Schmela Haus, 1971

…the marvelous Dusseldorf puzzle-like brutalist modernist masonry vertical structure from 1971 well known as the site of Joseph Beuys projects from the 70’s and early 80’s, designed by Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck as an experimental residence/gallery, and recently re-opened as an art venue by the neighboring Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, is where I am comfortably camped out on the top floor – playing with all of the fun ways to open and close windows and doors – for a few days in anticipation of my Soup Salon & Talk which will be held tonight at 19:00 in the kitchen – where we will be shelling beans, mincing parsley, sauteing onions, chopping potatoes, slicing tomatoes, and other vegetable treasures from the local farmers’ markets for a big hearty soup to feed all while I talk about some recent work related to communities, food, and cities.