inspired by nature: patterns (coda)
After reading yesterday’s post on natural motifs in architecture, Linda shared this photo that she’d taken recently on her recent trip to Europe. One of her stops was Barcelona’s famous Parc Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí, where she found this haunting detail of palm fronds decorating a fence.
Palm fronds in bronze fence
Ever since I saw a lyrical documentary on Gaudí in the 1980s (I’m pretty sure it was Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Antonio Gaudí) visiting the park has been on my list of things to do…someday.
Architecture and the botanical world of course have a special relationship. Early shelters were constructed of branches, twigs, thatch, fronds, logs, and other plant products that would provide shelter from the elements. It somehow seems fitting that memories of those early days of human civilization live on in how we decorate our built environment, long after many of our building materials now come about through industrial processes and not through natural ones: Even as we seek shelter from the natural world, we continue to need to celebrate it.
Yes, humans seem to find ever darker things to do to each other and the rest of the planet. But quiet celebrations like this of what’s truly important continue to give me guarded hope for the species.
September 23 2008 | Categories: art • gardening • landscape • landscape design • places | Tags: Antoni Gaudí • Barceloa • fences • hardscape • inspired by nature | 1 Comment »
