www.homesouls.com The secret of home
My next invitation was to peep with Gordon, a retired gentleman, with a keen interest in the city; in both its past and its future, and fortunate at his time of life to live in a place that is central to all that the city has to offer. In Estate Agent speak; I suppose his place would be termed a ‘penthouse’, but this term seems so grand and too elevated – His is not a house but a home, and clearly not chosen for prestige, but instead for its views and proximity to the inner life of the city.
I arrive at an exclusive location, and wonder is there a janitor, or a concierge, to meet me at the threshold. But no, the experience I am about to have is down to earth – I call Gordon via the intercom, and he comes down to welcome me in, to meet me at the threshold, where his private life meets the street. My mind makes abstract connections; from Janitor to Janus ( A Roman God, and guardian of the threshold) – he who looks back as well as forward.
We elevate to the top floor, lifted to his personal entrance, at which he presents me with two views, and states his preference: “The one at back, is the Swansea for me; it is the colours, the rhythm, the history, the character on that hill”. So we go to see that first. I notice that atop the hill, at ‘townhill’, are the ‘homes for heroes’ – That social housing programme after the war was so generous. The council gave its tenants that crowning view over the city and the bay.
Gordon looks backward as well as forward, with more life behind him than there is in front of him now; he enjoys the view back the most. Looking back upon the city from this lofty view we see the hills of houses, tapestries of windows and roofs; looking best in the sunshine when the patterns and colours paint the loveliest picture.
He says of his two views: “past and present looking outwards – essentially pre-war and post war… the city lost itself – it got destroyed, but there is a latent memory of the architecture of the city, that has never been recovered…. “
Then looking forward, out of his front windows over the Bay he said: “The best that has happened to Swansea is that view out of that window (the marina development)… but it could have been a lot better…….. I am interested in how we are rebuilding the city… the future of the city….. It is about the things we see out that window – the past, the present, the future, the homes”.
In the abstract, a rear view mirror comes to mind- In looking back we can see where we have come from, the places where we have been, and there are memories. But Gordon does not talk nostalgically he is well placed in the present, seems like a man who has arrived, and has a voice to speak out. He says: “At front is the new Swansea, and change, that is what is outside the window ….. It is the richness of culture, nature, the future – with the children we have got it all!” And being happy in his present; the stuff of life is in his window – not just the bigger picture, but also in the toys of grandchildren and the art objects that share his view.
He comments on a crescent of houses at Trawler Road; What a missed opportunity – how much better the Georgians or the Victorians would have handled that, they would have been more generous, they would have offered more to the street; at least more doors, more thresholds where interior and street life could meet, where there could be dialogue, where inside could spill into outside, where people could exchange more views.
“The windows talk to the street, they are a part of what makes a street safe….. The windows and doors talk to the street, they engage with the street, they say ‘I am Here’. There is a bit of an invitation from the windows“. So the threshold to him is important: “You can judge architecture by what is happening at ground level, when you walk along the road….. there is a street life and there is a private life – there are characters you might enjoy and engage with on the street, but you would not invite them into your home”.
Buttons, numbers and codes presented barriers to my entry. My exit is much simpler; I descend, and with a few door clicks my passage is clear to leave. Through glass and concrete and stone, my place once more is on the street. So this is the new way to live in Swansea – But is it generous? Did the planners, designers and developers in their contemplation, look backwards as well as forwards, did they consider our thresholds, and how generous were they being?
CIVIC 