Entry title is courtesy of (the wonderfully unique) Komeda

We were driving west on I-70. Well, Dad was driving and I was quivering with anticipation as our green and white sport van with my mom’s handmade gold and green brocade curtains (hey, it was the très chic in the ‘80s) traversed the highway. My mom was attending a work conference in Kansas City. We were tagging along, and we were stopping in St. Louis just to see it.

Ah, St. Louis. I could NOT get there fast enough. Mile after mile of concrete stretched before my not-fully developed brain. I wanted to get there NOW to see it. In person. An architectural masterpiece by a Finnish master builder that I admired from the glossy publications that showcased his work. My (then) gawkily stick-straight hind end was a fixture between the stacks in section 720 at our local library, absorbing all that I could about Eero Saarinen and the large iconic catenary structure.

THE GATEWAY ARCH.

Now, it is worth noting that these were the pre-internet (for the average consumer) days. What I thought I knew came mainly from photos in books or magazines. It may become clear why I am making this qualification should you choose to keep reading.

Indiana. Illinois. Closing in on Missouri. My face getting a glimpse of the sun glinting off the top and side of the south leg as I press against the window for even a little connection to the thing of beauty. I am enraptured. I am enthralled. Wait, what is that? Metal? Not stone- limestone- as I originally thought. COOL! It’s the GATEWAY ARCH, Y’ALL!

Seeing it from afar at that moment in my young life solidified my desire, and confirmed my decision to start an ardent love affair with architecture.

Fast forward (mumbling)-plus years later. I am travelling to Arkansas to check on a project. Traffic is horrible on I-64 because the the PGA is in town. The logistics for the tournament were amazing, but I’ll save that for another post, maybe… No matter. It gives me time to see my ‘love’ after 30+- oops!- after (mumbling)-plus years.

It is as gorgeous as I remember. Frankie Valli begins invading my brain. Late afternoon sun striking the south leg of the arch. Whoa, I better watch and be cautious of the car stopped just ahead of me. Also, I should be mindful of the tears that make their way to my eyes as I recall the memories of my childhood. Dare I stop? No, I’m already delayed enough…

The simple formality, even as I experience it dynamically, is not lost on my designer’s mind.

In undergraduate school, we were usually taught that simplicity and complexity in volume|mass|form making were not prioritized one over the other, necessarily. As in many things- architectural and otherwise- this perspective depends on the context. BUT, and it is a big one- I remember more than a few of my professors letting us know that simplicity in a project was usually harder to successfully achieve. Oh boy, how I took that as a challenge. Before realizing that this grand declaration- from people who were smarter than I- was a definite truism, my educational pursuits gravitated to the complex forms associated with the Deconstructivsts. Eric Owen Moss. Morphosis. Zaha Hadid. Daniel Libeskind.

Another love affair began for me with that realization. My constant pursuit to explore the endless architecture potential indelibly embedded within and offered by the simple and humble line.

Now, let me return to that childhood scene…

We stop to visit the arch. I think my parents were tired of me droning on and on about it. It was during that visit that I began to understand the idea of scale. It was a glorious day, and I was deliriously happy. Even with all of the reminiscing about architecture in this post, there remains one memory of our stop that I shall never forget.

My mom asked a passerby to take a family photo of us underneath the arch. When it was time to smile, everyone else said the requisite ‘cheese!’. I, however, said ‘prostitute’ a photo trick I learned- similar to Ralphie Parker- from my mom. It was a moment much to the chagrin and embarrassment of my parents, but guess who had the biggest smile in the photo?

A Simple Formality