Preface
Continuing from last year, each team member plans to take a sojourn in the guise of “workation” to various places, and this newsletter will be occasionally tracing where each has visited, what was learned, and sharing discoveries. Other than the day-to-day activities, taking a sojourn outside of one’s comfort zone and routine is one such instance that allows us to discover different perspectives, discover new worlds, and encounter fascinating people, places, and epiphanies of life. We hope this becomes a tradition of sorts that makes each of us more wholesome and worldly to bring valuable insights and experiences to the projects we undertake. The top-batter was Kaz, who “workation”ed in Portugal.
Igreja de São Domingos devastated by a series of Lisbon earthquakes (photographed by the author)
“Dilemma of Impermanence and Immediacy”, by Kaz T. Yoneda
Two columns framing the harbor from Praça do Comércio (by author)
In 1755, the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal, and Northwest Africa was hit with an earthquake estimated at magnitude 7.7Mw. The quake and subsequent series of devastating catastrophes would forever be ingrained in history as the Great Lisbon Earthquake. Not only did this cause literal shockwaves across the hemisphere, the scientific and philosophical world of the time would be jolted into high alert of existential dilemma. Among the European naturalists and philosophers was one Immanuel Kant who took keen interest in this particular global occurrence. While inaccurate by present measure, his youthful ruminations were nonetheless one of the first attempts to systematically explain earthquakes in natural terms rather than the supernatural, vis-a-vis the God, though he still hinted at a divine reprisal of human hubris.(1) Walter Benjamin would make an observation that Kant and other naturalist explorations on causes of the earthquakes "probably represents the beginnings of scientific geography in Germany. And certainly the beginnings of seismology." Coinciding with the decline of the Cartesian cosmologies and ascension of Newtonian theories, Kant himself would go on to prod the concept of logic, at that time firmly in the realm of the omnipotent, and eventually develop his critical philosophy. This earthquake fundamentally changed the way humanity understood and measured the natural world, and its relationship to the prevalent cosmology.
Azulejos tiles courtyard of Monastery of São Vicente de Fora (photographed by the author)
Pavements laden with various patterns (photographed by the author)
Lisbon would rise miraculously from ashes, as it had throughout its geologically active history. Tokyo, too, while also seismically prone, has each time risen anew, but in a completely different way. One context would embrace permanence and reemerge a structurally more robust and aesthetically unified Pombaline city. Another context would embrace impermanence and inculcate ephemeral ethos into every aspect of life, and reborn each time a particular blend of resilient and patchwork city. Though having hit by a devastating quake, Lisbon would reemerge thoroughly in a masonry tradition notwithstanding that the king of the time, José I, would forever be scarred from ever living in a stone-walled building and instead opt to live rest of his life in an expansively tented, and therefore temporary, royal court on the hills of Ajuda. How profound the differences between the civilization of wood and the civilization of stone would be manifested, acutely over a series of denaturing disasters. The contrasting experience can be profound and acute, as a stranger in a strange land of ephemerons sojourns in the land of eternal aspirations. The pavements laden with patterns, facades reinforced by azulejos tiles, monumental churches, palaces, and vast square facing the harbor, all edifies one side of multifaceted human spirit that unwaveringly refuses to succumb to any catastrophes, be it natural or divine.
Gare do Oriente train station designed by Santiago Calatrava (photographed by the author)
Anime Expo at Parque das Nações (photographed by the author)
In a more contemporary reference, the site of 1998 Lisbon World Exposition offers another topical contrast. This expo was sited on a former industrial area designated for urban requalification project. Diverse talents, investments, materials and metiers coalesced on this site, known today as Parque das Nações (Park of the Nations). Notably, there is the Gare do Oriente train station designed by Santiago Calatrava and the Pavilion of Portugal designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira. The expo was a success but not in an immediate steroid injection kind of way. Today, after a quarter century later, it is a vibrant waterfront landscape with bustling shopping, commercial and culinary complexes (yes, the area has a modest casino). Siza’s pavilion serves as an unassuming central piece. It is not extravagant, ostentatious or gigantic in size. The pavilion sits quietly on the waterfront, humble in size and simplicity commensurate with that of the modest country it represents. Furthermore, the entrance featuring the pre-stressed concrete canopy suspended between two anchor volumes provides vast covered, semi-outdoor space for events. When I accidentally came by the pavilion, rather looking for a place to have dinner, the openness was welcoming and there was a political rally going on at the time. Democracy at work, a breath of fresh air. Here, the former site of world expo is actually used and lived by the people it serves. It is not left as an abandoned amusement park or earmarked to become some sort of expansive integrated resort island in the future. It is truly a public park through and through appropriated by all walks of life. This was a beautiful and sublime scene, and a case for architecture and urbanism that lasts - not only for the moment, for the duration of events, or one’s lifetime - actually lasts and is used by the people that develop attachments, memories, and over time, love for the place they live. If we are really concerned about SDGs and sustainability, shouldn’t we be creating more such places, architecture, and cities?
Pavilion of Portugal designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira (photographed by the author)
Workationer: Kaz T. Yoneda, FRSA
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References:
(1) Stephen Richard Palmquist (revising Richardson, 1799), 1994 (http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/fne/essay1.html)
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Thank you for your time and kind attention.
Until next time!