With a month-long trip back to California, I took time off from the project and enjoyed reading The Old Way of Seeing by Jonathan Hale. I first heard about the book from Brent Hull, a master craftsman who wrote an article titled “Books Every Builder Should Own” for the wonderful magazine Fine Homebuilding.

In a democracy, equality is among society’s highest ideals. One drawback, Hale argues, is that we tend toward mediocrity. As the Japanese saying goes, “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” Hale pushes back against this, pointing out that our built world has become increasingly ugly. Despite saying the obvious, our society remains uncomfortable with such harsh judgment. It prefers to maintain the average.

In this book, Hale illustrates this view, contrarian to our modern times. He makes the case that the old way of seeing produced beauty, and that we have lost that ability. He dives into what made the old way of seeing so powerful, namely that the ancients were more in touch with human intuition, natural patterns, and the ethic of play. He provides a history of when and how we lost the old way of seeing. He discusses how the vision of the modernists and the post-modernists fell short. And he concludes with a hope for the future.

He presents Frank Lloyd Wright as the greatest architect of our modern times. He understood the importance of pattern and form, yet he knew how to innovate. He was not tied down by historical precedent, yet he knew how to play with and off of old buildings. Most of all, he understood his culture and designed homes that epitomized American democratic life.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did! I am back in Japan now and preparing for the most grueling stage of the project: retrofitting the foundation. I’ll update you more on that next time. In the interim, have a look at our new YouTube channel to see our successful implementation of a French Drain. Thanks again.

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Books Mentioned In This Episode:

When you purchase a book (or anything on Amazon) with the links below, you support me and the podcast at no extra cost to you:

* The Old Way of Seeing

* The Classical Language of Architecture

* Democracy in America

* After Virtue

Links to More Resources:

* The Akiya Project on YouTube

* Learn Ikebana in Kobe (with me and a local expert!) on TripAdvisor

* Jonathan Hale

* Brent Hull

* Books Every Builder Should Own by Brent Hull

* Fine Homebuilding

* Edward Hopper

* Vesica piscis

* Alexis de Tocqueville

* Democracy in America

* Tyranny of the majority

* Nicholas Biddle

* Golden ratio

* Alasdair MacIntyre

* Reconstructed Historic Center of Warsaw

* Ralph Waldo Emerson

* Frank Lloyd Wright

* What are Usonian-style homes?

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit akiyaproject.substack.com/subscribe

#54 How Architecture Lost Its Magic and How to Get It Back