Tenshin-en Gate at the MFA

[charlie]

Congratulations Chris. Perseverance furthers.
Enjoy the tea, and if your neighbors can handle it, run down the street yelling deliriously.

Charlie

[Yxoc]

Chris,
I feel your joy.

Now go easy on the tea - this is no time to let things get out of control...


Richly deserved by the way, can't wait to hear the details unfold. Congratulations!!

Derek

[Timateo]

Congrats Chris,
They couldn't of hired a better man for the job. I've been traveling cross country for the last month but to jump back into the thread and hear that good news is great to hear. It's one thing to have a job that brings in some money but its on a different level when you have a passion and desire to be there doing it. Looking forward to seeing the progress(in detail I hope).

[Chris Hall]

Thank you, thank you, one and all. I remain excited today, and probably for the next good while.

I had my mind on logistics for a good chunk of yesterday. If any of you have worked with Port Orford Cedar before you'll know it has a strong scent. I have a 2"x8"x10" sample on my wood rack, and you can always smell it when you walk by. How's it going to be when I have a stack of POC beams up to the ceiling? The thing with the scent of the wood is that it is pleasant enough the first few times, but after a week of continuous exposure it becomes rather less pleasant, and that is so long as you are not allergic to it. I am worried that other woodworkers in my building might get grossed out after a while (just as I do when they spray pre-cat lacquer).

There's also the matter of having a large enough indoor area to assemble the gate during the build, and that has to be on foundation points that don't move. It might require that I cut holes in the shop floor and cast concrete piers. Not sure if the landlord is going to like that idea, though there are already a few concrete pieces in place and the floor condition is poor otherwise.

Then there's the question of drawing the gate. The roof features curvilinear elements and SketchUp is frustrating to use for things like that. I'm thinking about going to Rhino, a different 3D drawing software, and the learning curve ahead with that is cause for pause.

Then there are questions about tooling and machinery....

Then there are questions about taking on an employee or two....

Lots to think about. Probably will have a few meetings with MFA staff in the next 2~3 weeks.

[Yxoc]

I checked the blog to refresh myself on the details of the Yakuimon and Hira-karamon gate styles and Wow! This really is an involved project.

I would think that once you've got a project like this on your resume, then you would have to be the go-to guy for anything else that comes up in this kind of niche?

Is this level of work a bit of a catch-22 kind of deal: they don't believe you've got the cred to do something like this until you've done one but you can't do one until you've got the cred?

[Chris Hall]

Is this level of work a bit of a catch-22 kind of deal: they don't believe you've got the cred to do something like this until you've done one but you can't do one until you've got the cred?

Things can be a lot like that. I suppose it's a bit like being an able and keen recent school graduate applying for work, and employers wanting someone with experience, and yet until someone will hire you, how do you obtain that experience? In this case, that 'cred' you mention came about in a somewhat unexpected way for me. When I had worked on the Ellison job in San Francisco for several years I had often made time to chat with the Japanese fellow leading the garden construction on the site. As gardens are so intrinsic to houses in traditional Japanese architecture, I was curious to 'steal some knowledge' from him, and found his work constructing such a large garden, setting the stones and placing the tree, etc., just plain interesting and beautiful. Out here in Boston years later, I had my meeting with MFA staff last year to look at the gate and discuss options. At that point, the staff really didn't know me from a hole in the ground, however someone involved in the garden work there (whom I'd only ever spoken with by phone) had given me an intro to meet staff and look over the gate. A week later one of those staff members happened to be talking with a certain Mr. Abe, who runs a Japanese garden company in the Boston area. This fellow would be looking after a portion of the MFA's garden rebuilding. The MFA staffer asked Abe-san if he had ever heard of me (now, to this day I've never met him nor spoken with him), and he said that he knew the gardener out on the Ellison project and the aforesaid gardener had mentioned me to Abe - and so Abe said, "Oh yes, Chris Hall - he knows what he's doing." And like that, I had the 'in'. The MFA staff have complete confidence in me to do the work to the required standard, all based on that one sentence from a man I've never met. When my contact at the MFA related this me shortly afterwards, you might appreciate I drew my breath in when she said that she had asked Abe-san about me and he said....

Funny how things can work out - talking to someone on the other end of the continent somehow ripples back to a fellow in Boston who then puts in the key recommendation that leads me to be the only contractor considered. I caught a break for once.

I think one of the things that can make it difficult to obtain 'cred' in Japanese architecture is the fact that I am not Japanese. It's very similar to the martial arts world I find. If the teacher is of Japanese, Chinese, or Korean ethnicity and origin, many people will tend to see them as highly accomplished experts in arts from those countries even if they are not actually highly skilled. Some people think that every Japanese person is a karate expert. It's a curious form of racism - well, race stereotyping - on the part of those making such assumptions. Like a woman working in a typically male field, a whitey working in the field of traditional Japanese architecture often has to go above and beyond to obtain a degree of recognition it seems.

And the other thing that makes Japanese architecture such a tough line of work is the sheer cost - it is out there on the very thin end of the consumer buying wedge. There are many who like the architecture but cannot afford it, and doing it on the cheap, or trying to replicate it using western materials and techniques is usually a recipe for disaster, at least to those with an eye for such things. I've been dreaming for many years to have to opportunity to build a purely Japanese piece in a public setting, and now it has happened. I need to pinch myself again. There, better.

[Yxoc]

Chris,
Thanks for sharing that anecdote. Just goes to show that we never know when what we are saying and to whom, is establishing our reputation (via a circuitous route in this case). Seems that the pay out for our efforts is often separated in place and time.

I can understand the difficulty of being a westerner specialising in a trade that has deep cultural associations with an asian country - I had wondered if in a case like this the museum (or the funding body) would seek out an indigenous tradesmen (indigenous to Japan) for this kind of work, or does the museum have a charter that requires them to find local talent?

Derek

[rstephenson]

Chris, many congratulations on the excellent news. I know a couple of guys over here that use Rhino and they rate it highly. In fact I'm going to take that step soon too, though the learning curve is sure to be a steep one.

All the best,

Richard

[Chris Hall]

Chris,
Thanks for sharing that anecdote. Just goes to show that we never know when what we are saying and to whom, is establishing our reputation (via a circuitous route in this case). Seems that the pay out for our efforts is often separated in place and time.

I can understand the difficulty of being a westerner specialising in a trade that has deep cultural associations with an asian country - I had wondered if in a case like this the museum (or the funding body) would seek out an indigenous tradesmen (indigenous to Japan) for this kind of work, or does the museum have a charter that requires them to find local talent?

Derek

There is no charter I'm aware of, and the original gate, now badly rotted, was designed and built in Japan, the carpenters flown over to complete the installation in Boston. I did have some fears though that the project funder, a corporate entity in Japan, might insist, as a condition of funding, that the work be carried out by Japanese carpenters, however no such stipulation has emerged.

[Chris Hall]

Chris, many congratulations on the excellent news. I know a couple of guys over here that use Rhino and they rate it highly. In fact I'm going to take that step soon too, though the learning curve is sure to be a steep one.

All the best,

Richard

Richard, thanks, appreciated. As for Rhino, as my wife works in a position associated to the University of Massachusetts, we can obtain Rhino with an educational discount, which is substantial. My plan however is also to obtain a new computer that is more ideally configured, in terms of RAM and type of video cards, etc., for computer graphics work. such a computer looks to cost around $2000. I've become so frustrated at times with glitches with SketchUp that I'm now prepared for such drastic moves. I've played around a little with the demo version of Rhino 4, and didn't get very far, however Rhino 5 is now out, and there looks to be loads of technical support, heaps of online learning videos, and classroom-based seminars one can attend, that I feel confident I can get adequately savvy soon enough if I put the time and effort in. I'm just having the jitters and worries that come before taking any big plunge.

~C