Intern Architects in Hell

Il Pelicano | 2006-08-15

On Inspiration

'You've been staring at that elevation for some time.' 'I'm having a crisis of confidence.' 'You're stuck for inspiration?' 'Last night I re-read Coleridge's Kubla Kahn, and I've been fixated by its words. A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid, And on her deulcimer she played, Singing of Mount Abora. Could I revive within me Her smphony and song, To such a deep delight 'twould win me, That with music loud and long, I would build that dome in air, That sunny dome! those caves of ice! And all who heard should see them there, And all should cry, Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice, And clsoe your eyes with holy dread, For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise. Given a palette more extensive than simple words on paper, I've now begun to sense the responsibility falling to every architect to create works with similar resonance and enduring beauty. Where though, am I to draw inspiration in the face of such profound genius, in light of constraints on economy, practicality and time, the very forces Coleridge's verse denies?' 'Two points: First, you're working on a temporary surface parking lot development permit application. Second, company policy now requires I ask you to pee in this cup.' 'Does our medical plan cover opiates?'

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