EEAB - ECOLE D'ETÉ D'ARCHITECTURE DE BELGIQUE 2023
—WEEKEND III—
[ Index ]
David Engels. And me fleeing 3 days off to England...
This time there's not much to tell... The Universal Cycle of Life commands the construction sector of East Flanders to take the annual summer break, architects included! And so, the office is closed for my scheduled THREE days (of which two were on the week-end) in London, to visit a friend.
Unfortunately on Saturday the lecture of David Engels on the future of traditional architecture was scheduled. He is a renown scholar, now based in Poland, that was...sanctioned, let's say so, for expressing so-called "wrong" views in the democratic, liberal and open society (pun intended) of the West.
Ahhh, the peaks of European academy!
Ahhh, the peaks of European academy!
But how many times we've been saying this! Academy is dead, universities are dead, doctorates are dead, and they are just dead men walking like zombies: cancerous power structures, fragile houses of cards occupied by globalist wokes, giant paper-printing workshops for mass distribution of attests of indoctrination.
And that's why David joined us, as the simple perseverance and continuation of his dissident academic activity constitutes a per sé act of defiance towards the mainstream establishment that sought to liquidate him.
But I wasn't there to listen.
Well, they told me it was a very interesting talk that sparked a positive debate among the students in the class.
And sent me this one picture:
By the way, thank you David for following the Twitter Account of the Polemical Architect...
So, yes, London. The brick workshop of a few days before was intense, and it was based on a typically English bond (for a matter of fact it is indeed called Diamond English bond) that is nearly totally absent in Belgium.
Not even the time for getting out of St.Pancras station and here it is:
Not even the time for getting out of St.Pancras station and here it is:
See the typical queen closer? It's that small brick (roughly ½ of a header) close to the corner, at the end of each header course. This allows the masonry to have an appearance similar to Flemish bond, although not quite as refined (because, by alternating headers and stretchers, the Flemish bond distributes the vertical "diamond module" of header-stretcher-header in a less rigid way).
Of course if I had this picture before the workshop, my life would have been slightly easier. Patience!
Of course if I had this picture before the workshop, my life would have been slightly easier. Patience!
Found a little flea market, and went straight for architecture books, like this one talking about English carpentry...
I was strolling around in Chelsea, and stood for a while observing this villa...
Edwardian mansion in Chelsea
Decorative flowers and half-pilasters in brick
Remarkable fine jointed arch, surmounted by a decorative dart and egg motive.
At a certain moment a distinct old man came out of it and addressed me.
He presented himself as a retired real-estate manager, was very elegantly dressed and looked really old. The signs of aging made his face lump and full of rosacea, although his grey eyes were flickering. He wasn't talking very clearly and for me it was somehow difficult to understand him properly, but he told me the story of the embankment of Chelsea along the Thames, and that those houses were the first to be built there when the berm was not yet fully settled. We then proceeded examining all the visible cracks on the facade. He even described the interiors of a few more neighbouring houses.
We then said farewell, a short and welcomed conversation. He didn't tell me his name, tho.
We then said farewell, a short and welcomed conversation. He didn't tell me his name, tho.
Because I was there already, I was hopping from bench to bench while strolling along the river taking a few minutes (maximum 15 or so) to draw quick sketches on a minuscule notebook (thank you for the present, Helena!) like this one:
Yes, I miscalculated the dimension of the sketch!
Another notable event, a very nice jazz concert of Judith Owen and her band in Piccadilly Circus. A talented and charming artist that I discovered that evening and who I suggest you to listen to.
And that's pretty much of it, closing this parenthesis of Britain during the Summer School of Bruges. I decided to briefly blog about this as a break of the regular stream of posts, to refresh the atmosphere a bit. Like the "intermission" track in the albums of the Offspring in the 90's.
Back to regular business now!
Back to regular business now!
Posted: 26/07/2023 09:30 — Author(s): Polemicarc
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