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Quondam - not there

First Virtual House of the 20th Century

Virtually all things virtual, included the virtual house, are hot architectural topics in the very late 20th century.

Eisenman, van Berkel, and all the other recent virtual experimenting architects, have thus far failed to recognize their true 20th century patriarch on this count. Even Rajchman falls short of making the right "new connections" here.¹

1. John Rajchman, Constructions (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1998), p.121.

1972 - Franklin Court - Venturi and Rauch:

the ghost frame of Benjamin Franklin's long gone original home -- it's a pure wireframe, it's "built" and still "not there," almost all the "connections" are purely in the mind -- it's the quintessential virtual house.

November 15, 1998

Anyone that is not convinced that Venturi and Rauch's Franklin Count is the foremost virtual house of this century (if not of all architectural history) need only be reminded that Benjamin Franklin (whose "house" is being discussed here) became famous for writing Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751), and, moreover, don't they teach in grade schools that Benjamin Franklin actually DISCOVERED ELECTRICITY!

Franklin Court on 21 November, 1998

Lao-Tzu say: if the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten.

21 November, 1998

The Director of Quondam - A Virtual Museum of Architecture quietly celebrated Quondam's second online anniversary with a visit to the first virtual house of the 20th century. After capturing digital images of Franklin's "house" in the courtyard, the Director entered Franklin Court's Underground Museum and subsequently found himself in a room (actually a virtual environment) dedicated to Franklin - Man of Infinite Dimensions.

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