Rem Koolhaus [what a GREAT name for an architect!] on Charlie Rose, talking about many things — including developing Europe’s visual identity — offered an interesting observation that an Israel-Palestine settlement will need to go beyond the historic “two dimensional,” line on a map notion of borders to something more three dimensional and structural. “Bridges and tunnels” I think he said, but “more flexible and situational” is what I heard — different degrees of boudnary for different realms of relationship. A kind of geographic topology perhaps. Boundaries as semi-permeable membranes.
The topological angle recalls a strongly imprinted experience from my memory as a three year old living in Cleveland. We entered a building — large, open, multi-story interior, with balconies or parapets around (like a modern indoor mall, tho this was early 1950s) — from the street, descended several floors inside, and exited to the street. This may well have been a building on a hill, for all I know, or may never have happened. But the experience — and the strong visual image of that interior space — has remained with me. Might be some of what feeds my strong sense of Possibility. (And space-folding. 🙂
