Chambers for a Memory Palace
February 27th, 2007
The sun never knew how wonderful it was
until it shone on the wall of a building.
In the elegantly written Chambers for a Memory Palace, Donlyn Lyndon and Charles Moore exchange correspondence about the fundamental elements of memorable places. With themes such as “Axes that Reach / Paths that Wander” and “Openings that Frame / Portals that Bespeak”, the writers analyze the purpose and importance of simple architectural elements, citing time-honored examples and accompanying their discourse with beautiful sketches.
“Two thousand years ago, writes Lyndon and Moore, “Marcus Tullius Cicero used to make two-hour speeches in the Roman Senate, without notes, by constructing in his mind a palace whose rooms and furnishings, as he imagined himself roaming through them, called up the ideas he wished to discuss: ideas were made memorable by locating them in space.”
Cicero’s Memory Palace, as the authors emphasize, is made vivid and distinct by its physical composition. In other words, the architectural structure and layout of a place may determine if its image remains in our memories long after it has been seen or if our memory of the place slowly dissolves, unremarkable in comparison.
The book may act as a guide for any person designing a place for people, no matter how grand or simple, to ensure that it is unforgettable and significant.
