inside art.

There are two reasons I could never be an architect: I don't like math, and I can't draw a straight line (seriously, not even with a ruler). But a couple weeks ago we went to an exhibit that changed my view on architecture.


Richard Rodgers is a British architect who is behind buildings such as the Madrid Airport and the Millennium Dome. He works with a set of 7 principles including: greenness (eco-friendly), transparent (layering of materials to allow in light and give a more complete view of the structure), and legibility (meaning the function of the building can be read in its construction).

These concepts are still a bit confusing to me. But legibility was the one I found most interesting. The exhibit explained it best via a look at the Madrid airport - the undulating, wave shape of the terminal implies movement and flexibility, symbolizing travel, and the rainbow panels outside are meant to induce feelings of welcoming.


Pink version of one of his structural support pieces.


You couldn't take pictures inside, but the models were incredibly intricate and paired with their original sketches, which looked like paintings not architectural plans. Lots of the group's hypothetical buildings were modeled as well, including the "Zipper House" - a house made fully of recycled materials (including sides of buses) with no permanent walls. You could rearrange the walls inside at will, adjusting to an expanding family or different needs.

I still don't like math but I realized the spaces we live our lives in are more than straight lines. They are someone's art.