Bare ruin'd choirs: St Peter's Kilmahew: A case study in working with ruins

Edward Hollis

Bare ruin'd choirs: St Peter's Kilmahew: A case study in working with ruins

Edinburgh College of Art

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

Shakespeare’s Sonnet LXXIII begins with a double metaphor. The ageing poet compares himself to the autumn of the year; and then he compares the autumnal trees themselves to the bare ruin’d choirs of abbey churches whose dereliction was when he was writing, only a few decades after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, still new.

This is an essay about a bare ruin’d choir which, as a subtle alteration in tone of the sonnet in itsin the ninth line suggests, contains all the promise of a glowing fire. This case study will explore how ruins – at the first glance, relics of failed pasts – can be recycled to provoke and provide settings for debates about ther, and our future.

The sonnet ends with an injunction « to love that well, which thou must leave ere long »; and the story that this case study describes is an experiment in caring for the ephemeral and the liminal. This is, therefore, not just an argument about ruins, but about our approach to the built environment as a totality, which is a continuous process of ruination, recycling, and renewal.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Recycler l'Urbain
Subtitle of host publication	Pour une Écologie des Milieux Habités
Editors	Roberto D'Arienzo, Chris Younès
Place of Publication	Paris
Publisher	Metis Presses
Pages	439-456
Number of pages	18
ISBN (Print)	9782940406944
Publication status	Published - 23 Oct 2014

1 Finished

The Invisible College - building Communities of Creative Practice
Hollis, E. (Principal Investigator)
Other
1/02/12 → 31/01/13
Project: Research

1 Chapter
1 Chapter (peer-reviewed)

No Longer and Not Yet
Hollis, E., Jul 2013, Reinventing Architecture and Interiors : a socio-political view on building adaptation. Libri Publishing, p. 177-194 18 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed)
Anxious Care and Unsightly Aids, a Conversation
Hollis, E., 1 Nov 2010, To Have and To Hold : The Future of a Contested Landscape. Van Noord, G. (ed.). Edinburgh: Luath Press, p. 54-58, 98-109 411 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Prof Hollis' on Gillespie Kidd and Coia
Hollis, E.
8/04/13
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment

4 Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar
2 Participation in conference
2 Invited talk

The Secret Lives of Buildings, and the Architect's Dream
Hollis, E. (Lecturer)
30 Mar 2017
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar
Creative Industries Conference
Hollis, E. (Speaker)
11 Jul 2016
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
Secret Lives, Memory Palaces, Concrete Monstrosities
Hollis, E. (Speaker)
11 Feb 2016
Activity: Academic talk or presentation types › Invited talk

Edward Hollis
- ehollis1exseed.ed.acuk
- Edinburgh College of Art - Personal Chair in Interior Design
- Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Person: Academic: Research Active

Cite this

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abstract = "Shakespeare{\textquoteright}s Sonnet LXXIII begins with a double metaphor. The ageing poet compares himself to the autumn of the year; and then he compares the autumnal trees themselves to the bare ruin{\textquoteright}d choirs of abbey churches whose dereliction was when he was writing, only a few decades after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, still new. This is an essay about a bare ruin{\textquoteright}d choir which, as a subtle alteration in tone of the sonnet in itsin the ninth line suggests, contains all the promise of a glowing fire. This case study will explore how ruins – at the first glance, relics of failed pasts – can be recycled to provoke and provide settings for debates about ther, and our future. The sonnet ends with an injunction « to love that well, which thou must leave ere long »; and the story that this case study describes is an experiment in caring for the ephemeral and the liminal. This is, therefore, not just an argument about ruins, but about our approach to the built environment as a totality, which is a continuous process of ruination, recycling, and renewal.",

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N2 - Shakespeare’s Sonnet LXXIII begins with a double metaphor. The ageing poet compares himself to the autumn of the year; and then he compares the autumnal trees themselves to the bare ruin’d choirs of abbey churches whose dereliction was when he was writing, only a few decades after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, still new. This is an essay about a bare ruin’d choir which, as a subtle alteration in tone of the sonnet in itsin the ninth line suggests, contains all the promise of a glowing fire. This case study will explore how ruins – at the first glance, relics of failed pasts – can be recycled to provoke and provide settings for debates about ther, and our future. The sonnet ends with an injunction « to love that well, which thou must leave ere long »; and the story that this case study describes is an experiment in caring for the ephemeral and the liminal. This is, therefore, not just an argument about ruins, but about our approach to the built environment as a totality, which is a continuous process of ruination, recycling, and renewal.

AB - Shakespeare’s Sonnet LXXIII begins with a double metaphor. The ageing poet compares himself to the autumn of the year; and then he compares the autumnal trees themselves to the bare ruin’d choirs of abbey churches whose dereliction was when he was writing, only a few decades after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, still new. This is an essay about a bare ruin’d choir which, as a subtle alteration in tone of the sonnet in itsin the ninth line suggests, contains all the promise of a glowing fire. This case study will explore how ruins – at the first glance, relics of failed pasts – can be recycled to provoke and provide settings for debates about ther, and our future. The sonnet ends with an injunction « to love that well, which thou must leave ere long »; and the story that this case study describes is an experiment in caring for the ephemeral and the liminal. This is, therefore, not just an argument about ruins, but about our approach to the built environment as a totality, which is a continuous process of ruination, recycling, and renewal.

M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)

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A2 - D'Arienzo, Roberto

A2 - Younès, Chris

PB - Metis Presses

CY - Paris

ER -

Bare ruin'd choirs: St Peter's Kilmahew: A case study in working with ruins

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