Monuments and Locations Aiming to Encourage Reflection: Unraveling Constructs That Urge Slowing Pace
In an era where progress is often equated with forward motion, some architects have dared to defy conventional norms by creating structures without practical purpose. This radical approach, which can be seen as a metaphorical language, gives new meaning to objects and spaces, much like Don Quijote's reimagining of an ordinary inn as a castle in Cervantes’ novel.
Historically, architects have embraced the concept of "mad" or seemingly irrational buildings to question or expand the limits of architectural norms. These designs, which prioritise metaphor, symbolism, or experiential effects over utility, can be found throughout history.
The Smith's Folly, a chhatri added by Major Robert Smith to the Qutub Complex in Delhi, is a prime example of such architecture. Initially considered obnoxious, the structure was initially ordered to be removed by Lord Hardinge, then the Governor-General. However, it stands today as a testament to the misguided restoration attempt by Major Smith.
Similarly, in Japan, the Seiryu Miharashi Station is a train stop with no entrances, exits, or nearby village or road, existing only for the view and as an architecture of slowness and wonder. In rural Spain, the Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga in Soria is a retreat for solitary Christian monks, standing almost invisible against the scrubland, its architecture a form of devotion.
These spaces, such as the rustic teahouse Shokin-tei in the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, are not built to impress but to retreat, compelling humility and attunement to the surrounding ecology. The rock gardens of Zen temples like Ryoan-ji feature fifteen rocks arranged so that from any vantage point at least one disappears, serving as a form of architectural kōan.
In India, stepwells of Gujarat and Rajasthan, most famously Chand Baori, were architectures of ritual slowness, built to be inhabited as much by silence as by human presence. Sacred cenotes like Cenote Sagrado at Chichen Itza in Mexico's Yucatán were thresholds between worlds, sites of offerings and ritual, where one could speak to the gods or ask the Earth to respond.
The Poets' Cave of Tivoli in Italy is a natural grotto that was sacred to the Muses and offers an invitation to linger, encouraging visitors to rally for more similar spaces that encourage reflection and memory. The Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi was a terrain of thresholds, where pilgrims ascended through terraced walkways and ornamental treasuries, not to reach a destination, but to prepare to ask a question.
Jacques Derrida, a philosopher, views these follies as provocations that question the foundations of architecture. He believes that these spaces serve as sites where architecture acknowledges its own "mad" underside, its excess, and its potential to rupture the rational order it upholds.
Juhani Pallasmaa argues for an experience of architecture that can be had through touch, sound, and memory, and pondering, instead of analytical vision and real estate. He suggests that the madness of architecture is not a flaw-it is its secret soul.
In conclusion, madness in creative thinking can lead to architecture that defies practicality, focusing on metaphor, symbolism, or conceptual innovation. Historical examples like Don Quijote’s delusions reflect how creative transformation of space can arise from "madness," paralleling how architects question boundaries of form and function. Architects throughout history have occasionally embraced non-functional, experimental structures to push the limits of architectural language and experience.
Architects often create structures, like the Seiryu Miharashi Station or the Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga, that prioritize metaphor or experiential effects over utility, serving as a form of travel for the mind rather than for physical movement. These "mad" and seemingly irrational buildings, such as the Poets' Cave of Tivoli, can be seen as a means to question and expand the limitations of architectural norms, much like Don Quijote's reimagining of an ordinary inn as a castle.
