boldtoad blog

The day of the Rochers de Naye race was hot, with only a slight breeze, but it was comfortably cool in the shade. The race was a memorable experience - and the best part was seeing Kamni and Noah waiting at the top! (They took the train up from Montreux).

My time was 2′12″ - I was hoping for 2′07″ but lost momentum and resolve around kilometer 15, with the most difficult 4k to go. It’s good to have room for improvement next year!

Next race is Neirivue - le Moleson, next weekend.

If I could be anywhere today, I would choose to be either here or here.

Switzerland should be a good place to celebrate the life and work of a man who spent a good part of his life in Zurich, and is buried there, but I don’t know of any public Ulysses readings in Lausanne or Zurich either … I guess I’ll have to be content with reading a few passages at home tonight … or listen to Ulysses on tape …or  even to a recording of Joyce reading Joyce.

A recent episode of On the Media (one of my favorite shows on National Public Radio) focused on ‘Space and Media’: topics about the way people inhabit their environment. This is a show that I’ve long appreciated for its thoughtful interpretations of the media, and it was  a pleasant surprise to hear them taking on a topic that’s close to my own research interests.

There’s a description of the show’s several segments on this page (and a download link).

The most interesting parts to me were:

• An interview with Paul Goldberger about the design of two recent newsrooms at the New York Times and Bloomberg (a re-hash of an article he wrote for the New Yorker).

• A discussion with Virginia Heffernan of the New York Times Magazine about Japan’s ‘immersion pods‘ and digital media as a driver of change in the design of the contemporary home.

• A discussion of the urban impact of a decision to ban outdoor advertising in Sao Paulo.

• An interview with Emily Thompson (author of ‘The Soundscape of Modernity‘) about architecture and sound.

• An interview with Ben Rubin about the ‘Moveable Type‘ installation in the new New York Times building.

Overall, a great hour’s listening!

I’m not sure whether this billboard on the Basel SBB is a permanent feature or a special addition for Euro2008. I’m also not sure whether it should be considered as ornament.

It’s interesting to ask what elements of the facade are ornamental, as opposed to decorative. The bas-reliefs, statuary, column capitals, and keystones? What about the rusticated stonework and the patina of the copper roof (the Re-Sampling Ornament exhibit cites weathering as one type of ornament, although presumably the type of weathering that is anticipated in some way by the architect)? And what about the various types of signage, and the brand messages? The flags, clocks, and SBB signage? Can a billboard become ornament by acknowledging the architectural context, like this cut-to-fit canvas? I think Venturi would approve of this complex superimposition of signs. But is it ornament?

This past Tuesday there was a panel discussion on architectural ornament at Art Basel, a massive trade show of contemporary art that’s held each year in the Basel Messeplatz; the participants were the curators of the Re-Sampling Ornament exhibit, Gramazio & Kohler from ETHZ, and another guy whose name I can’t recall (the photo above is from Art Basel and isn’t related to the Re-Sampling Ornament show, although it should have been) …

Oliver Domeisen’s talk described four categories of ornament: naturalist, ‘the line of beauty’, materialist, and iconographic (I’m not sure I got those names right). The first includes all bio-inspired and bio-mimetic ornament. The ‘line of beauty’ involved principles of beauty applied to abstract geometry, especially the curvaceous geometry of the Rocaille - one compelling example from the show was this incredibly piece, ‘Helioscope’ by Evan Douglis:

The robot-constructed brick walls of Gramazio and Kohler were shown as an example of ornament that takes its inspiration from a particular material. Seeing these walls up close I was more impressed than I had been by photographs, and the video footage they showed of the robot in the process of construction was really uncanny, in the sense of meticulous concentration in its work that the robot conveys. Iconographic ornament included Las Vegas signage, the statuary and stained glass of the Medieval cathedrals, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and the transmutation of the Louis Vuitton logo in the facade of their Tokyo boutique.

A couple of these categories seemed way to broad to me, and could have benefited from further subdivision. Nearly all ornament has some element of bio-inspiration, and also it can be argued that all ornament is iconographic (or at least rhetorical, ie capable of speaking to its audience).

The Re-Sampling Ornament exhibit, although small, is definitely worth a visit. High points for me were Evan Douglis’ Helioscope, the explorations in laser-cut tubes by Barkow and Liebinger, and the pixel facade of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos that looks something like a cross-section through a beehive:

On a recent visit to Caux, a small town high above Montreux, we visited the station restaurant, apparently one of Dimitri Nabokov’s favorite stops. The view was fantastic. If all goes well, I’ll be passing by here again in three weeks during the Montreux - Rocher de Naye race, which goes through Caux on the way to the summit!

Here’s the full text of Dmitri Nabokov’s suggestions for places to see around Montreux, posted to the NABOKV-L mailing list, and a great source of local Nabokoviana:

My parents’ urn is buried at the Cimetière de Clarens, av. Rambert 27. The cemetery s a 10′ taxi ride, 15′ by bus (ask the man to stop at the Simmy T. Yare), or 25′ by foot as hiker Boyd suggests. Enter the gate on Av. Rambert (opposite the gardener/florist). Walk straight, then take your third right. The Nabokov tomb (which some people have trouble finding) will be the third one on your left (modern, polished grey granite). The gardener’s phone, in case you need further information, is 021 964 46 33. If you are accosted by a strange Russian with a mystic’s eyes who says he knows everything about Nabokov, decline (he is a fired assistant soccer coach trying to make a fast franc).

If you enter the Palace through the main, lakeside entrance from the Grand-Rue, rather than the back courtyard (which was the principal entry during many of the Nabokovs’ years there), you will find yourself in a modern atrium where a posthumous statue of VN sculpted by the Rukavishnikovs and presented to Montreux by Moscow stood until recently, awaiting the completion of its permanent, park-like site across the street.

If you want a personalized reception, ask for the Director, my very good friend Hans Wiedemann. Even though he came to the Palace when Father was no longer there, he is touchingly proud to manage Nabokov’s former residence, and named our floor of the Cygne wing “Étage Nabokov.” If he is not there ask for Mme. Bigger, his Publicity Assistant and another dear friend. If you would like to prepare your visit in advance, call the management at 021 962 1212 (you may be switched around and kept on hold, but don’t give up). And say hello to head barman Antonio, who is one the very few people still there who knew my father well. He will be either at the hotel bar or at Harry’s Club next door.

The station restaurant at Caux is no longer run by my friend Helmut but is still beautifully situated. Or stay on that little blue cog train up to the Rochers-de-Naye (a bit over an hour from Montreux and a splendid ride) where Father walked in summer and I ski in winter.

If you get to Lausanne (30′), visit VN’s wonderful butterfly collection at the Cantonal Museum of Zoology, Palais de Rumine, Place Riponne. My mother and I presented it to the museum in accordance with my father’s wishes. It is kept as a separate collection and consists of 4323 specimens representing 80% of European species, plus many variants. You should call ahead to arrange a visit. The previous director of the museum was a personal friend, and unfortunately I have not met the current one. However, if you call the director and mention that I suggested it, I’m sure he will be helpful. The number of the museum is 021 316 34 60.

I’ve run into a number of articles recently in the press about air quality in general, and workplace air quality in particular. For example, this note about workplace air quality monitoring in Ireland, and an article in Le Monde about “Indoor air pollution - a major (and neglected) health issue” (unfortunately just a free summary is available).

Indoor air quality has long been part of the definition of ‘green’, and is written into green building standards like LEED and Minergie, but as a health issue I don’t have the impression that it has much prominence. Is this because the health risks are in the end not so significant? Or because it’s difficult to get people excited about something that’s invisible, (often) odorless, basically imperceivable, and significant primarily in its long-term cumulative effects? Or for other reasons?