Breathing Buildings

I was sitting by the moon bench and staring at the buildings as I had done over and over before. They don't breath like the trees do. They don't shimmer and shake like the leaves do. At Harrington House the older buildings absorbed the sunlight or walled off the cold. They were ecofriendly. The houses take the heat from the sun to warm the house. It is as though the environment is in the house, or the house is part of the environment. As I looked at Park Science it was cold and rigid. Standing straight, not swaying in the wind. An upright posture compared to the more lackadaisical composure most students have. Park Science is a science building where I have biology class. Biology-the study of life. Life is all around the building except in it. The mahine made test tubes and assembly line/factory made tables. Compared with the houses at Harrington and the objects inside. In the kitchen the utensils were hand made and the chairs were carved from mahogany. 

The new movement toward ecofriendly buildings, lifestyles and sustainability is not new. It has always been there. This new resurgence of sustainability or even permaculture causes us to relook at the history of older buildings such as Harrington House.