aoife c

When I was in school studying Poetry for my exams, I was terrible for finding these ‘companion publications’ that told the student how best to understand the poetry. So one fine day, my Dad who has been involved with literature, poetry and all kinds of writing for decades now questioned me on this: Saying that perhaps I might be losing out on some of the real experience of the work of Art, the original poem. And in truth, I had to admit, that I had got to a stage, where I wouldn’t read the poem at all – merely reading what the experts had to say about the poem and ‘parrot’ that off in answering an exam paper.

10 years later, I am in architecture and my Dad, who as I have mentioned enjoys reading and literature an awful lot… loves handing me a whole stack of newspaper clipping of Frank McDonald and all of these critics of Architecture and the built environment. So last Friday, we all went into town for the day – sort of a family day out. I noticed a new development on the Quays I hadn’t seen before and suggested we might spend 10 minutes just walking around it – to experience it. Since I was well aware, my Dad would hand me an article from the Irish Times environment section soon, and now I had the chance to see it for real – to observe his reaction, to see how a layman would respond to what he experienced for real. Instead of getting into a lot of idle rhetoric, courtesy of Frank McDonald (who is a very charismatic individual, and who stands head and shoulders above many as a speaker/writer about the environment).

Guess what? My Dad said to me, a no, we have to rush home. I have some paper work to do, and some reading etc. I want to enjoy my day off to you know. So it occurs to me now – the exact same criticism my father had of me and poetry years ago – is exactly the same criticism i would have of him and Architecture today!

Brian O’ Hanlon.

P.S. I think some folks are perhaps naturally inquisitive about these things. While I have struggled hard to cultivate an awareness of what is around me – to take a casual hour here and there. Most people educated themselves through books, discovered the world around them through books,… and that is a big problem.

I’m a planning student and have been researching doing my final year dissertation on tall buildings in Dublin – in relation to the concept of building up rather than building out in order to combact urban sprawl.
Would really appreciate any comments/ideas that you might have on the subject