chiaroscuro

Yesterday I have been visiting this building nearby my office. It is the 1951-1957 Dorset Estate in Shoreditch by Berthold Lubetkin. All our bangladeshi little friends have their flat in this block. Reason why climbing the stairs you can smell curry layered over the years and imagine behind the walls there is probably a woman cooking in huge bubbling pots, whit her last son eating a candy on her arm and the radio playing old hits from the far east. As I walked through the common balconies a sense of respect emanated. From a continuos flow of light - the public - one could suddenly glimpse in the shadow small pieces of domestic lanscapes: one sofa, two chairs, one carpet qualify places where common life keeps on happening. after 1000 steps and avoiding nasty spittings from above (kids!) I reached the 11th and top floor. the view over east London is amazing, especially trough the bright air where things have clear edges and at twilight. In London I cannot stop getting amazed by the school buildings: they have a visually magic aura and I bet there is plenty of forbidden places in these old Victorian buildings: like studying in Hogwards, kids should love it!