General Normative on Urban Form

Towers and bridges. Digital art by Myriam B. Mahiques

New York. By Debra Hurd.

Kevin Lynch states that we have no adequate contemporary normative theory about the form of cities. That is right. Codes are based on Zoning classification, but the shape of cities is left to theorists; scientific planners focus on how things change now and how one should maneuver to survive in the present context, but pay no attention to verify if the proposed morphology, -sometimes out of the real conditions- are suitable to a particular time, place or culture. Lynch finds it very difficult to create a connected normative theory. I would add a “general normative theory”, because I think that it can be particularized to some societies. Let us see how he continues with his position and some objections to urban planning.

The beauty of the city. From http://www.contentwire.com/img/MNT8PMr7D7xMPw3w.jpg

Tenants of Time. By Tatiana Iliina

Rain City. By Leonid Afremov

“There is dogma and there is opinion, but there is no systematic effort to state general relationships between the form of a place and its value”.

“Objection 1. Physical form plays no significant role in the satisfaction of important human values….One can be miserable in an island paradise and joyful in a slum.”. And he cites some realistic conditions –lack of sun, cold, cramped dwelling space, difficult access, the absence of plants or water- can make us miserable.

“Objection 2. …physical form by itself has no important influence on human satisfaction. Unless you specify the particular social circumstances of the people who occupy a place, you cannot judge the quality of that place. Eskimo (traditional) families live contentedly in quarters whose size would be intolerable to North Americans. A house in poor physical condition, but which you own and which gives you secure social status, has an entirely different meaning than a similar house to which one is forcibly exiled. …..the influences of social and physical form are difficult to disentangle. If one wants to change the quality of a place, it is usually most effective to change physical setting and social institutions together….it is still important to study the effect of varying one feature while holding the other constant, to come to an understanding of the whole… physical patterns have important effects on people, given a set of social patterns, and that an analysis of these physical effects is important to understanding the whole.

Objection 3. Physical patterns may have predictable effects in a single culture….But it is not possible to construct a cross-cultural theory….Each culture has its own norms for city form…

Objection 4. Our physical setting is a direct outcome of the kind of society we live in. Change society first and the environment changes as well. Change environment first and you change nothing”.

I stop at this point to express my own opinion. In my experience, I am more on Amos Rapoport’s posture. Environment is really close to human behavior and of course it has its consequences. I remember a Mexican family who selected to leave in the mountains facing Los Angeles, in a very nice landscape of trees and small standard houses. They said this landscape made them happy, because it reminded them of their native city, Guanajuato. Move them to another location, their feelings would be different. And the same can be applied to a whole social group. But I do agree if you change the society, the environment changes. For instance, in the same Los Angeles area, it is very easy to discover if the neighborhood is Latino, Asian or American, their responses to environment apprehension are different.

“In addition, physical change can sometimes be used to support, or perhaps even to induce, social change. The form of New Delhi supported the dominance of Brittish colonial power and the internal structure of its social hierarchy.

Objection 5. Well, perhaps. But physical form is not critical at the scale of a city or a region”.

Again, I agree with him. In complex systems theory and fractals, usually the self-organization is not the same at critical distances. It means, self similarity is limited to certain zones.

“Objection 6. ..even if there were a demonstrable connection between city form and value, it would be inapplicable, since there is no such thing as the “ public interest”, even within a single culture and a single settlement…The only proper role for a planner is to help clarify the course of that conflict by presenting information on the present form and function of the city, predicting future changes and explaining the impact of various possible actions… in any given culture there are important common values”.

I think participative design is part of the solution! Regarding the “public interest”, since last years, some (maybe not enough) planners have a more human inclination. Take into account Lynch’s words are from the ‘80’s, after all we are making a slow progress.

“Objection 7. Normative theories… commonly understood rules of evaluation may be possible in regard to purely practical objects such as foundation or bridges, but are inappropriate for esthetic forms. The beauty of a great city is a matter of art, not of science..”.

Here, I add that the beauty of the city, though connected to its form, has nothing to do with human comfort and happiness. (Remember the example of the igloo).

Painting of a city, by Mary Papas.

REFERENCE
Lynch, Kevin. Good City Form. The MIT Press, Massachusetts, EEUU. 1981

Dimensions of City Performance

Riachuelo environment in La Boca, Buenos Aires. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

In his book “Good City Form”, Kevin Lynch states that city performance can be measured solely by reference to the spatial form of the city. But, the quality of a place is due to the joint effect of the place and society which occupies it.

This is very important for researchers who see social groups behavior reflected in urban morphology. Then, the technology applied to unveil this, is the researcher’s selection.

Given the difficult task of constructing a limited set of performance dimensions for the spatial shape of cities, Kevin Lynch suggests the following five basic ones, all of them related to city’s qualities:

1.- VITALITY. The degree to which the form of the settlement supports the vital functions, the biological requirements and capabilities of human beings, in an anthropocentric criterion; the way in which environment supports the life of species.

2.- SENSE: The degree to which the settlement can be clearly perceived and mentally differentiated and structured in time and space by its residents and the degree to which that mental structure connects with their value concepts –the match between the environment, our sensory and mental capabilities, an our cultural constructs.

3.- FIT: the adequacy of the behavior settings, including their adaptability to future action.

4.- ACCESS: the ability to reach other persons, activities, resources, services, information or places.

5.- CONTROL: The degree to which the use and access to spaces and activities are controlled by those who use, work or reside in them.

city congestion in Vietnam.

http://vietnam.vnanet.vn/VNP_Upload/News/2008-7/15/0708Cs01L.jpg

Cloaca (main sewer) painting. From emturbsas.blogspot.com/2009

Then, Lynch adds two meta criteria:

6.- EFFICENCY: The cost, in terms of maintaining the settlement.

7.- JUSTICE: The way in which environmental benefits and costs are distributed among persons, according to some particular principle such as equity, need, intrinsic worth, ability to pay, effort expended, potential contribution or power.

Justice is the criterion which balances the gains among persons, while efficiency balances the gains among different values.

Trash in the city. Internet download

REFERENCE
Lynch, Kevin. Good City Form. The MIT Press, Massachusetts, EEUU. 1981

Conceptos de Infinito, Tripartición y Dualidad en el Arte Popular Mexicano

Ilustración del Códice Borgia. Internet download

Notar un objeto de arte popular mexicano sólo en sus partes, sería como un acto de discriminación. Podemos discernir sus partes, pero no ir en contra de su unidad. Una vez que somos conscientes de su composición, comprenderemos que nunca el objeto ha sido concebido como unión de partes separadas.

Greg Cantor, quien basó sus investigaciones en el infinito, ha demostrado que dado un grupo (set), un grupo mayor existirá. Apoyándonos en este concepto de ¨mamushkas¨ veremos que el arte azteca y su posterior evolución en México y EEUU, desarrolla intuitivamente la idea pero, además complejiza al grupo dado, incorporando dualidades de origen pre-hispánico, como vida-muerte, bien-mal, femenino-masculino, etc. Sin estas dualidades, el Universo pierde su equilibrio. El tema de predilección es la vida y la muerte, porque son parte del mismo ciclo.

Las raíces de estas dualidades son muy antiguas; por ejemplo, el Códice Borgia muestra los perfiles de Quetzalcoatl (dios de la vida que gobierna la tierra y el cielo) y Mictlantlecuhitl (dios del infierno y de los muertos) unidos por su espina dorsal. Son dos figuras que se complementan y así presentadas son una sola. Cada una, necesita de la otra complementaria para justificar su existencia.

La temática de dualidad, tripartición e infinito se verifica en esculturas arqueológicas aztecas, donde una cabeza surge de otra y otra.... Particularmente, en el arte mexicano imbuido de religiosidad, se expresan particiones del mismo ser divino, a veces en sí mismo, a veces desdoblados en otro.

Esta es una foto de cabeza azteca que he tomado de una postal perteneciente a la exhibición de la cultura azteca en el museo Guggenheim, Nueva York, 2005. De mis archivos personales.

Máscara azteca. Internet download.

La Santísima Trinidad. Antigua versión mexicana con tres Jesucristos. Internet download

La Santísima Trinidad, antigua versión mexicana con tres cabezas de Jesucristo que parten de un mismo cuello. Internet download.

La típica tripartición se remonta a la época de la Conquista y ha provocado el horror de los misioneros españoles, quienes vieron en estas imágenes ¨monstruos¨ que pretendían representar a la Santísima Trinidad. Para el indígena, trinidad era una persona dividida en tres, pero más certero para ellos era una persona con tres cabezas iguales que parten de un mismo cuello: la interpretación errónea de la Trinidad, hizo del objeto una composición de partes iguales pero independientes, diferenciándose de los antiguos conceptos aztecas donde las particiones están dependientes y emergentes una de la otra.

Estos conceptos primigenios pero alterados, se conservan en el arte popular mexicano actual. Presento aquí dos muñecas-estatuillas que representan las ideas desarrolladas hasta ahora; la primera pertenece a Josefina Aguilar, de la segunda desconozco el autor, es una muñeca de venta standard on line.

Fridita de Josefina Aguilar

Típica Lupita con frutas en su delantal.

Lamentablemente Josefina es iletrada y no he podido contactarla personalmente, pero sí he contactado a su agente de ventas en Estados Unidos, Julie Gamin, quien me ha comentado:

¨putting images on the skirts of much larger images in pieces termed "especial" seems to be a characteristing only of the Aguilars--especially Josefina and her son, Demetrio, and Guillermina (Josefina's older sister.) The images on the skirt usually tell a story or have something to do with the larger image (…..) On a Frida's skirt, we might see other images of Frida. On a Catrina's skirt, we might see images of Mexico or images of people celebrating Day of the Dead.

On a Guadalupe's skirt, we might see other appearances of the virgin or figures that tell the story of the sighting of Guadalupe by Juan Diego. At one time, we had a beautiful Virgin whose skirt told the story of the life of Christ.¨

(Comunicación personal por email, 10/09/08).

¨poner imágenes en las polleras de imágenes mucho más grandes en piezas denominadas ¨especiales¨ parece ser una característica sólo de los Aguilar – especialmente Josefina y su hijo, Demetrio, y Guillermina (la hermana mayor de Josefina). Estas imágenes en las polleras usualmente cuentan una historia o tienen algo que ver con la imagen más grande (...) Sobre una pollera de Frida, podríamos ver otras imágenes de Frida. Sobre una pollera de Catrina, podríamos ver imágenes de México o imágenes de gente celebrando el Día de los Muertos.

Sobre una pollera de Guadalupe, podríamos ver otras apariciones de la Virgen o figuras que dicen la historia de la visión de Guadalupe por Juan Diego. A veces, tuvimos una hermosa Viren cuya pollera nos decía la historia de la vida de Cristo¨. (traducción personal).

Tanto el arte popular como la disposición de objetos en las viviendas, nos están contando historias, privadas o del saber colectivo.

Volviendo al análisis formal, vemos una profusión de escalas en esta curiosa interpretación de Frida Kahlo (llamadas Friditas) y una escultura dentro de la otra, incluso Frida, dentro de la misma Frida casi amamantando a su esposo Diego Rivera, que de pronto es un bebé gigante. La pollera de Frida presenta una dualidad de seres (humanos?) de piel negra-blanca, por las manos suponemos que la negra es hombre, la blanca es mujer, que a su vez sostienen un monito y por encima de él, un personaje femenino que a su vez sostiene a Frida quien acuna a su esposo bebé. Las dos Fridas contenidas en una, ejercen una tensión muy fuerte y compiten en importancia. La pollera, que debiera ser secundaria, puja por tener un lugar primordial en la composición.

Mi nana y yo. Por Frida Kahlo. 1937. Foto bajada de http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Landscapes/works/p_img22pcm.jpg

Personalmente considero que Josefina Aguilar hizo su propia interpretación del cuadro de Frida Kahlo ¨Mi nana y yo¨, de 1937. En el cuadro aparece una mujer negra de grandes pechos que amamanta a una Frida bebé pero con cara de adulta como la del bebé Diego Rivera. El torso de la mujer se ha pintado marrón más claro, del color de la mesa debajo. La cara y las piernas son más oscuras, como si Frida hubiera dividido la cabeza y piernas del torso que es su fuente de vida. La interpretación de Josefina va más allá aún, el pecho de la nana exhibe heridas sangrantes, probablemente tomadas de las mismas heridas de Frida, tan vistas en sus cuadros, que recuerdan su accidente; ambas mujeres tienen la misma expresión e inclinación en la cara. En estos aspectos, Frida y su nana son sólo una. Recordemos que Josefina no sabe leer. Cualquier interpretación suya es absolutamente intuitiva.

El ejemplo de las muñecas Lupitas, me fue sugerido por Julie Garmin. Y me indicó que las Lupitas –a diferencia de las Friditas- siempre presentan sus polleras pintadas, no esculpidas. Según la pintura, se reconoce el lugar de procedencia. La foto a la derecha es de una Lupita con el tema repetido de las frutas. La tridimensionalidad lograda con la canasta, se expresa en la pintura de la pollera pintando las frutas sobre una mesa en ingenua perspectiva. Esta pintura le da un protagonismo a la pollera que es imposible obviar. Estamos ante una pintura o escultura?

En arquitectura, el concepto de pintura de las Lupitas se evidencia por todo Los Angeles, en los hermosos murales que cubren la ciudad. Y si hacemos una abstracción, difícilmente descubriremos la forma urbana o arquitectónica detrás de ellos, porque el mural todo lo cubre y prevalece sobre la arquitectura. Desde mi investigación, una medición de la dimensión fractal del paisaje urbano, justamente la haríamos según lo percibido. Es decir, utilizaríamos el mural y no el plano que lo contiene.

Mural de Plaza Child, Los Angeles. Internet download.

Holidays Greetings to my dear readers

First of all, I´d like to apologize if my English is not perfect, but while you understand, it´s OK for me. It would have been easier to write in my native language, but I wanted to reach more people, to leave something to trigger ideas. This blog reminds me when I taught Architecture and had nice talks with and for the students. How I miss it...Research could be a lonely task....

If everything goes as planned, (great expectations!) I´ll defend my doctorate thesis in July 2010. That would be so great for me and my family, after years that we don´t visit our country. After this, I´ll switch my research to urban tissue regeneration.

It´s been a couple of months since I have this blog, and I´m really satisfied with my readers and the results. Though, a few comments are left, some students and scholars send me emails, saying thank you for sharing thoughts about this or that. It is reconforting.

I also share the administration of a ning web Fusion de las Artes, where all kind of artists are gathered. I´ve created two groups, one of landscape, mithology and arts; the other one is culinary arts, because I also enjoy cooking, after all this is creativity too! For those who are interested to be a member, just send me an email and I can send a cordial invitation. In the meanwhile, you are very welcome to read (translator is available)

http://imagenarro.ning.com/

All the subjects I´ve written about, are different, but somehow connected, since my technical background has an objective, and this is to have people in mind -in first place-. High technology gives us tools, and I offer my heart through technology.

Maybe I´ll never be able to regenerate urban patterns in the aftermaths of a catastrophe; but who knows, maybe I could help in a different way. Just a denunciation of fires in slums, caused on purpose, is at least a little contribution....

In respect for all religions, races and ideas,  I wish the best for you all. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

All digital fractal paintings by Myriam B. Mahiques

The Doctrine of Signatures

Illustration by Giambattista della Porta. See picture references below the illustration.

Botanical patterns have been architects´ inspiration, at first for ornaments, now for buildings´ morphogenesis where a botanical law is introduced. But this particular morphology in nature has also been an inspiration for medicine theorists. After all, it seems to be a matter of finding an interesting application.

Resemblances between plants morphology and animals. From http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/portax.gif

Picture downloaded from http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/portax.gif

The first written record of herbs used as medicine was made over five thousand years ago by the Sumerians, in ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq). About 500 BC advanced medicine culture began to separate from magic and during the European Renaissance, another theory was developed: the Doctrine of Signatures, dismissed by scholars due to its relationship with astrology and for being a superstitious and ¨primitive pre-science¨. It is based on the theory that the physical morphology of plants is related to therapeutic value. It means the morphological resemblance would be the healing agent. In our architects´ language, function follows form. And this resemblance was ¨imprinted¨ by God as His signature to help men discover a cure for maladies. This doctrine was probably first recognized in ancient China, where there was a classification that correlated plant features to human organs.

yellow and sweet = spleen

red and bitter = heart
green and sour = liver
black and salty = lungs

Yang (primitive male) was associated with strongly acting plants; ailments of the upper half of the body were treated with upper parts of plants. Yin (primitive female) was associated with plants having moderate action and those with bitter, sour, salty, and sweet tastes; ailments of lower parts of the body were treated with below-ground plant parts. (Excerpt from

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/index.html)

In Western cultures signature plants emerged for medical uses in the XVI and XVII centuries; at this time people believed that human destiny was determined by astrology and each plant had the power to benefit or destroy us. A succession of books were published on ¨doctrine of signature¨ and/or ¨astrological botany¨. Though science does not support this methodology of physical resemblance and methodology of trial and error, at least they are considerably interesting for those who like to analyze morphological patterns. The most famous of those mystical writers was Philippus Aureolus. The scientific system of classification of herbs including morphological, anatomical, physiological, phytochemical, phytological and phytogenetical were carried out during the XVII century.

Illustration by Giambattista Della Porta in his 1586 treatise De Humana Physiognomia. www.spamula.net/blog/i12/dellaporta01-thumb.gif

Comparing the faces of a sheep and a sheeplike man, della Porta observes that the wide strongly defined mouth common to both indicates stupidity and impiety http://www.spamula.net/blog/i12/dellaporta02.html

"I have oft-times declared, how by the outward shapes and qualities of things, we may know their inward virtues, which God had put in them for the good of man. So in St Johns Wort, we may take notice of the leaves, the porosity of the leaves, the veins. (1). The porosity of holes in the leaves, signifies to us, that this herb helps inward or outward holes or cuts in the skin.... (2). The flowers of Saint Johns Wort, when they are putrified they are like blood ; which teacheth us, that this herb is good for wounds, to close them and fill them up " (cited by Lesley Gordon, p. 27, though Mrs Gordon used the word ¨purified¨, I prefer the translation ¨putrified¨).

This phrase belongs to Theophrastus Bombastus of Hohenheim, better known as Paracelsus (1493-1541). He was a doctor, and in 1527 he became professor at Basle. He gave new meanings to medicine by interpreting his own research instead of the ancients´, to whom he offended with his vulgar comments. The perforations he wrote about are in fact glandular dots, translated into wounds that reinforced the idea of blood in red plants juice.

Although the Doctrine of Signatures is always related to his name, the greatest exponent of this theory was Giambattista della Porta. He was a polymath who wrote and published on many subjects as natural magic, cryptography, horticulture, optics, mnemonics, meteorology, physics, astrology, mathematics, and fortification; he invented both the camera obscura and the telescope; he experimented in the art of distillation and cultivated rare plants in his garden at Naples. He also believed in a conexion between some plants and their corresponding stars or planets. In his published work Phytognomica (1588) he supported the Doctrine of Signatures, and what is more, in his 1586 treatise De Humana Physiognomia he related human features to animals´ as indices of their characters and spiritual qualities.

William Coles, in 1657, concluded that certain plants were endowed with signatures in order to assist man in his search for remedies; those which were left in blank encouraged them to discover their healing properties. He carried the doctrine of signatures to an extreme, considering that ¨Wall-nuts have the perfect signature of the Head¨ (`Adam in Eden,' 1657).

Robert Turner, an astrological botanist added in 1644 ¨For what climate soever is subject to any particular disease, in the same place there grows a cure¨. (Cited by Lesley Gordon, p. 27)

Some conclusions were:
Long-lived plants would lengthen a man's life, while short-lived plants would abbreviate it.
Red roses were good for nose bleeding.
Jaundice was cured with the yellow juice of celandine and the yellow bark of the barberry (Berberis Vulgaris).
If moss were gathered from a a skull, it was efficacious in treating the disorders of brain and head.
The kernel of walnuts was good for brain problems.
Flowers shaped as butterflies would cure insects bites.
Viper´s bugloss (Echium chamaedrys) with a stem like a snake, was an antidote for snakebite and scorpion stings.
Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) with its white scales was good for teeth.
Some fruits and flowers resembled some animals´organs, then an investigation of the temperament of the animal in question would determine what kind of disease the plant was intended to cure.
Maidenhair fern was good to cure baldness.
Heart Trefoyle which triangular leaf is like the Heart of a Man, defends the ¨heart against the noisome vapour of the Spleen." (William Cole).
Gravelwort dissolved stones in the urinary tract….And so on.

Camelthorn. From http://www.texasinvasives.org

Common Toothwort. Picture by Milos Andera

Lungwort (Pulmonaria) http://www.paghat.com/doctrine.html

In 2009 Kamlesh Wad et al make the following distinctions in the Doctrine: Paracelsus´, Hippocrates´, Chinese doctrine, Islamic doctrine, Astronomical, Homeopathy, Hindu´s and today´s doctrine. The following description is an adaptation of Wad et al´s scholar paper.

Paracelsus was also a believer in the influence of the heavenly bodies upon the vegetable world (botanical astrology), in which each plant was under the influence of a specific star. The star gave the plant the strength to grow.

Hippocrates categorized all the herbs as the qualities of the hot, cold, dry and damp and related to the four elements water, earth, fire and air. Herbs used for the disease like chest problems were those commonly observed during the damp and cold winter. He created an entire school of “rational” or scientific” medicine that utilized simple natural remedies such as vinegar, honey, herbs, and hydrotherapy in healing.

In Chinese doctrine body is composed of a number of interrelated functional entities such as heart, spleen, kidney liver and lung. According to the color and taste of herb, there is a reflection of its medicinal properties.

Islamic herbalists believed that plants growing above the ground were appropriate for ailments of the upper body and plants that grew below the ground were appropriate for ailments of the lower body.

Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) revitalized another phase of herbalism which connects herbs to different sign of zodiac and treat specific ailment by determining what sign and planet ruled over a part of the body; the prescription of an herb would follow the same astrological sign.

Samuel Hahnemann believed that symptoms are no more than outward reflection of the bodies’ inner fight to overcome illness, not a manifestation of illness itself. He also stated that medicine given to cure should reinforce this systems rather than counteract them. The cause of disease may also be its remedy. For example the Onion (Allium cepa) extract is used homeopathically to treat the common cold which produces watery discharge form eyes and nose which are the symptoms similar to common cold.

The earliest mention of plant in India is found in Rigveda having been written between 4500-1600 BC. According to the Hindu belief every herb can be used as medicine provided the user finds out how to use it. The hindu doctrine is based on the principal of ayurvedic philosophy. The objective of ayurveda is to maintain health of a healthy person and to cure the disease of patient by proper balancing the tridosh, which is based on three humor: Kapha, Vatta and Pitta at the body level and Satva, Rajas, and Tamas at mental level. Ayurveda places great emphasis upon determining an individual’s pattern of health imbalance, rather than choosing remedies to counteract single symptoms systems according to basic quality consisting of Five Phases (or Five Elements) of Fire, Earth, Air (or Metal), Water and wood.

Hundreds of years later, there are studies supporting earlier observations of these herbalists. Lungwort is an expectorant helping to remove catarrh from the lungs; walnuts with their high omega-3 oil content are considered a “brain food;” kidney beans assist the kidneys by removing excess of phosphorus. How early herbalists were able to obtain specific information by observing the plants is difficult to know for certain, but it is clear that the benefits of these plants are just as relevant today as they were then.----------------------------------------

Picture from http://www.pharma.unibas.ch/bio/img/Humor_now_and_then/Alraune_2.jpg

The doctrine is now subject of analysis between open minded scholars, who offer us different points of view based on their current research on folk medicine in different countries.

¨Some evidence of the existence of an ancient pharmacological theory—the Doctrine of Signatures—has been found in the folk medicine of Israel. The research reported 14 plants with folk medicinal uses based on the Doctrine of Signatures categories including: similarity of the plant or plant organ to the damaged human organ (Alhagi maurorum, camel thorn; Astragalus macrocarpus, milk-vetch; andCynoglossum creticum, blue hound’s tongue), similarity to animal shape or behavior (Heliotropium europaeum, European turnsole;Asteriscus spinosus, starwort; andBriza maxima, large quaking grass), similarity of plant color to the color of the disease’s symptoms or the medical phenomena (Rhamnus alaternus, Italian buckthorn; Citrullus colocynthis, bitter gourd; and Ecballium elaterium, squirting cucumber), and similarity of plant habitat or characteristic to human features (Parietaria judaica, wall pellitory; and Ruta chalepensis, African rue). (Amots Dafni and E Lev. The doctrine of signatures in present-day Israel . Vol. 56, No 4. December 2002)

And Bradley C. Bennet from the Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Ethnobiology and Natural Products, Florida International University, Miami, has arrived to different evaluations and conclusions resumed in four items:

1. There is no evidence that morphological plant signatures ever led to the discovery of medicinal properties. 2. Plants with morphological signatures are no more likely to be used medicinally than are those lacking them 3. Signatures are post hoc attributions rather than a priori clues to the utility of medicinal plants. 4. Redefining signature to include organoleptic properties associated with therapeutic value is productive.

REFERENCES

The Doctrine of Signatures

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Doctrine/index.html
Doctrine Of Signatures And Astrological Botany (originally published in 1912) in Old and Sold. Antiques Digest. http://www.oldandsold.com/articles31n/herbals-22.shtml
Bradley C. Bennett. Doctrine of Signatures: A Further Examination. Oral presentation.
http://www.econbot.org/_organization_/07_annual_meetings/meetings_by_year/2007/pdfs/abstracts/bennett.pdf
http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/The%20Doctrine%20of%20Signatures.htm
Kamlesh Wadher, Ravi Kalsait, Milind Umekar / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2009, 2(5),852-857. 3 D of herbalism - Dogma Doctrine and development. February 25th 2009, available on line through www.jpronline.info
Gordon, Lesley. Green Magic. The Viking Press, New York, 1977.

Do SoCal Cities Need to Invent their History?

Historical building in Westminster. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

My native city, Buenos Aires, has more than 400 years. Not too much, compared to medieval cities, but enough to have a history of colonization and European eclectic influences imprinted in its architecture and urban morphology. Architects are free to design buildings accordingly to history –depending on the urban context- or oppose to it. If the neighborhood has a strong historical background, most probably there will be an Association to defend it, and beyond, we have the Architects’ Board. In Historic Preservation, we first learn not to copy, but to analyze the building to be respected and find some abstract design lines (heights, direction of cornices, textures). It is an intellectualization of history, respect but do not offer a poor imitation.

My concern in Southern California, is that cities do not have a long historical record, for example, Huntington Beach is proud to be100 years old, with origins based on Petroleum excavations. Santa Barbara is proud to have a beautiful Mission, same for San Juan Capistrano, and so on.

Newland House in Huntington Beach. Picture by Mike Stankewich.

Mission Style for houses. Sotheby’s International Realty, Los Angeles. Built 2005

Then, what is left for a model of history is, for instance, the Mission and a couple of adobe houses. Not too much, so planners –who are not architects, but experts of the Zoning and Planning regulations- decided to recur to some European styles to “invent” history. And it has to be strictly respected under the “Design Guide Lines”. So, in Huntington Beach, downtown area, the styles MUST be Mediterranean, Tuscan Italian, Spanish (colonial) or a combination of them. The result, a quantity of quasi identical Post modern houses that reinforce their uniformity with the palette of stucco colors. Main problem are the public buildings. A pharmacy is similar to a house, that is similar to a pet shop, that is similar to the Theatres, and infinitely so on. Talking about these procedures with a colleague friend, she said “well, at last it is a nice composition”. I would say it is a neat composition, you have the pieces and then compose them. That is not a real design process, we are far away from the composition rules of SXVI.

¨Tuscan Village¨ close to Downtown H. Beach. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

H. Beach Downtown houses. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

More Downtown H. Beach houses. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

In Santa Barbara, the extreme to copy the Mission style, is reflected in public parkings, where you can see domestic pots (!) with geraniums in wrought iron balconies closing the parking openings, in a clear reminiscence of Andaluz patios. But transposed to public parking…(By the way, I wonder who waters the geraniums). Another “aesthetic” solution, that I’ve seen in Alhambra, is to have niches as arches in solid facades, with a wrought iron guardrail, to protect, of course, a piece of solid wall. In desperation to look for history, some important concepts are left aside: a Roman Villa is located atop of a hill, surrounded by green landscape, here, the “Villa” is separated 5’ from the property line and cannot exceed the maximum height (ex. Newport Beach waterfront= 14’); masonry massiveness is very difficult to achieve when the wall framing is 4 inches plus stucco assembly, and windows that align with the exterior finish (Well, it “never” rains in SoCal). The building is not an excavated mass but a combination of planes with a stucco rough finish. Cornices, columns, you can buy them anywhere from a catalogue; heavy timber, is not “that” heavy timber, because it is not justified for balloon frame. The final product, is a scenography of simil European buildings.

For readers who think balloon frame is the only response to earthquakes, I will answer no. Concrete and brick, with special shapes and footings is also good to support earthquakes. There is no special need for the wood technology in California. William Deverell, in his book “Whitewashed Adobe”, chapter 4, has a version that involves some political issues with old Simons Brick factory in Montebello.

“Montebello took off in part because Simons had been so successful and could be pointed to as evidence of the region’s industrial promise…..But as the one community began to grow and expand, the brickyard faltered. Late 1920s price wars between competing brick manufacturers, greater use of masonry block building materials, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake all combined to hurt the brick business in Southern California, as did, of course the arrival of the Great Depression. Tougher post –Long Beach building codes hurt the brick trade perhaps the most. As Los Angeles County planner William Fox remembered, the new codes (subsequently amended) did not sit well with Walter Simons. “ The new code outlawed all brick construction,“ Fox told an interviewer, “and Mr. Simons of the Simons Brick Company –great big fat guy, practically the head of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce- just blasted me and the department and the board and everyone else….The Simons Brick Company was out near Montebello, where it did all the brick work in Los Angeles County. Now it was obsolete.” (Deverell, p. 166, 2004).

I think Culver city shows some signs of style freedom. Some public buildings depict intellectual interesting design from architects. The other extreme, you can see a ranch style house, with an addition at the back following dubious design concepts from Frank Gehry, except that Frank was not hired …….

My conclusion, let the technology express itself. A wooden house is a wooden house, not a masonry house. Ranch style, Victorian, it could be, any real Californian style derived from the climatic conditions and the available technology. And please let the Architects Board supervise, at least the public buildings design.

Mouldings in an empty a wall; the circles are simulating windows. Huntington Beach, picture by Myriam Mahiques

Same treatment for garages in alley. Picture by Myriam Mahiques

Lotus: Legends, Metaphors and Effect

Buddhist Saint sitting on Lotus. Wat Rong Khun temple, Thailand. www.thailand-travelonline.com

Before Saints were worshipped as guardians and protectors of gardens, Priapus or Priapos - Mutinus Mutunus in its Roman version - was adored by Greek and Roman as the god of the procreation, extensive to the livestock, the gardens and vineyards. His statues were placed in the gardens to protect them from predation, especially of crows'. In time, this statues were considered obscene, since they showed the permanent god´s erection.

Priapus was described as Aphrodite and Dionisio's son, as son of some local nymph, as father or son of Hermes, or Zeus's son, depending on the version of the myth. Hera, jealous because the hero Paris dared to judge Aphrodite more beautiful than her, cursed Aphrodite's son with impotence, ugliness and a silly mind, while he was still in her womb. Other gods refused to allow him to live with them in the Mount Olympus, and they threw him to the Earth, where he was eventually found by shepherds. Priapus, eternally frustrated by his impotence, united to Pan and other satyrs as a spirit of fertility and growth.

Priapus and Lotis, III Quatre of SXVI, by a non identified autor, possibly Jacopo Bertoia, Italian, 1530-1575 or Francesco Parmigianino, Italian, 1503-1540 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/prof/ho_27.78.1%5B26%5D.htm

Lotus flower. http://2clicks.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/lotus-flower.jpg

Lotus flower. Internet download.

Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso 20 March 43 AC -17 o18 AD), mentions the version of the creation of the lotus flower twice. On a certain day, Priapus tried to rape the nymph Lotis, but the strong bray of an ass, caused him to lose his erection, and Lotis, who was sleeping, woke up. Priapus pursued to the desperate nymph, until the gods, grieved by such a situation, transformed her into a lotus with a beautiful flower.

In The Merchant´s Tale, from the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, invokes Priapus with the following words:

Ne Priapus ne myghte nat suffise,

Though he be God of gardyns, for to telle

The beautee of the gardyn and the welle,

That stood under a laurer alwey grene.

The Sacred Lotus Flower in India- From Bukisa on line. Posted by Shebear July 12, 2009

Lotus Dome. http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/36/5b/6d/lotus-dome-mt-abu.jpg

This is a literal metaphor of the Lotus Flower in a temple. The Bahá'í Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, known as "Lotus Temple". Architect Fariborz Sahba.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oFV3mfTS2qM/Sia8kDFJFjI/AAAAAAAAAKM/7r6hrcCwu9Q/s1600-h/387103309_120523e0f0_o.jpg

Another version of this flower in India is: ¨in the epic poetry of the Mahabharata, the Creator, under the name of Brahma, is described as having sprung from the lotus that grew out of Vishnu's navel when that deity lay absorbed in meditation. Hence, one of the appellations for Brahma is lotus-born [abja-ja, abja-yoni, etc.). The lotus is thus connected with Vishnu, one of whose names is, accordingly, padma-nabha, lotus-naveled. It is further associated with Vishnu's wife, Lakshmi, goddess of fortune and beauty. The Mahabharata relates the myth that a lotus sprung from Vishnu's forehead, out of which came Sri (another name for the goddess). Lakshmi is also called Padma (lotus-hued). The Mahabharata, in its account of Mount Kailasa, the abode of Kubera, the god of wealth, described his lake, Nalini, and his river, Mandakini, as covered with golden lotuses.

With the rise of religious art in India, the lotus appeared on all the Buddhist monuments which came into being in different parts of the country from about 200 B.C. onwards. In its simplest form, the expanded lotus appears frequently as a circular ornament in the sculptures at Sanchi, Bharhut, Amravati, and Bodh Gaya, as well as in the rock-cut Buddhist temples of Western India, introduced as medallions on pillars, panels, and ceilings¨. Excerpt from http://www.bahaindia.org/temple/jewel.html

A magnified lotus leaf. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Lotus3.jpg

Lotus effect in buildings coating. http://biodsign.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/lotusan.jpg

In Biomimicry, the lotus technology of natural cleaning is taken as a good model. ¨Even after emerging from mud, the leaves do not retain dirt when they unfold. This property has been studied intensively by the two botanists Barthlott and Neinhuis from the University of Bonn. In 1975 they discover the reason for this self-cleansing effect. Before that it was the general opinion that the smoother a surface, the less dirt and water adhere to it. By using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) the two scientists discovered that the surface of some Lotus leaves was everything else but smooth. It showed a combination of nano- and microstructures that gave the surface a rough structure. The explanation for the effect lies in two physical characteristics: the properties of these microstructures repel water and the nanostructures found on top of the microstructures are made of waxy materials which are badly wettable. The combination of the chemistry, the ultra structures, and the adherence properties of dirt and water to the surface, is what Barthlott and Neinhuis named the Lotus-Effect.

…. A droplet on an inclined superhydrophobic surface does not slide off; it rolls off. When the droplet rolls over a contamination, the particle is removed from the surface if the force of absorption of the particle is higher than the static friction force between the particle and the surface. Usually the force needed to remove a particle is very low due to the minimized contact area between the particle and the surface. As a result, the droplet cleans the leaf by rolling off the surface¨. Excerpt from http://ssp06.isunet.edu/the_lotus_effect.htm

There is a commercial paint brand that has introduced the technology found in the Lotus´leaves. It is expected that in the future, self sufficient buildings will incorporate this type of biomimicked materials as water repellent and to keep glasses clean. In consequence, it will take longer to fungi and bacteria to appear visible on buildings´surfaces.

Chinese lantern with Lotus decoration. http://parisparfait.typepad.com/paris_parfait/images/2008/08/16/lanterns_and_lotus.jpg

REFERENCES

http://ssp06.isunet.edu/the_lotus_effect.htm
Gordon, Lesley. Green Magic. 1977
http://www.bahaindia.org/temple/jewel.html
http://biodsign.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/lotus-effect-efecto-lotus/
Wikipedia.org