Material/Immaterial
Posted on | December 2, 2009 | No Comments
By Scott Boylston / Photos by Kathy Fritz
There’s a lot of lumber at Savannah Gardens; old, beautiful heartpine, the quality of which we rarely see in nature anymore. And one of Emergent Structures’ goals is to extend its utility, in part, so that other trees do not suffer a similar fate. But when we say building materials are about utility—about shelter—we are describing, before anything else, a human condition.
These buildings have lasted for over 60 years. During that time people have slept, eaten, fought, made love, laughed, cried, lived and died between these walls. We understand that the wood we harvest from the buildings can be repurposed for our needs, but what are we missing when we consider the longevity of only the materials, and not the human spirits that these buildings either safeguarded or imprisoned? And what of the material artifacts that give us a glimpse of the intimate human interactions experienced here? What is to be made of them? We know what can be restored of the material, but what is to be restored of the immaterial?
There will be much more to come on this subject as the next year progresses. There are researchers, writers and oral historians who have already been involved in exploring these questions. But, for now, we’d simply like to share a few photographs of many that provide a glimpse into Savannah Gardens as a place, not of wood, but of soul.
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