The Perfect Space

It isn’t often that I get to create something that combines asymmetry of design (an absolute essential for intelligent work), classical proportions and freedom from the constraints of the Building Code. But this interior balcony in a Santa Fe, NM, (USA) remodel, (interior designed by Robin Gray) was The Perfect Space. A cabinet maker named Tom Douglas who worked out of a shop two doors down from my forge was doing a rigidly symmetrical book case  and he put me on to the opportunity, gave me Robins’ phone number…salud to Tom wherever he is. First of all: The distance between the floor of the room and the floor of the bookcase balcony just happened to be 29.5 inches (0.75 meters)—half an inch higher and all openings in the rail would have to be 4 inches (10 centimeters) or less. And everything else (except for the little hand rail going up the steps) is based on the Golden Ratio and Fabonacci Numbers simply because the distance between the newel post at the top of the steps and the (unseen) wall to the right constituted a space that was perfect for designing minimalist outlines of visual elements, that had at least one dimension that was a factor of 0.620 or 1.620 to one of the adjoining elements. My excellent friend, Cooper Lee Bombardier, helped in the forging and installation of the piece.