Newlands Forest in the folds of the mountain (Photograph by Jeffrey Barbee www.jeffreybarbee.blogspot.com) I've always been one to take the high road. Sometimes the steps are perilous and the incline steep, yet I've been driven towards the heights by a promise of hope. I've been afraid that on the simple path I might forsake something big and beautiful that I would never have known existed if I hadn't fought to find it. This morning I found myself on a lone walk in Newlands forest. At every turn the steepest path would draw me towards it. The mountain's cavernous eye somehow beckoned me closer. So close and yet so far. Nature's Cathedral (Photograph by Jeffrey Barbee www.jeffreybarbee.blogspot.com) At the point where I had thought I might stop for a moment, I met a person sitting next to the path, earphones plugged in, fiddling with something on his iphone. Perhaps he was changing the tune of his morning. How unfortunate to be missing out on the silence, I thought. I had been so bombarded by my own thoughts when I arrived that I was relieved to at last be hearing the melodies of nature - the stream, the crickets, the birds, the wind rushing. A sharp turn drew me towards a steeper incline. I took it hopefully but soon found it to be bringing me downwards into a sea of purple and yellow flowers. Orange and white speckled butterflies flickered above the ferns. And I was lost in it for a moment - in nature's cathedral. Architectural philosopher, Marc-Antoine Laugier described nature's "primitive hut" as the ideal principle for architecture and structure. Why must we always enclose ourselves with man made things when God made a canopy over our heads and strong tree columns to hold it up? Architecture is not just about buildings; about things. It is all around us. There is much to learn from what already exists; from what somehow seems hidden until we start to look for it. There is much to be discovered along the high road. Comments are closed.
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This blog is about...My thoughts as I go about visiting interesting places, attending exhibitions and conferences, and the architectural world we live in. Categories
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