“All architecture is what you do to it when you look upon it;
Did you think it was in the white or gray stone? or the lines of the arches and cornices?”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass.
Walt Whitman was a renowned American poet and essayist. He was a humanist and egalitarian who was famous for his evocative writing that re-defined the idea of free verse. Whitman is often considered the ‘father of free verse’ despite not having originated it, because of how masterfully he wielded the technique to put forth his ideas.
He was one of the prominent figures in the transition from the later Romantic period to the more scientific Industrial era. His writings touched upon a wide range of subjects, from life, sexuality, and nature to politics and society.
“In the faces of men and women, I see God.” | Walt Whitman
Whitman came from humble beginnings and was a strong advocator in the ideals of democracy and equality. A large part of his popularity as a poet was his insistence on using the vernacular of the common people, rather than complicated language, so that his writings were more widely and easily accessible. Whitman believed that an ideal poet had a duty to bridge the gap between themselves and society through their writing and believed that the best reflection of spirituality was society, rather than any particular religion. (Metzger, 1957)
Whitman dipped into architecture in his writings. His preference for simplicity and the welfare of the common people meant that housing was a point of interest. Walt Whitman was invested in domestic architecture that provided a good standard of living without becoming overbuilt or expensive.
Had he become an architect, perhaps this line of inquiry would have led to something like the Unite d’Habitation, with its unadorned simplicity, material palette, and comfortable spaces. The rhythmic play of volume and light and shadow within the spaces also brings to mind the musical nature of Whitman’s poetry.
“I am large, I contain multitudes”
Walt Whitman wrote in free verse, and his tendency to use almost dialogue-esque language in an effort to be easily understood resulted in an intentional blurring of boundaries. His works invite the reader to put themselves in his place and attempt in turn to reach an emotional core in the reader. Whitman also advocated for the power of nature for inspiration and well-being.
Perhaps as an architect, Whitman would have created works that intentionally re-imagined and questioned traditional boundaries and spaces. Buildings like F. L. Wright’s Fallingwater, with the intentional disruption of the traditional boundaries and distinctions between outside and inside, fit well with Whitman’s ideologies and style of writing.
The careful blending of nature with the built form is reminiscent of Whitman’s ability to mix rhythm and prose. This commonality in thought process makes sense – both Whitman and Wright were transcendentalists, and Wright even credits Whitman with some of his ideologies.
“Yet out of that, I have written these songs”
Despite Walt Whitman’s preference for simplicity and straightforwardness, his poetry is evocative and compelling. His poetry flows smoothly, telling a story rich in imagery and emotion. Whitman appealed to common experiences shared by people and used his words to bring to life memories of happier simpler times – the joy of sitting in the sun, the contentment of talking to a loved one, the pain of heartbreak. His lack of complicated wordplay and metaphor does nothing to detract from the rich experiential power of his writings.
Experiential architecture would therefore be right up his alley, if Whitman was an architect. He would be an advocate for the functionality of architecture being elevated into a narrative experience, perhaps like Peter Zumthor, whose Therme Vals is a good example of functionality being married with experience, without unnecessary ornamentation.
Whitman would have also followed a similar route of exposed, local materials and strategic natural lighting being used to create a spatial narrative. The Therme Vals has a designed negative path, unlike traditional designs that design the solid spaces first, similar to how Whitman breaks the rules of traditional poetry to evoke emotion and accessibility.
“The real war will never get in the books.”
Two themes that Whitman explored in his writing that were not well received at the time were sexuality and the effect of war. Walt Whitman is today commonly presumed to have been gay or bisexual, from letters he sent, anecdotes from his rumored paramours, and most importantly, pieces of his own poems. His book, Leaves of Green, had to be revised before it could be reprinted, due to its themes of sexuality and possible homoeroticism. War was another major influence.
Whitman’s earlier works show strong faith in democracy. After the war, possibly in response to the losses he suffered and the horrors he saw, Whitman’s writings became darker and grimmer, such as “the Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”.
Modern society places much stock in preserving history, especially that of marginalized groups. Whitman wished to immortalize and take a stand in remembrance in the medium that he specialized in, so it stands to reason that if he was an architect, he would take a bold approach to memorial architecture.
His tendency for darker, haunting, and yet hopeful verse could be translated easily into a structure or installation meant for grief or remembrance, such as the proposed AIDs Memorial by studio a+I at St. Vincent’s Hospital Park, which would also have a more personal stake to him, due to the high impact of the AIDs Outbreak on the LBGT+ community.
Ultimately, Walt Whitman’s architecture could be characterized by minimalism, perhaps a material palette of muted colors and rich textures, of rhythmic volumes and unexpected plays of chiaroscuro, just like his richly layered storytelling is woven into his straightforward language.
References
Adelyn Perez. “AD Classics: Fallingwater House / Frank Lloyd Wright” 14 May 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 28 Mar 2021. https://www.archdaily.com/60022/ad-classics-fallingwater-frank-lloyd-wright
Andrew Kroll. “AD Classics: Unite d’ Habitation / Le Corbusier” 05 Nov 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 28 Mar 2021. https://www.archdaily.com/85971/ad-classics-unite-d-habitation-le-corbusier
Karen Cilento. “AIDS Memorial Receives Approval / studio a+i” 24 Jul 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 28 Mar 2021. https://www.archdaily.com/257079/aids-memorial-receives-approval-studio-ai
Lamb, B. and Reynolds, D. (1996). Walt Whitman’s America
Metzger, C., 1957. Whitman on Architecture. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 16(1), pp.25-27
Nobles, E., 2021. How Transcendentalism Changed Architecture — and How it will Save the World. [online] Medium. Available at: https://aphilosophersstone.org/how-transcendentalism-changed-architecture-and-how-it-will-save-the-world-c9f6cb6f1f2c [Accessed 27 March 2021].
Norton, Rictor “Walt Whitman, Prophet of Gay Liberation” from The Great Queens of History, updated November 18, 1999
Roche, John F. “Democratic Space: The Ecstatic Geography of Walt Whitman and Frank Lloyd Wright.” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 6 (Summer 1988), 16-32. https://doi.org/10.13008/ 2153-3695.1199
Souza, Eduardo. “Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals Through the Lens of Fernando Guerra ” 30 Oct 2016. ArchDaily. (Trans. Stott, Rory) Accessed 28 Mar 2021. https://www.archdaily.com/798360/peter-zumthors-therme-vals-through-the-lens-of-fernando-guerra
SparkNotes Editors. 2005. Whitman’s Poetry: Analysis | SparkNotes. [online] Available at: https://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/whitman/plot-analysis/ [Accessed 28 March 2021].
