Golconde is an astonishing architectural accomplishment. With technical finesse and extraordinary craft, it offers a living testament to the original modernist credo - architecture as the manifest union of technology, aesthetics, and social reform. Here exists an undiluted view of a wholly triumphant tropical Modernism, built during the tumultuous years of the second world war.
If ever there was a time when the notion of sanctuary, of a place in the world at a safe remove from its tribulations needed to be manifest, then this certainly is that year. Enforced isolations, mediated encounters, and filtered interfaces have become the norm. An unseen adversary has unmasked our frailty, weaponizing our own breath, making an enemy even of that essential human construct – shared space. The seeking of spatial solace has been a human preoccupation for much of our existence. Golconde is one such exemplar of calm. Created during another tumultuous time of human suffering – at the onset of the second World War - this building continues to offer succor to its residents, even from this latest upheaval.
Mira Nakashima, George Nakashima’s daughter, contributes with a new 800 word introduction essay for this new edition.