Architect's Imaginary Break Episode 20 | The Pool Where Time Stopped 35 Years Ago

On a cliff by the sea,
there is a pool where time has stood still for 35 years.

Sun-bleached white tiles.
A slightly rusted handrail.
An empty deck chair.

The water is still clear,
and every time the wind blows, only the light ripples quietly.

There is no sign of people there.
Yet, the presence of someone who was once there remains.

The end of summer vacation.
A radio in the distance.
The sensation of walking on tiles with wet feet.
The salt-laden wind.

Perhaps people remember light, sound, and temperature
more than they remember events.

On an old warning sign,
it was written in faded letters:

NO DIVING
NO RUNNING
NO LOUD NOISE

Architecture sometimes
holds onto memories longer than people do.

The cracks in the walls,
the rusted handrail,
and the afternoon light remaining on the water's surface,
have not yet let go of that summer day.

Perhaps this place
is not where time stopped,
but a place where someone quietly entrusted
a summer they didn't want to forget.

Why is it that when we stand in an old place, we can sometimes feel the time of people who shouldn't have been there?
I have also written a piece thinking more deeply about architecture and time.

▶︎ "Design is a job that deals with time, not space."

In Architect's Imaginary Break, I sometimes imagine architecture and landscapes that do not actually exist.
Beach houses, buildings in the forest, empty places—I am collecting such small fantasies.

▶ Click here for the "Architect's Imaginary Break" magazine

The sea, architecture, and the quiet time that flows there.
I am imagining one more slightly different seaside landscape.

▶ Architect's Imaginary Break Episode 19 | The Transparent House Standing Toward the Sea