Rammed-Earth Vanishing Point [Journey of runes]

Rammed-Earth Design – ‘Vanishing Point’

Greetings to one and all, and welcome back to the sanctum sanctorium of non-local fractal quantum inter-connectedness.

This is a zone of experiment with thought and being, a place of reflexive analyses with a palette of comparisons through an ‘analogue’ lens. Time means little here, but quality is everything!

The canvas on which our experiments unfold is essentially aesthetic, concerned with beauty, proportion, geometry and intrinsic quality – all of which is fancy way of saying that,

“...things ain’t jus’ gotta look good,
they gotta feel an’ be good”.

If you’ve ever given it sufficient thought, good is not an easy concept. Fortunately for me, I don’t worry too much about such things unless they’re in the political and moral sphere, where things get complicated real fast. As far as visual appeal and design integrity (quality) is concerned, I find that to be an easy language to deal with. It’s kinda like food, or sick building syndrome, if it makes ya feel bad, it ain’t good - well, at least not for the ‘beholder’. And as for design integrity specifically, convenience, durability and usefulness are a bit of a give away.

You’ll be glad to know Rammed-Earth walls are expected to do a round of
500 years with minimal maintenance.

As for quality itself, the sound proofing and geo-thermal insulation as well as EMF blocking (don’t want that harmful radiation in yer body, especially yer children’s, right) short of having a chunk of the Dover Cliff’s in yer front room, you’ll be hard put to improve on Rammed-Earth. This tells you a lot right there, but without the right geometry and spatial relationships, it’s hard to enjoy the benefits of such beautiful builds.

We don’t stop at that as we’re constantly looking at innovative non-toxic materials for their strength, water proofing, affordability and durability etcetera, to augment the Rammed-Earth concept. Sometimes these elements are combined whereas other builds are purist and only use natural materials – it’s really exciting to work at this level and its really fulfilling to help people realise their hearts desire.

Clifton and my good self have a huge vision for building for creative communities, it’s not Rammed-Earth based as for very affordable ‘design hubs’ we want to be able to house people that will make things happen at a fraction of high street penury, and this without having to compromise life style although personal space will be at a premium. The trade-off will be that communal and ‘design and consult’ space will be relatively lavish, and craft and tech oriented.

To return back to our little presentation here, the rather mysterious and elusive ‘Vanishing Point’.

Film buffs and just seriously cool people will know that Vanishing Point was an iconic film made in the good ol’ USA in 1971. The star of the film was as ‘Kowalski’s’ colleague reminds an irreverent customer in the maestro’s muscle car emporium (in the 1996 tribute film starring Viggo Mortensen) that the Dodge Challenger was the apotheosis of American muscle-car development and design.

I’m not the greatest fan of fat heavy inefficient gas guzzling cars that don’t handle too good, but being a bit of an Alfitsi, whaddya expect?

The point is not really the car, tho’ it looks like boho fun in its own gas guzzling machismo way : ).

Before drawing too many conclusions though, let’s outline the various parts of the presentation.

Y’see in the original 1971 version, the driver is going at record speeds 1300 miles from Denver to San Francisco on the premise of making a bet, a thinly disguised excuse for what I think the point of the film really is...that’s right, the ‘Vanishing Point’.

First off there was no compulsion to drive at PoPo triggering speeds as from the outset that cross country parts delivery ‘Kowalski-style’ is a life threatening endeavour. He’s called the last American hero when the story about how he defies the PoPo across state lines is broadcast from an obscure mid-western cow-town radio station.

Kowalski’s a rule breaker, a freedom seeker in the last days of the freedom-myth that America was built upon, a cowboy (a priest of the prairie) born in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’s anti-estab – he’s a free rollin’ free spirited rebel-soul who really has no other cause than to live without constraints on how he ‘moves’ in the world.

It’s what a lot of we freedom-lovers talk about but never experience. The ideas behind Rammed-Earth align with ‘freedom-ethics’. The houses are built like pyramids compared to normal stick frame house-prisons.

Typically those drawn to Rammed-Earth are eco-minded, individualistic, ‘no need to follow the crowd’, types.

They like quality, value and customisation, they like to do things their way.

A Rammed-Earth home is their little piece of heaven, their respite, a stylish shaking of their fist at the passive consumer, stack ‘em high, build em quick – take their money before they’re sick’ culture.

The soundtrack is equally enigmatic and ‘cool’. It was a (2001) return blockbuster by Boz Skaggs and it’s called, yep, you guessed it, ‘Vanishing Point’. Skaggs is as many know, an anomaly, a maverick song writer, singer and performer. He’s led a chequered life, but extreme talent being synonymous with rugged individualism puts him in fine company.

Together, the artist, the music, the film, the builds, the people, the point, well, it’s a rare commodity alright but sho’ ‘nuff the story we’re telling is that that dream of freedom and all that it represents may have vanished for some, but is yet accessible to those that can see a few yards beyond the obvious.

That’s it for now, till next we meet.

Meta-4

PS. [The above is an excerpt from an 8000 word scribbulation]