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The Secular Cathedral
A transnational structure aiming at a (distance) more equitable
consumerism. A habitat for remembering, living, working, learning
and “divertimento”.
Part of the divertimento is the battery
of slides evacuating the cathedral in 20 minutes or so (20,000
people?).
 The
mantel generated by the 40 or so slides defines an umbrella
parasol of about 400 meters diameter covering a multi-story
urban life that the citizens of New York would think about
and the designer-builder would try to satisfy(the analogy
with Piero della Francesca generous mantel of mother sheltering
the flock of her children).
The circular pond is the speed breaker
for the people evacuating the cathedral from most of its stories.
The evacuation is pure gravity effect descent , with no mechanical
equipment, no enenrgy use, in fact no need of leg use. It
is a very large combination of children’s playground
and swimming pool slide, of roller coaster rides and of emergency
slides in air passenger planes.
Time:
For instance from floor 30 one can reach a restaurant or shop
on Barklay st., West St., Liberty St., etc. in less than one
minute. This is part of the appeal to visitors and employees
offered by the multi- level grounds of the cathedral.
Magnetic levitation propulsion is suggested
for the power driven ascent conveyances. Besides escalators
and elevators, gondolas could be propelled on wider slides.
Functions:
 The
first 4-5 floors are of “N.Y., N.Y. format” .
The typical busibody going about of the manhattan people.
Those floors ring the area and also serve as entrance to the
inner- urban celebratory spaces where business, cultural gatherings,
concerts, theater let the visitors commingle, enjoy and learn.
This is a multi-story inner space under the cover of slides
umbrella-parasol.
A simulacra made of some of the structural
segments of the towers might be afloat where the two towers
used to be.
The remaining floors, 40 to 50, are for transitional activities
in financial, economic, environmental, social equity fields
of endeavor.
--Paolo Soleri |
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Theological Terrorism an old, old story
“There were no more than 12,000
crusaders that, in July 1099 after a three year campaign, got to
camp under the walls of Jerusalem. Their emotion in sighting the
sacred city changed into surprise when the presiding Muslim garrison
declared to be ready fot an armistice. That garrison wasn’t
Turkish but Arab, because the previous year Jerusalem had been retaken
from the Selgiuchi by the Fatimidi, who had never confronted the
Franchi. But they didn’t accept the offer perhaps because
they thought a non-violent negotiation would have ruined their
triumph.
Therefore they demanded unconditional surrender.
The defenders,
about 1000 men, resisted for 40 days. Then they surrendered.
A witness present, Raimondo de Agiles, famous for his zeal described
the scene as they were beheaded, killed by harrow or thrown
from the towers. Others were tortured for days
and days
and then torched. The streets were strewn with heads, chopped
hands and feet.”
"Those marvelous things lasted
until the total consummation of the 70 000 citizens of Jerusalem,
including the Jews, who were crowded and burned inside the synagogues.
Then the crusaders gathered in the grotto
of the Santa Sepolcro that had hosted the remains of Christ,
who had come into the world
to preach “misericordia”, there they cried joyfully
feeling worthy of him.”
--From
vol. 7, pg. 112 of Storia D’Italia by Montanelli
On the first crusade year 1099
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