The general idea is to create a readable topology of extremely primitive cognitive relationships. The simplest vocabulary is one-dimensional, lines. This was a cheat for me in some respects because every architect learns at least this vocabulary, but like the three chord blues, it requires some effort to pull off something elegant. I focused on this vocabulary in my early projects where I could find a specific reference. That reference was the Edgar Cayce readings. Old Edgar was a prominent psychic around the second quarter of the 20th century, and was based in Virginia Beach. Many residents of the Beach, especially those who came in the sixties were attracted by the Cayce readings. The readings are remarkable, presenting a cosmology very much in the Theosophic tradition, popular during the period. That cosmology is based on scientific notions of the time that were at root field-based, simply causal, connective and harmonic. Dualities are stressed: balance and contrasts underlie the mechanisms. Time is structured, both cyclically and branched. There is a great binding of dynamic movement and rest. What makes the Cayce readings so notable is how thoroughly and deeply he relates these principles to elements and activities of the body — most of his readings were on health issues and state of forces within the physical body. As our goal was to physically express cosmological vocabularies, this Cayce cohort presented a special architectural opportunity. We worked with overlapping strong linear flows contrasting with Japanese-influenced still zones, always explicitly referencing a Cayce/Theosophist principle, and mechanisms of the human body. | ||
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