20 Comments

Thank you for presenting this in a way someone (me) with very little knowledge of architectural design could understand! Like art, I know what I like, but having a framework for thinking about the design both confirms my preferences and expands what I can appreciate!

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Thanks for letting me know. It's exactly what I had in mind for this, so it's helpful to hear how it landed.

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Thanks for mentioning my stack! By the way, Richard and I are not married. I don't believe in marriage. It's not a good idea for women to marry. I do know it's popular. xxL

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Ah, thanks for that clarification and apologies for assuming. I'll correct that.

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This is a great read, thank you! Whenever I read anything you share I learn something, which is powerful magic. I used to run social media accounts for an architectural award and I'd find it would take an age to queue a post, simply because I always went down a rabbit hole of further investigation, into the architect, the structure, and all manner of other things.

And a big thank you for mentioning The Crow's Nest, that made me happy too.

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Thanks so much, Alexander. I feel your pain. I always think these are going to be quick posts but there’s always more and more to discover.

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There really is, which is probably not a bad thing, being curious and interested! Still, a few more hours every day would be very much appreciated.

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I read parts of this post as soon as you published it, but I saved it to read it more thoroughly over the weekend. I had so many thoughts to share. I am from southern India and though we didn’t live there, my family would visit every summer. The south is known for its amazing temples with their immense towers and intricate carvings. Reading about the expression of the abstract in architecture in your posts made me go back and look at these temples with new eyes and my mind was blown at how much symbolism and metaphor (which I have thought of as the domain of the writer) can be folded into a building. So, thank you, Julie, for making me aware of this. And, yes, circles are such a symbol of universal resonance.

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Thanks for revisiting this, Priya. I love that you had new insights with new eyes on the familiar landscape of your heritage.

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I recently wrote about meeting a fellow Substacker in person and the fascinating conversations that followed. I love that Substack offers a meeting place where new ideas and understanding can be reached.

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Me too! Wish we could do more of that in-person meeting.

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I so admire Renzo Piano's work. Off to restack this, Julie.

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yes, he's one of my heroes. Thanks for reading, Mary.

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May 9Liked by Julie Gabrielli

I might poke you from time to time 👈

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May 9Liked by Julie Gabrielli

Is your thesis available online? I’d like to read it.

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author

No. Hard-copy only. I might be persuaded to scan it sometime. 😉

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May 9Liked by Julie Gabrielli

Love these sentences for consideration -"[W]hat is your building about? What does it mean? And what form do those ideas take?"

And, I'm intrigued to move a structure piece-by-piece.

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Wait! You’re moving a structure piece by piece?! How cool!

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May 9Liked by Julie Gabrielli

Sorry, people like me should not be allowed to type on their phones, in a parking lot, while reading a well written blog - the Shinto shrine! How amazing that would be to observe.

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Oh, right! That makes more sense. It is amazing. I’ve been there, but the inner sanctum where the shrine is, is too sacred for outsiders. So you just see what peeks above the fence.

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