Implosion by Elizabeth W. Garber

Author:Elizabeth W. Garber
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2018-06-13T04:00:00+00:00

Sander Hall’s Solarban mirror glass panels

MIRROR GLASS

Suppose the walls rise towards heaven in such a way that I am moved.

—LE CORBUSIER, TOWARDS A NEW ARCHITECTURE

“ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY.” OUR DAD GLOWED with enthusiasm, pointing to the mirrored wall rising to the sky above us, reflecting the double church spires and wisps of clouds slipping across the surface. The mirrored glass panels were being set into place, floor by floor, working their way to the top of the dormitory. “I’ve been waiting for this ever since I first envisioned Sander Hall.”

Late afternoon on a spring weekend in 1970, my brothers, mother and I, all in bell-bottomed jeans, leaned against the VW bus on a hill overlooking the muddy construction site. The building loomed high above the campus while, in the valley below and leading off into the distance, lush spring green leaves glowed as they punctuated the campus and neighborhoods and parks beyond.

A building this size lives in the architect’s mind for years before it finally stands on the landscape, open to everyone else’s comments. It was the vision of the building, a glass tower reflecting the sky that my father waited for expectantly, little knowing that the worst battle for Sander Hall would come from the color of Cincinnati’s atmosphere. He had researched and educated the board, “selling” them on the mirror glass panels, documenting their remarkable energy savings for heating and cooling. The reflective beauty allowed both incredible views and privacy for students.

Our father waited with excited anticipation for the panels to go up. The color of each city’s sky is distinct. Boston’s Hancock Tower would glow a crisp blue. Glass cubed buildings were lighting up the sky in L.A., Houston, and Louisville, each a distinctive shade, from deep blue to silvered grey. He wondered, what color would these panels reflect at the university on a hill above the city of Cincinnati? They wouldn’t know until they were installed.

Barrel-chested and stocky, wearing a plaid shirt and khaki pants, Woodie stood in front of us, gazing up at his tower. “Look how the mirror glass reflects a golden rose. I’ve never seen anything like it in any other city.”

We clustered close to our mother as we watched clouds float across the surface.

“You won’t believe the sunset against this surface.” As if he were describing a fantastic wine, or painting, he was radiant with enthusiasm. He paced back and forth, gazing up from different angles. “Simply sensational.” His bald head and face glowed with the early evening light as he glanced at us to make sure we fully appreciated this moment.

We heard voices of students on a Saturday night on Calhoun Street behind us, the rhythmic thudding of a drum as a rock band started playing in one of the bars. The air cooled and the mirrored wall stretching high above us streaked orange and red with the sunset.

My brothers and I watched the sunset play across the twenty-seven story projection screen, looked at each other, raised our eyebrows, nodding. I said, “Yeah, it’s outta sight, Woodie.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.