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Travels with Hugh

Hugh Loomis our trusted architectural photographer consultant recently took a trip to Turkey.  Today Turkey retains many ruins of the ancient world, artifacts of cities from the distant past.  Hugh retains his artist eye while traveling and gave us pictures he captured at Aspendos in southern Turkey.  The ancient city of Aspendos is dominated by the best preserved theatre of antiquity with seating for 15,000.  The galleries, stage decorations and acoustics all reflect the ability of the architect Zenon.  Close to the theatre, basilica and agora lay the remains of an aqueduct, one of the largest in Anatolia.  Hugh can be reached at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Remarks at the Veterans Day Ceremony by President John F. Kennedy

Remarks at the Veterans Day Ceremony (November 11, 1961)
General Gavan, Mr. Gleason, members of the military forces, veterans, fellow Americans:
Today we are here to celebrate and to honor and to commemorate the dead and the living, the young men who in every war since this country began have given testimony to their loyalty to their country and their own great courage.
I do not believe that any nation in the history of the world has buried its soldiers farther from its native soil than we Americans—or buried them closer to the towns in which they grew up.
We celebrate this Veterans Day for a very few minutes, a few seconds of silence and then this country’s life goes on. But I think it most appropriate that we recall on this occasion, and on every other moment when we are faced with great responsibilities, the contribution and the sacrifice which so many men and their families have made in order to permit this country to now occupy its present position of responsibility and freedom, and in order to permit us to gather here together.
Bruce Catton, after totaling the casualties which took place in the battle of Antietam, not so very far from this cemetery, when he looked at statistics which showed that in the short space of a few minutes whole regiments lost 50 to 75 percent of their numbers, then wrote that life perhaps isn’t the most precious gift of all, that men died for the possession of a few feet of a corn field or a rocky hill, or for almost nothing at all. But in a very larger sense, they died that this country might be permitted to go on, and that it might permit to be fulfilled the great hopes of its founders.
In a world tormented by tension and the possibilities of conflict, we meet in a quiet commemoration of an historic day of peace. In an age that threatens the survival of freedom, we join together to honor those who made our freedom possible. The resolution of the Congress which first proclaimed Armistice Day, described November 11, 1918, as the end of “the most destructive, sanguinary and far-reaching war in the history of human annals.” That resolution expressed the hope that the First World War would be, in truth, the war to end all wars. It suggested that those men who had died had therefore not given their lives in vain.
It is a tragic fact that these hopes have not been fulfilled, that wars still more destructive and still more sanguinary followed, that man’s capacity to devise new ways of killing his fellow men have far outstripped his capacity to live in peace with his fellow men.
Some might say, therefore, that this day has lost its meaning, that the shadow of the new and deadly weapons have robbed this day of its great value, that whatever name we now give this day, whatever flags we fly or prayers we utter, it is too late to honor those who died before, and too soon to promise the living an end to organized death.
But let us not forget that November 11, 1918, signified a beginning, as well as an end. “The purpose of all war,” said Augustine, “is peace.” The First World War produced man’s first great effort in recent times to solve by international cooperation the problems of war. That experiment continues in our present day—still imperfect, still short of its responsibilities, but it does offer a hope that some day nations can live in harmony.
For our part, we shall achieve that peace only with patience and perseverance and courage—the patience and perseverance necessary to work with allies of diverse interests but common goals, the courage necessary over a long period of time to overcome an adversary skilled in the arts of harassment and obstruction.
There is no way to maintain the frontiers of freedom without cost and commitment and risk. There is no swift and easy path to peace in our generation. No man who witnessed the tragedies of the last war, no man who can imagine the unimaginable possibilities of the next war, can advocate war out of irritability or frustration or impatience.
But let no nation confuse our perseverance and patience with fear of war or unwillingness to meet our responsibilities. We cannot save ourselves by abandoning those who are associated with us, or rejecting our responsibilities.
In the end, the only way to maintain the peace is to be prepared in the final extreme to fight for our country—and to mean it.
As a nation, we have little capacity for deception. We can convince friend and foe alike that we are in earnest about the defense of freedom only if we are in earnest-and I can assure the world that we are.
This cemetery was first established 97 years ago. In this hill were first buried men who died in an earlier war, a savage war here in our own country. Ninety-seven years ago today, the men in Gray were retiring from Antietam, where thousands of their comrades had fallen between dawn and dusk in one terrible day. And the men in Blue were moving towards Fredericksburg, where thousands would soon lie by a stone wall in heroic and sometimes miserable death.
It was a crucial moment in our Nation’s history, but these memories, sad and proud, these quiet grounds, this Cemetery and others like it all around the world, remind us with pride of our obligation and our opportunity.
On this Veterans Day of 1961, on this day of remembrance, let us pray in the name of those who have fought in this country’s wars, and most especially who have fought in the First World War and in the Second World War, that there will be no veterans of any further war—not because all shall have perished but because all shall have learned to live together in peace.
And to the dead here in this cemetery we say:
They are the race—
they are the race immortal,
Whose beams make broad
the common light of day!
Though Time may dim,
though Death has barred their portal,
These we salute,
which nameless passed away.

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Events of this Summer

It has been an enjoyable summer in Willow Grove.  Our next door neighbors, The Second Alarmers Rescue Squad obtained a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.  The steel beam pictured above is to be used in a Memorial to 911 to be constructed at their soon to be built new facility in Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania.  They have all their news and information about the World Trade Center Memorial at their web site www.sars.org! 

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Arthur Hall Adams receives Drexel University Award

On May 7, Arthur Hall Adams will receive the Mary S. Drexel Award from the Irick Society of Drexel University.  This award, named for Mrs. George W. Childs Drexel, was established in 1933 to honor an outstanding member of Drexel University who earned a degree through Drexel Evening College of Professional Studies.  The Awards selection committee has considered well over one hundred alumni each year before making its selections, Arthur was selected this year for his service to Drexel and his achievements as a Architect.  Arthur has been acknowledged by Drexel University previously and is the past recipient of the Drexel University Richard C. Goodwin College of Professional Studies Speciality Award (2007), Distinguished Member Award Mary S. Irick Drexel Society (2008), and the Drexel University Key D Award (2009). 

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

To help in your celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day we have an Irish song lyric, so tune your voice, drink a few green beers and let the melodious voices resound!

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING
There’s a tear in your eye,
And I’m wondering why,
That it ever should be there at all.
With such power in your smile,
Sure a stone you’d beguile.
And there’s never a tear drop should fall.
When your sweet, lilting laughter’s
Like some fairy song
And your eyes twinkle bright as can be;
Oh then laugh all the while
And all other times smile
And now smile a smile for me.
CHORUS
When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure it’s like a morn in spring,
In the lily of Irish laughter
You can hear the angel’s sing.
When Irish hearts are happy
All the world seems bright and gay,
And when Irish eyes are smiling
Sure they steal your heart away.
For your smile is a part
Of the love in your heart,
And it makes even sunshine more bright.
Like the linnet’s sweet song,
Crooning all the day long,
Comes your laughter and light
For the springtime of life
Is the sweetest of all
There is ne’er a real care or regret;
Ad while springtime is ours
Throughout all of youth’s hours,
Let us smile each chance we get.

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Movie Quotes We Like

“that’s bold talk for a one eyed fat man”
Robert Duvall to John Wayne in “True Grit”

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Integral Sustainable Design

Elizabeth, an Intern Architect here at AHAdams&Company, has some thoughts on new integral approaches to “green” design:

The “Green Movement,” along with recently created specialty grants and programs, has recently created a need to explore an integral approach to architecture and planning.  Recent projects in the education sector, in particular, have used sustainable design not only to improve building efficiencies, but also as a tool for teaching and learning.  In these projects, aesthetics embedded in the design reveal information about the buildings performance, the surrounding site, and community.

“Greening Greenfield” is a renovation project to Philadelphia School District’s Greenfield Elementary school play yard on 22nd and Chestnut in Center City.  Greenfield Elementary is just one school that has recently taken to the “green movement” by using an integrated and creative design approach.  Including the community, students and teachers in the design process from day one, the project immediately gained perspective on the importance that the design be both a visual and experiential learning tool.  This is achieved by using the project’s constraints, such as the asphalt schoolyard and the associated heat and drainage issues, as design opportunities.

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Thoughts on Ruins

Frank, a project Architect here at AHAdams&Company, has some observations on ruins and their value:

Bells are the opposite of children: they are meant to be heard and not seen. Yet, one of the most popular tourist activities in Philadelphia is to visit the silent Liberty Bell. Its iconic crack draws millions of visitors to see this symbol of the American Revolution and freedom. Its inscription taunts its readers: “Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land and to all the inhabitants thereof,” a biblical command that cannot be carried out with a broken bell.

Why do we revere broken things? Why do we allow ruins of monumental buildings to exist in a decayed state? Although it is not a building, the Liberty Bell embodies this tendency. It certainly would be easier and less expensive to melt down and recast a bell than to rebuild a cathedral. In fact, the Bell’s current condition is a result of a repair attempt after it had already been recast twice. Why was a third recasting prohibitive?

When we look at architectural ruins, we feel connected to the past, yet distant from it- like looking across a long bridge toward a distant shore. The attitude many take toward this connection, however, is that it does not work in both directions, that it connects our present with the past only, instead of also to the future. Architects build with the future in mind, yet when we look at these ruins now we often think only of the past.

Buildings, such as the Parthenon, were built with a high purpose. Even though contemporary Greek society no longer worships in the fashion for which the temple was built, the cultural significance of the building is eternal. It embodies a building form that has come to be synonymous with Democracy, scientific achievement, and civilization. Yet it was not held in such high esteem in the 17th Century, when it was used as a gunpowder magazine. Most of the destruction we see today came in an instant, when it was attacked by enemy mortar fire. Its centuries-long ruinous state has been mostly due to the cost of reconstruction, as is the case with most ruins. Any mention of the Parthenon almost universally evokes an image of a decayed building instead of the magnificent temple it once was. To its credit, however, the Greek government has recently undertaken an initiative to restore the Parthenon.

Other buildings, such as churches and cathedrals, were built with similarly high ideals. Many European churches built in the Middle Ages have been abandoned and left to decay, such as Elgin Cathedral in Scotland. It is either being preserved to honor the past or because its demolition would be too expensive. In either case, we can imagine that if the worshippers who originally venerated the cathedral could see it in its present state, they would rather see it completely demolished than as a ghastly specter of its former splendor.

Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa started its tilt before the construction was even complete. Built as the Campanile, or Bell Tower for the Cathedral of Pisa, it would have been a significant architectural achievement for its grace and elegance had it not been built on unstable soil on insufficient foundations which cause the lean. Recent rescue efforts focused not on correcting the problem entirely but merely on preventing the building’s collapse. We value its imperfection too much to correct it.

When we look at Rome’s Coliseum, it requires no great leap of imagination to see what it would have looked like complete and filled to capacity with thousands of Romans. It has been tantalizingly well–preserved, and is meticulously maintained today by dedicated caretakers. It was constructed so well that its structure could still today host public events, if it were restored to a usable state. Many millions of public dollars are spent on less significant stadium structures. That money, if it must be used on stadiums, could be used to restore a very old, and very good, one.

We can learn much from ruins. What societies of the past have left behind give us much insight into the way they lived, died, believed, and thrived. Often, they are the only evidence we have that a society ever existed.  And just as often, they leave us with more questions about the society than they answer. In Mexico, many classic Mayan cities were abandoned in short order, for reasons that are still not clear. Their ruinous remains leave little clue about their departures, only that they had once been occupied by astonishingly advanced societies from whose archaeological remains we can learn much.

For significant architectural ruins, such as those of entire cities that can help us to understand the people that left them behind, it is important that they be preserved and studied so that we can learn as much about them as those ruins will allow. But other historical artifacts, such as the Liberty Bell or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, should not be allowed to continue their tragic trajectory, but should be allowed to fulfill their original purpose. The Liberty Bell is maintained in its cracked state because of its historical significance and because of the millions who come to see it every year. Imagine how many more would come to hear it toll .

Whether buildings are abandoned and left to rot or destroyed consciously, their vestigial remains beg the question: what ideals are preserved with the building’s ruins — those that led to its construction or those that led to its destruction?

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