Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Canterbury Cathedral - The Historical Building That Stole My Heart


Studies in architectural history have sparked my interest in architecture. My fascination with architectural history began when I was in seventh grade. For “art” I read a condensed book about world architectural history, which explained the most famous historical buildings in the world, such as the pyramids in Egypt, the Pantheon in Rome, and the cathedral at Pisa. Each building carried a story – one that opened a world of better understanding of history for me. Since I am an extremely visual learner, I have always found it difficult to grasp abstract concepts without drawing them out or seeing a picture. When I began to study architectural history, I gradually became aware that since architecture is built by people, then architecture also reflects the people and their societies, ideas, and values. Living in Houston, where the oldest buildings I have seen are perhaps one hundred years old, I found old buildings to be mysterious and in a way “other-worldly.” But I loved the details and beautiful craftsmanship I saw in pictures of those masterpieces, and I always hoped that I would be able to see in person historic buildings and be able to learn more about them.

In 2007 and 2013, I got the chance to take a pilgrimage to Canterbury with the children’s choir at my church. I was excited to be able to go overseas, but I was even more eager to see in person the historical buildings that defined England’s stories. To this day, Canterbury Cathedral is one of my favorite examples of historical architecture. When I visited in 2013, the cathedral was under the process of restoration. Scaffolding covered one entire side of the building, and experts in historical preservation were carefully attending the stones and detaching the huge panels of stained glass for cleaning. We later received a special tour on the scaffolding and in the adjoining stained glass workshop. What stands out most in my mind is seeing a young lady carefully cleaning one the panels of stained glass with a q-tip. To this day, I wonder how many hours it would take, at that pace, to clean the entire panel. And then I remembered how many panels were in the entire cathedral. I would not be surprised if she was still working on them today.



My heart still partially lives in Canterbury inside Canterbury Cathedral. Since my visits, my love for architectural history and historic preservation has greatly increased. Consequently, I have become involved in the historic preservation here at A&M, Preservation and Conservation Student Society (PACSS). Last semester we toured Calvert, Texas, and we documented the Parish Hall of Epiphany Episcopal Church. After some group designing, we gave the Rector at the church a proposal of interior redesign of the Parish Hall and a ramp addition that would respect the integrity of the historical aspects of the church. I thoroughly enjoyed this learning experience, as it increased my hope of someday being able to work with historic preservation in churches. 

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