exhibition, ‘h we made with Nig Henderson and Eduardo, Paolozti, was an early result oF such thinking. @ o ° ‘By Alton and Petr Smithson, With Migl Henderson and Eduard Paolo x a p ° “he darter detrct of acy, Drawing by Alton Smithzon,Related to these ideas ‘was our attitude to the as found, the serious consider ation of what existed, an built places and landscape that I have alte described, This attitude was inherent in the act ofthe inhabitation of our Patio and Pavilion for we eame back from camping on our way to and from CIAM 10 at Dubrovn 1956, to find Patia and in September Pavilion built 10 our draw ings and “inhabited” by Nigel and Eduardo. Let me quote « docu- ment of the period With the transparent oof ofthe Pavilion ma display Nigel’ arvangement of the “as fn 1 fie of the Patio cose ‘ony collaborators ile Whitechapel Gallery, 1956 ‘Photo by Nigel Henderson ‘reflective compound seals 0 include every visitor as an “inhabitant”: the “art made manif (Our exhibit for Thiele Tannarrow was to do with light-touch” inhabitation of the Earths with the eran sient, which, along with the permanent, we wrote owt in the early 19508 (before the hippies, before she r ssness of people was obvious through the constant movement and ation we have seen this list quarter of a cencu- ry You could say that the nomads’ dream is an instinct of our time, still unrequited perhaps this is ‘one good reason why we should be reminded of ight-touch” inhabitation by she reconstruction, AMS, 1990 Cw UD y Py Pista clo) Goa ao BU CIUcLy reed “Gothic”; that i, non- Cees ee ee ere ese er Pe ey eee Dee ead eee er ee Pe err eee ene ially Sigiried Giedion’s eee eee Ce es Pere who were students in th et eer Cee me ae ee eee eee Cree at es ieee pee eae a city, of providing a system Seen Peed Pee Sree trt en eeseens long sentence is that in fees Coe ey all the senses and gave the Crone cc houses and streets, This Prego ere geo: ie freeways. One does not see eras them, one lives them in the enc Pouca one seasons, theie smells, their erat to them is Gothic. @ Tn the early 1950s we peer ac) peered ences vice. @ now perceive (as ‘a consequence of this 1990s rebuilding of Patio oe ee nd Cd eee a)aT ‘original exhibit, put feet Peet ee oe Srey cea a pe ey hheld together a miscella- pen ee Cee essentially Gothic. © @ en eae renee tad Bui) Se eee oe Bee eaec ety Caio es eeu ee eee nny and that, to, is Gothic. Gothie space is net to eo) By this reading Paria Pears a recovery of sensibilities Braces teen eae eae eee Cree ees ane ones Serer See omar in the seventeenth and erence neeaid ee ey Tees helene ies ee ees ee Ce for another architectural Sens Reena cera bilities are recovered, The Breen eee es fn important happening, PS,THE IDYLL AND ST. JEROME “The fashion during the last decade for the reconstruc- tion of seminal pavilions of the Hern Period of Moder _Aveitectre has included simulation, a paral anda total reconstruction, of our 1956 Paaio and Prion, the last being in the Independent Group exhi- b reconstructions have ‘caused us to rethink our position as regards pavil- ie of the ions representa idyll of inhabitatio. The alleyory of the ro alternative idy inhabited by St. Jerome was brought to Europe's notice by Renaissance paintings ( if their contrasting-yet-con- nected subject matter par- ticularly suited the humanist ideal). This eeognition came more shan a thousand years alter Jerome's actual lifes that iy the painters were painting between the years 1400 and 1700 and Jerome lived Detween 342 an 420. ce paintings of Jerome ean be used 10 Remaiss think about the European idyll of inhabitation ancl what constitutes today the idyllic setting of the 1 reat in anpoil natre ‘Our most re ing related to pavilions-a idyll concerns the frugunent of en enclave. Lill wy to explain the insight thar generated this thinking and its implications for Form giving. ‘The Energizing Coll and the Restorative Place in Nature: As Found in the Life of st. Jerome ‘The life of St. Jerome offers two aleernative ils in the study, with hooks, with possibilities for eom munication with the world andl in the desert, a life of kindly asceticism in unspoilt nature, These to ideals are connected by a certain integrity, ifnot wdulgens of remain- ing one’s oxen person in apartness, in quietule ‘Throughout European hiss sory these connected alter Tempera on panel by Baca ata Porta (cated Fra natives seem to have re= cenergived each other, in a way that people have been able to use the idea of ome fo the other to revitalize their sense of well- hing; ‘even to the extent of there- by reverifying the meaning of thir ives. St. Jerome in his staly represents the ability of ‘one co dedicate oneself to work ata self-appointed task, the eal of an inner peace, the ideal afa world ae peace. ® St. Jerome in the desert represents a human desire forthe freedom that seers so exist in nature and the tundiminishable freshness of its eyele af renewal — nature so immutable, ome nipresent, overhearing that Jnumnans are relieved from esponsibility for its eom= ples orderand balance. @ Jerome’ study can stand for the desire to enjoy built oder, to be supported by civilize vices to be able to shut out the weath= cerand temper the climate, te have, for our well-being, a perfected sufficiency in ‘our place of work, with the tools of our profession, trade, housekeeping, at hhand, Whereas the true desert of sand — where rman stands alone between the ground and che sky, ringed by horizons that might he infinite — eat he anallegory for the burni clarity that some minds achieve, for the dream of self-sufficiency, for an environment that makes no tTemandls on social behav ior, for nature taking forall deci- sions, everything, responsibil Asarchitects, seeking a balance herween response to climate and our respon sibilgy to extend appropri= ately our architectural inheritance, we ean again treat Jerome’ life a iit were some kind of ideal briet for a exeative life in the ble with a renewed respect for nature, In this idyll, ny; fora life compat JJerome’s study is an allego= ty For iyi bitavon Wee seein Jerome’ study, as depicted by the painters all modem conve riences: cool water and ‘even wine,» beaunifel wash howl and a clean towel, lowers, books, cupboards, writing materials, animals 1s companions, warm clothes and an amusing hat. Taken together, these elements signify all the benefits of an “urban,” civ alized domain, Phe study is also an allegory for easy, writen communication; for per= feetio the perfected object for choiee in dobjgets and thereby for trade, Jerome in his study reaches out to the world of the student because the form of the European col- lege is inherited from the teaching monasteries that gave form to the need for «quiet within the eell and the need for easy ennnec- tion to books. In Renaissance painting it seems as if Jerome's dy is also an allegory for the freedom to choose the ‘country in which one pmething the Roman world offered, something that we like to do todays, works,Engraving by Albrecht Dire. ‘The Study Within a Fragment of an Enclave from the elimate. ‘Thus th within desert has In an urban setting o on its fragment of space being within wn emlare, 1 provective territory, A piece of tetitory of one's towns that society respoets is the fll oF the pavilion in the defensible enclave When there is outside a Te might be chat the cesily defensible enclave is gain the desert. We will have conve fll ciel AMS. PHENOMENON IN PARALLE! elo Uw) Tae Tea War I Pn cee Peer ees eo coe ied Ces ee reer) cone Set ees ees ee ee) and over “the os een ecaetr eectsrenee roe oan in 1983, she reported fook- ing back to this ime: Seer Cy ee See a ae pores er Sareea ‘and seructure on site when ee es Sea pee ed Crete a Eee ae ee Cae Ea Ea eee ees eed a eee poe Peet Beebe etnies ceember 1945 and the star ‘on site in early 1949 there poeta artery und Rohe made an installation Ciera Reta ena een re ee tide Coorg enn Crean is ee Cae meas er Peres tanita Perera ete Dees areca foe ete et) through to Charles Eames een Peano is) ir eariere binescenetia pec ee ny the Minerals and Metals Research Building (1942- Pen cee eg something different, Ie had Sree a Ceo ceed Seo eee pee maie ar ole ett Soest tat Mies, through a rejection Sareea te Cr tomer ees aero wholly original, wholly pereren ey ranean Cas when American culture in its art-propagenda stance pee eie erate frereren ens) ere nngae The house was an Fames-defined territory, crease sate Pert eee Cee eee oto Scot Cee nee es foe played a content. @ Both ceo ceived in graphie terms, an Pome eee ee ena mee ror ery eee Ses Cee ee ad the time defined our ogee cord Ei ee td ees yy a are furnished wit objects Bre aaa eee te ae SeeThe metbo of work bas ca trae as eis eae eae ee Scene es fessoir tne eS payee oer ‘Whitechapel Gallery in ee ee ee ec Saeetas Nigel Henderson and Eocene) es ceeray ae taeey rom yt ats ‘vagueness of the images pene ON pees es co ee ead payee ere Cea eee ees ee)that were reflected back eee Soot Ciera et ae sented a sense of complete- oes ees complete in the sense of Sao ae cere eer ing the course of the Ce ae osu Sees Pemarecatt ee ree picture ofthe art-processes ec ese a erro eels) Pos sonar Pee eeie a eg Cee cee ee Goyal Pale, the surface ie eee Da de ca ed ee are Ces ets ee Be aa Cee eras Uae ee eee Eero ee ee es Ce Sa see (or ses), When a ae eared eas Ber ers ee eee Ce ae ee eee Cea ee) yeaa ee ee Coens Se ee Cee ee ae ee ee eee tea Fe ee ea oe graphic equialene of he Co foe ee reer ee cs ear eee cece ee ees Cees Cees ee es ee ete ay aoe Reore 180 Gina: TLAUD, oocrecer hs Coreen a Coy Peas Te orcs pent here Cae Deco macy eee eae) poser ericeet pone eer Peete ter ios re 1 (Siena: LAUD, 1991), eee ees es Eee eet ess (Caer rea Pei. Ce ee ay eee) ae Ceorreneres) ee eee eee ae a