A review by jnzllwgr
On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time by David Leatherbarrow, Mohsen Mostafavi

4.0

This book was a huge contribution to my master’s thesis, now completed —ahem— 21 years ago. Someone pejoratively accused it of being a coffee table book, and there are lots of images. But the text is quite useful for design thinking, even today. Our authors frame how a shift in the industrial age with Modernism put an immense emphasis on agelessness, sanitized perfection and experimental “progress” which translated to using new materials and construction methods to create flat, white boxes. While there is great variety in the Modern ouevre, the thrust of this particular agenda towards lightness, health, etc was overpowering. The author’s make a sound argument that to this day, architects and lay-people alike, embrace newness, maintenance-free materials and eschew the marks of aging or wear and tear. However, history demonstrates a more nuanced understanding by earlier master builders and the myriad black and white images throughout the book bear witness. The open question that fascinated me then and still does today is how designers can celebrate the ambiguity between a building’s birth and demise and plan for weathering to enhance ever-evolving character. The architect cannot assume a building should be embalmed in appearance and function when handing the keys to the owner, but needs to anticipate the greater arc of occupancy and aging. The marks of weathering can be a design asset, imparting beneficial character for everyone’s delight.