Ode to Construction

I am attracted to building sites, works in progress. The fascinating process of destruction. The demolition of what was to make room for something new and useful.

What was.

Lives that were lived, jobs that were carried out, paths, traces, memories. An ode to construction, the building that once stood and what it stood for.

I don't know what this or any other building was before it's most recent use but its presence in the streetscape and its imposing form would have impacted many lives and not just of the occupiers.

The demolition peeling openings, tearing away walls to expose innards from angles that were never envisioned to be revealed. Draping brickwork, twisted metal framework, shattered glass, crumbling plaster giving way to shreds of wallpaper, drooping power outlets, twisted taps. Once new, shiny and purposeful, now defunct, dated and unwanted.

We seem to value the heritage of buildings of 100+ years but not that within our lifetime. We readily destroy the "ugly" modernist visions to replace them with even uglier post-modernist visions yet would consider it sacrilege to consider

demolition for much older buildings that can not accommodate our contemporary lives. In a not so distant future we will have removed almost every example of an architectural era because of near-sighted planners who decree what is relevant architectural history and what can be discarded. Fueled by unimaginative architects and builders who can't envision a cost effective future for old structures, and clients who rely on such limited advice.

Our history is not just about what was before our time but what is in our time.