We happened to notice this old adobe ruins
along one of our walking routes in Alamos.
The Old Home Place In Ruins from 2/23/10.)
Which got me thinking about what happens to a house that determines
whether a building will survive and prosper or fail and turn into ruins.
This house is actually a mix of adobe, fired brick and stone,
which makes me think it was built and remodeled in stages.
Who lived here and what happened to them
and what caused the house to fail?
It was obviously a first rate house at one time.
Stewart Brand wrote a book in 1987 called How Buildings Learn
which addressed some of these thoughts.
Check out the six part TV series that BBC did on the book
with the links provided in the site for the book above.
Being beyond repair, or so it seems, it waits.
There is an old bluegrass song about a guy who goes back
to his old home place only to find it in ruins; it is very sad.
This was an old prison in Alamos
and it looks like the original adobe wall was patched with fired bricks
many of which have fallen off,
which proves the point that dissimilar materials usually will not bond well.
Also it is apparent here that adobe that is not protected from the elements
usually does not fare well.
This is part of the Hotel Casa de Maria Felix and is the ruins
of the birthplace of the well known Mexican actress.
As we build we may want to think about the life of the building
as we are working on it and make sure we give it a good start.
