A few weeks ago a very interesting book caught my attention, The World Without Us by Allen Weisman. The book explores a world in which humans suddenly cease to exist on our planet. How long would our legacy endure? What would remain and what would quickly disappear? Though I spend much of my life as an architect, building up that human legacy I have also always been interested in the processes of its destruction. I find ruins to be supremely interesting. Touching the withered product of past civilizations evokes strong emotion. To know that a long past group of people toiled for generations to build great monuments to their achievements only to eventually come to an end reminds us of the frailty in our own being. In our contemporary world we build and transform the surface of the earth and feel somewhat immortal as a society. Our great cities and technology seem so permanent. Yet, nothing we create will last to infinity. Without our careful and constant tending these human creations will systematically return to the earth that they came from.
I have not yet had time to read the whole book but chapter headings such as "Unbuilding Our Home", "Polymers Are Forever", and "The Fate of Ancient and Modern Wonders of the World" promise a great read with a provocative conversation on the state of our world and how we tend to it. Reading through a few pages I was reminded of Buffalo's Tifft (Farm) Nature Preserve. This lush natural preserve in the heart of the city was a major industrial port less than 100 years ago. It eventually lost value to our society and ceased to be tended to. In an imperceptible amount of time, geologically speaking, almost every visible trace of human activity has been wiped away by the earth's churning forces. Just a small reminder of just how tiny and unimportant we may be in this universe of ours.
The World Without Us is available at Talking Leaves
951 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo - (716) 884-9524
3158 Main St, Buffalo - (716) 837-8554