Paul Woodworth - Blog 6

Growing up, I was (and still am) an enormous fan of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. The books portrayed the lives and struggles of the (talking) animal creatures and the themes of these stories were generally based around groups working together to overcome hardships. No matter what the storyline, the characters would somehow be tied to the great "Redwall Abbey," where good creatures live happily and work hard to make the world better for future generations. I get inspired architecturally by the way the characters in the live with the abbey and not just in it. The abbey is not the main element in the story, but it becomes a subtly integral part of the history of the surrounding land, allowing the characters to experience life and associate their abbey with home and the landscape. As an architect, I feel that a building may need this association to its inhabitants and the land to achieve that true sense of beauty and wonder. I want to make buildings that, like Redwall Abbey, work with the inhabitants to capture the moments of life that may otherwise be missed.