From tree house to Bauhaus
2
from tree house to bauhaus TEXT: Nick Chadde BILD: Ingolf Heinemann 4 ARK - Känsla 34 THROUGH THE WINDOW OF YOUR CHILDHOOD REFUGE, YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN PATHS THAT YOU OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE MISSED. SOMETIMES THE SMALLEST CONSTRUCTION CAN HAVE THE GREATES IMPACT ON LIFE. BAUHAUS “There are two things children should receive from their parents: roots & wings.” I read those lines by Goethe on a postcard in a cafeteria in Weimar. During my first week as a student at the Bauhaus- Univer- sity Weimar, the great poet appeared everywhere I went. The joy of a new begin- ning was mixed with great curiosity and respect for the history, but mostly I felt excitemnet about a new chapter in life. Dominated by the intensity and newness, the first three months of my studies passed by before I managed to learn my postal code by heart. “From your tree house to the Bauhaus” my father said to me on the day of my enrollment ceremony, three days before my 21st birthday. Joyful, freeing moments. BAUMHAUS When my younger brother Max and I were old enough to hold a hammer, our father built a tree house with us. “Understanding by experiencing” he explained while showing us how to ham- mer a nail without loosing a finger. We built our tree house in the summer of 1994, and after completion it became the second home of our childhood. I remem- ber how much I enjoyed spending time in a building that my brother and I had created. All these clear summer nights when the transport planes with their big headlights were grumbling over our half found in its simplicity. The lovely details have been great fun to me and my siblings for all these years and still are.The scale is the most important part. A five-year old doesn´t understand the dimensions of a building in total. A child doesn´t under- stand how things belong together and create wholeness. To see my tree house being built was most and for all a lecture in the act of creating, even though I didn´t realize the depth of that lesson until now. This building, if I could call it that, is not designed by any main rules. I am even pret- ty sure we broke three aspects of German lawn law, but the main generator of this tree house was the love of a father to his children. Form follows empathy. PRESENCE It´s springtime and I´m visiting my home- town. I´m standing in what will one day be the ruins of my childhood home. It feels like my body has outgrown the proportions of my tree house, but nevertheless my mind and heart are still strongly connected to it. My wings have grown. My roots stayed where they belong. Without my tree hou- se neither me nor my architecture would be what it is today. When Iwonder how my feelings will change, I am certain about one thing: My tree house is my roots. My tree house is my wings. asleep heads. We were too young to realize how important it was to learn that we are able to create something of our own. But we defiently felt it. We were the ones who hammered the first nails. We were there when the main pillars got their fundament and we were there when the roofing felt was ready to be put up. We are carrying these memories with us. They´re part of our childhood. It´s somehow magical how the creation of the tree house had the first architectural influence on me and how it´s still shining in this unique, Swedish faluröd. Whenever I didn´t want to be in my room, I went to my tree house instead. Building our own childhood refuge bro- ke the act of creating something, down to a scale, that the mind of a child could grasp. Scale being adjusted to the imagination of a child, encouraged me and gave me faith in my own creativity. The beauty of my father´s design is I am even pretty sure we broke three aspects of Geman lawn law, but the main generator of this tree house was the love of a father to his children.
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Article for the Swedisch student magazine 4 Ark for their current issue about "Feelings"
Transcript of From tree house to Bauhaus
from tree house to bauhaus
TEXT: Nick Chadde BILD: Ingolf Heinemann
4 ARK - Känsla34
THROUGH THE WINDOW OF YOUR CHILDHOOD REFUGE, YOU MIGHT HAVESEEN PATHS THAT YOU OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE MISSED. SOMETIMES THESMALLEST CONSTRUCTION CAN HAVE THE GREATES IMPACT ON LIFE.
BAUHAUS“There are two things children should receive from their parents: roots & wings.”I read those lines by Goethe on a postcardin a cafeteria in Weimar. During my firstweek as a student at the Bauhaus- Univer-sity Weimar, the great poet appearedeverywhere I went. The joy of a new begin-ning was mixed with great curiosity andrespect for the history, but mostly I feltexcitemnet about a new chapter in life.Dominated by the intensity and newness,the first three months of my studies passedby before I managed to learn my postalcode by heart.
“From your tree house to the Bauhaus”my father said to me on the day of my enrollment ceremony, three days before my21st birthday. Joyful, freeing moments.
BAUMHAUSWhen my younger brother Max and I wereold enough to hold a hammer, our fatherbuilt a tree house with us.“Understanding by experiencing” heexplained while showing us how to ham-mer a nail without loosing a finger.
We built our tree house in the summerof 1994, and after completion it became thesecond home of our childhood. I remem-ber how much I enjoyed spending time ina building that my brother and I hadcreated. All these clear summer nightswhen the transport planes with their big headlights were grumbling over our half
found in its simplicity. The lovely detailshave been great fun to me and my siblings for all these years and still are.The scale isthe most important part. A five-year old doesn´t understand the dimensions of a building in total. A child doesn´t under-stand how things belong together and create wholeness. To see my tree housebeing built was most and for all a lecturein the act of creating, even though I didn´t realize the depth of that lesson until now. This building, if I could call it that, is not designed by any main rules. I am even pret-ty sure we broke three aspects of Germanlawn law, but the main generator of thistree house was the love of a father to his children. Form follows empathy.
PRESENCEIt´s springtime and I´m visiting my home-town. I´m standing in what will one day bethe ruins of my childhood home. It feelslike my body has outgrown the proportions of my tree house, but nevertheless my mind and heart are still strongly connected to it.
My wings have grown. My roots stayed where they belong. Without my tree hou-se neither me nor my architecture wouldbe what it is today. When Iwonder how my feelings will change, I am certain about one thing:
My tree house is my roots.My tree house is my wings.
asleep heads. We were too young to realizehow important it was to learn that we areable to create something of our own. Butwe defiently felt it.
We were the ones who hammered the firstnails. We were there when the main pillars got their fundament and we werethere when the roofing felt was ready to beput up. We are carrying these memorieswith us. They´re part of our childhood.It´s somehow magical how the creation ofthe tree house had the first architecturalinfluence on me and how it´s still shiningin this unique, Swedish faluröd. WheneverI didn´t want to be in my room, I went to my tree house instead.
Building our own childhood refuge bro-ke the act of creating something, down toa scale, that the mind of a child could grasp.Scale being adjusted to the imagination ofa child, encouraged me and gave me faithin my own creativity.
The beauty of my father´s design is
I am even pretty sure webroke three aspects ofGeman lawn law, butthe main generator ofthis tree house was the love of a father to hischildren.
FROM TREE HOUSE TO BAUHAUS
4 ARK - Känsla 35
