When I was walking near the Barbican on Sunday I came across this unusual object set out with someone's trash. It's not every day you find an architectural model lying on the sidewalk.
It was labeled "Theatre of Memory," and although it was a bit bashed up it seemed quite solid and sophisticated, with perfect little plastic power poles (say that three times fast) and clear pieces covered with what looked like diagrams or blueprints. The pieces were labeled "Restaurant," "Main Theatre" and the clear floor marked "Act 1," "Act 2" and on through "Acts 4 & 5."
Needless to say, I would love to know more about this and why it was abandoned there, but Googling "Theatre of Memory" doesn't produce any readily relevant results (I apparently have a thing for alliteration today). So it must not only be a Theatre of Memory, but a Theatre of Mystery.
Probably some architecture student's final exam. Or maybe a conceptual art project.
Yesterday I mentioned the Methuselah of all cacti living in the staff lounge at work. Some of you questioned whether they were alive or even real, so I took a closer look yesterday afternoon. As you can perhaps see, they are indeed living. I'm not sure why they aren't bigger, unless they're just incredibly slow-growing or maybe they're restricted by that pot. (Which seems a very unlikely container for cacti, given that it has no drainage.)
Another mystery. I'm full of 'em today.
Our students are already on Thanksgiving break, so today will be just a half-day for staff development and meetings at work. I'm mobilizing to get out of the house early because we need to be there at 7:45 a.m. -- quite a bit earlier than my normal starting time. Then tomorrow, Dave and I are off with Olga on a Thanksgiving adventure! Stay tuned!
Intriguing!
ReplyDeleteHave a good adventure
Thanks! :)
DeleteEngland has some Thanksgiving celebrations? You do come across so many oddities in the streets. Btw, the teasel reference was in my post Queenscliff Day 2.
ReplyDeleteEngland doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but we're an American school with mostly American students, so we do.
DeleteFirstly, I think you should adopt that cluster of cacti. I doubt that any of your colleagues (American: "co-workers"!) would object. Then you can repot the cacti in a more appropriate container with fresh cacti compost.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I have already guessed what your Thanksgiving adventure will be. You are off to the new American embassy where you will kneel down, clasping your hands together while giving thanks to The Pilgrim Fathers and the star spangled banner. Praise be!
I could adopt it, but I feel like it's doing fine where it is. For once my inclination is to leave well enough alone!
DeleteOur sons architectural project hung around in the basement for years. Of course he didn’t take it when he moved, and I couldn’t bear to get rid of it after all the labor that went into it, but it did finally get chucked out. Those things are BIG and what can you do with them, use them as a dining table centerpiece?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can see how someone might want to throw it out eventually. Once you've completed it, it's not easy to save and/or display.
DeleteI love models like that. When I was talking to the theatre class the other day and seeing their assignments, I was hoping some might do models (although they didn't have a lot of time to come up with their designs). None did but the renderings were all such fun (shared on my blog). I'd love to know the story behind this one.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful adventure!
Maybe you could offer extra credit to those who turn their renderings into 3-D models?! I'll check out the designs on your blog!
DeleteI can't imagine throwing that model out. I mean surely it took time to create?
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous adventure.
I know! And presumably money, for all the little custom parts.
DeleteThat model reminds me of our family saying, "All that work!" that came from May when she was a little girl and a stringer of fish they'd caught slipped off the boat. But really- all that work!
ReplyDeleteToo bad there's not a way to tell the age of a cactus. Does anyone ever water it?
I love that saying! Someone must be watering the cactus, at least very occasionally, but I have no idea who.
DeleteYES
ReplyDeleteINDEED
DeleteThat model is quite a find. It seems strange for it to be left out with the trash. A lot of work went into that.
ReplyDeleteAn adventure....good for you!
I guess once it's been made and judged or graded or whatever, there's no need to keep it, though, right? Seems a shame.
DeleteThat model is a very interesting find. It would be interesting to find out what that was all about. Ah well, mysteries abound these days. Looking forward to reading about your Thanksgiving adventure.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing it was someone's class. It looks like a school (possibly college) project.
DeleteThat's what I was thinking, a student project model. As for the cactus, perhaps it doesn't get enough sun to really grow.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, although it's in a pretty sunny window. Probably nothing like the sun it would get in Arizona!
DeleteI think YP's comment will make you want to save the Cacti! I can't imagine you have gone this long looking at it without taking it under your care! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving adventure!
I've considered it, but I keep thinking a) it might belong to somebody, and b) it seems to be doing fine. Why interfere?
DeleteOoo an adventure! I can't wait to hear about it! I'm at work all day today, but as you can tell (it's 11:27 am and I'm reading your blog), I don't plan to get too much done today. Ha!
ReplyDeleteA day of downtime at work is perfectly reasonable at this time of year. :)
DeleteI like the sound of a Thanksgiving adventure!
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know how it goes!
DeleteI love design projects, whether drawings or models. I'm glad you stopped to check it out and provide photos for us. Maybe if it was a student's they chucked it because they got a poor grade.
ReplyDeleteI did a little research on cacti and it seems that pot size is crucial to their growth, with more problems in a container being too large than too small. But still... it should be growing, requiring occasional repotting. So who knows?!
Even if they got a good grade, I guess there's no need to keep the model when it's finished. I think the cactus actually has grown a bit, or at least changed shape. It used to be shorter and squatter, and now it's longer and skinnier.
DeleteHave a great trip, where ever you are going. I look forward to your pictures. And yes, I turned that photo to black and white, it's sort of surprising how little difference there is between it and the original.
ReplyDeleteAha! I wondered! Snow CAN make things look colorless, but that pic seemed a little TOO colorless. :)
DeleteYou are a man of mysteries...Have fun!
ReplyDeleteGotta keep the people guessing!
DeleteI'd never put a cactus in a bigger pot. Bloody things are homicidal! We had one once and I stabbed myself on it too many times. I finally had to use pliers to take it out of the pot, wrapped it in many layers of newspaper and threw it out. I still shudder when I think of its spikes :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool model you photographed. But then, I love - and have always loved - miniature stuff!
Yikes! Sounds like maybe the wrong kind of cactus for home cultivation! I think they need a lot of space so they don't get accidentally nudged or brushed up against.
DeleteOoh, a surprise adventure. I’m excited!
ReplyDeleteStay tuned!
DeleteOooh, an adventure. I'm all a-twitter!
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo!
DeleteI like to build architectural models in a computer but never have done an analog version. Perhaps it feeds into my map addiction as models really are just maps of a building.
ReplyDeleteI can see how those two interests -- maps and architectural models -- would be related. This one is interesting because it doesn't seem to be a real building. More like a conception of the kind of structure that might embody and replay memories, maybe?
DeleteThat's quite an interesting project that you've found. As for the cacti, I would think that they could use a bigger pot. Have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDelete