[Elizabeth Rosales]

So it looks like there are many reasons that architecture takes the form that it does in any particular area. Whether due to the terrain, the weather, country or city, permitted land use of an area, religion, shopping/livelihood, and etc. What I have been wondering about is the houses that have very thin walls, which are good for letting in air when it is hot, or for opening up a store front, but how do they adapt when it is cold?

[Elizabeth Rosales]

At the conclusion of this segment of the book, I found myself saying, "Yep. Yep. Yep." Meaning that I agree. It said that the authenticity of the Zen garden was not what mattered, but the state of mind in perceiving it, and internalizing it, and then experiencing different states of mind, in essence, was what mattered.

In other words, I feel that some people may have come to worship the Zen garden itself, and lost sight of it's purpose. I found it interesting that an artist who wanted his will, his hands, to be seen in his carving of stone saw himself as different, more modern, than every other man who went before him in creating Zen gardens. The fact of the matter is that every Zen garden was created with the will of the man who made it. Men created every garden by deliberately placing, manicuring, and maintaining the sand, rocks, stones, moss, shrubs, trees, walls, and etc.

In simplest form, a monk could meditate by looking at whatever was in front of him. There was no actual need to frame the mountain in the distance with a low wall, trees, and bamboo. That was an unnecessary construct of man. However, I can see that if you are in an urban area, and you want to recreate a scene you admired in nature, then it would make meditating easier.

So I guess I see Zen gardens as facilitators of meditation, just as they always have been, but I also see the value in the seconds of meditation that a person passing by a photograph of a Zen garden may have, if I truly believe that time is not linearly defined, but layered. To one, a few seconds of meditation in a busy or unexpected place may bring as much cleansing as a few hours in a monastery. We should never limit the sublime by requiring it to meet our preconceived definitions of it's acquisition.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

I just visited Taliesen, in Spring Green Wisconsin, not far from my father's house. It was one of Frank Lloyd Wright's homes, and until this year, it was still an architectural fellowship. He had many pieces of Japanese artwork and artifacts, including paneled paintings on many walls. Our guide said that he brought back two train cars full of realia. I will upload some pictures, if I can. He used the cantilevered roof in many of his buildings, but not in quite the same way as the Japanese and Chinese, and because of that, not with the same success. But he did use a lot of large timber in his construction as well, so I am curious and would like to read about whether his visit to Japan influenced not just the design of his buildings, but perhaps also added to his engineering methods.

In relation to the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, he sifted through the rubble of Taliesen after it had burned down the second time, and used pieces of pottery and statues (that he found in the rubble) in the fireplace mantles and walls of the home when it was rebuilt. Pieces that were broken were still considered beautiful and worthy of use. I don't know if that is precisely Wabi-Sabi, but it seems similar to me.

I know that we are called on to use what we are learning in lessons for our students, but my method is to absorb everything from this class first, and let the pieces fall together in my mind and see how they end up fitting together in the end for my students. Obviously, I have the beginnings of a formulation of a series of lessons in engineering with the idea of the cantilevered roof, but I have not quite figured out what the criteria and constraints will be, nor exactly what the materials will be.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

Incredible construction! It is a sad thought that this is an unsustainable practice to continue to recontruct such massive structures out of such large timber, but it is a living piece of history. Perhaps Japan will see itself cycle back to it's original, more humble, Shinto practice of tree worship and away from the Chinese influence of the Pagoda's and Buddhist temple's. 

[Elizabeth Rosales]

When I was traveling through the states this summer with my son, we drove through many areas that were actively deforesting and reforesting. We saw this in Oregon and Montana. I don't remember if I saw it in other states as well. Timber/lumber is still so important as a building material, but we have also seen a rise in materials like bamboo. Is bamboo the magic replacement for wood? Or is there any material that is as strong and useful as wood? What is the new, hot, green material of choice in construction and architecture?

[Elizabeth Rosales]

The idea that sticks with me is when they got to the point of covering the wood and walls with plaster and lime to protect the structures from fire. I know that this was a technique used in Europe. Exterior and interior walls would be plastered and also "whitewashed." Whitewashing was using a lime liquid like repainting perhaps once a year. A lime "whitewash" of the interior of a hospital helped to kill bacteria. You can even use a lime plaster yourself in a new construction to help prevent mold and mildew from being trapped in walls. It is not commonly done because it is expensive.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

You covered a lot of ground in 23 minutes! A point that was interesting to me was the transition to China where they began creating very large statues of Buddha. I saw many of those in China, and one of my favorites was a two-day train ride into the interior where we visited a temple and grounds. I remember wanting to build the lovely walls with circular entrance ways/gates, if I am remembering correctly. I will have to go back and check my old pictures. Sadly, I have not yet built anything. I would like to study architecture while I am a teacher and perhaps become an architect when I am done teaching. 

Balboa Park in San Diego has a Japanese garden, and they have special times of the year when they explain the tea ceremony.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

The Astro-biological toolkit that Paul Wheatly finds evidence of in many civilizations around the world is so fascinating. I have read about delineation of sacred space, but I have never read an article like this that shows cities and large kingdoms using that tool. I imagine that the use of cardinality is still a common practice in places that have always used it, but I am also curious as to whether this practice of designing buildings, cities,  and spaces is used currently in "Western" cultures. I have been to Stonehenge, and have read a bit about how even "Western" civilizations used the electro-magnetic currents and energy vortexes in ritual and in construction, and that what used to be an energy center with a true ability to heal the body, later became church buildings oriented to the flow of energy. In our modern state, we have forgotten that we are part of the earth and that the magnetic field of the earth affects us. Anyhow, I look forward to more study of this nature.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

I am pretty sure we all feel like we are first year teachers again, so you are in good company!

[Elizabeth Rosales]

You wrote that one of the ancient citadels surrounded a communal bath, rather than a piazza, or communal land space. How do you view the significance of water, and water features, in communities? One place comes to mind when I think of the juxtaposition between water serving architecture, or architecture serving water is the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, Punjab, India. When I was there, I saw that water served an integral purpose of the place, other than for drinking or plumbing. I had to remove my shoes and walk through water before entering, and then I saw that the Golden Temple was surrounded by water. There were people there worshipping and, I believe, spiritually cleansing themselves in the water. I wondered if you had more insight on the role that water plays in creating buildings, communities, cities, citadels, and etc.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

Hello,

I teach third grade in Riverside, California, which means that I teach everything: Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, History/Social Studies, Physical Education, Digital Citizenship, Art, and the list goes on. So I truly enjoy meeting educators outside of the elementary spectrum, since you are experts in your field. I love learning about anything and everything, and bringing back relevant pieces to my students. They begin the school year at 8 years old, which in some respects means that they are still babies, but I never underestimate young children. They are brilliant, kind, open, and highly intuitive. They have enjoyed learning some of the things I have learned here in previous seminars. I am teaching entirely online at the moment, so I am working from my father's house in Wisconsin. I work during the day, and visit with family in the evening.

I am so happy to learn about architecture in China. That was one of the things I loved the most when I visited there in 1988, along with the hardscapes and landscapes of the many amazing gardens. If you haven't been to the Huntington library in Pasadena, they have built such an incredibly accurate representation of a Chinese garden, it felt like I was back there, which was nice to share with my family.

On Friday the 13th, last March, we were told to leave the school and not come back. So I went to my daughter's house on Oahu and worked from there for a few months. I was so grateful to be able to spend time with her. I also went on an almost three-week long road trip with my son during the summer. We visited many states, including the cities of Portland and Seattle. I guess we are not a fearful family. We value our relationships with each other, and with other people everywhere we go. We met many wonderful people. 

During quarantine I have read a lot of books!

[Author]

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