The Classics

I started making sourdough bread long before the great classics of art and architecture were formally introduced to me. Later in life, I began to more fully appreciate this humbling human endeavor. Science seems to march on—building upon (and also sometimes leaving behind) that which was previously known and recorded. 

Yet art somehow both absconds time and is enmeshed with it. Food, music, the visual arts, sculpture, and architecture don’t necessarily improve even if they incorporate technological advances. Rather they wax and wane with the culture and circumstances of a given time and place.

Masterful works seem to transcend time entirely. With breathtaking humility we encounter the ancient Greek Acropolis and statue of Nike Samothrace; the ancient Roman Pantheon; the Indian Taj Mahal; the Japanese Buddhist Temple Todaiji; and the great works of Renaissance masters such as Palladio and Michelangelo.  Their artistic mastery—spanning continents and 2,000 years—connect and inspire us.

Codified in classical traditions, the principles of composition, nature-based proportion, balance, tectonics, and harmony have left an indelible influence on my design approach.

The Vernacular

Paralleling regionalized classic breads such as naan, pita, tortilla, challah, and many more, vernacular architecture’s authenticity comes from its humble rootedness.

Practical, resourceful, natural, and necessarily sustainable, vernacular architecture arguably comprises of even more authentic character than its classical counterparts.

In the hot, humid American South, homes with wrap-around porches and tall windows shade and maximize ventilation. Pacific Northwest plank, long, and mill houses utilize abundant local timber. Simple compact homes of the Northeast—with small windows and efficient layouts—boast considerable heating efficiency. High mass mud brick walls of structures in the American Southwest stay cool during the peak heat of the day by being slow to heat up, and then keep occupants warm during cold arid nights as they slowly cool down.

Architectural Tuning

It is at the intersection of the classical and the vernacular that I am most intrigued and challenged. But in the same way that we use words to make poetry or notes to make music, classical and vernacular details provide for endless creative diversity along a large continuum of styles and articulation (from traditional/ classical to modern/ minimalist).

With these compositional tools I endeavor to create—

within each unique set of practical circumstances,

including the latest technological advances—

timeless, sustainable, and durable places

of authentic architectural character,

that reflect user aspirations,

uplift and connect them

with nature and

each other.

About Luke Golesh