discovering architecture:
built form as cultural reflection

discovering architecture:
built form as cultural reflection

discovering architecture:
built form as cultural reflection

Th ere is something that draws people to visit abandoned buildings;
the hulking ruins of the coliseum, the jungle-shrouded pyramids of
Yaxchilan, the shaded courtyards of the Alhambra all attract millions
of visitors willing to trek far, wait patiently, and spend money, all for
the pleasure of entering a space that is no longer in use. It’s not just the
ancient or the magnifi cent that attracts attention either. Th ere are large
numbers of people who could be considered the explorers of modernday
ruins
and
their
faithful
fans.
Th

ese are people who are willing to risk
injury and arrest by daring to enter abandoned buildings, not for loot or
profi t, but just to see and be in such spaces.
It takes something more than just being empty or old to make an
abandoned building interesting. It is the questions they raise and the
stories they project that draw our attention, and it is the physical transformation
brought
about
by
decay
and
invasion
(plant,
animal,
human,

or
elemental)
that
makes
them
dynamic
and
fascinating.
From
childhood,
we
seek
out
places
that
have
been
thrown
away.
Children’s
movies,
literature,
and
dreams
are
fi
lled
with
stories
of
abandoned
castles,

boxcars,
gardens,
and
hideaways.

Adults too are drawn to these fantasies, and for some of us, it becomes
a favorite
pastime,
a profession,
or
a passionate
calling.
What
is it

that
captures
our
imagination
in these
spaces?
Th ere is a possibility for nostalgia and imagined reminiscences pre-

frank jacobus