I noticed today that the stucko of a certain house I like in Santa Fe was being re-done. The owners of this house always use the traditional adobe mud stucko with the straw mixed in. This is very beautiful, but work intensive as it needs to be redone almost every year.

It reminded me of different outlooks on architecture and time. The Taos pueblo redoes or patches their stucko every year. It is considered an important communal act for the pueblo. Then there is a temple in Japan that is dismantled and rebuilt so many times every century. It has been standing at the same location for several hundred years. Contrast these two examples with many European buildings that were built out of stone to last at least a few lifetimes. However, many of those stone buildings are now endangered because of pollution. The cathedral in Cologne for example employs a couple of dozen stone masons who are constantly carving sandstone pieces to replace what is being destroyed by acid rain and polluted air.

Choice A: Build with materials that can withstand time. Stone for example.
Choice B: Use “softer” materials and re-build at specific intervals….

The human body uses the renewal method regenerating all of its cells every 7 years.