Remembering Henry N. Cobb (1926-2020)

摘要

If working with Harry Cobb was demanding-and it was-it was also unfathomably fun. He treated design as if every decision you made, from concept to detail, would change the world. Spending an afternoon with Harry was like setting out to sea on a journey with the destination only vaguely known, but with the world's most knowledgeable guide.Last January, I visited Harry in his Manhattan apartment, ostensibly to talk about my book, Designing a Garden, but also just to spend time with him. Harry's erudition, meticulousness, and somewhat patrician manner made even a mundane occasion feel important. The meeting started with a classic Harry moment. He told me that after reading the book twice, he noticed that I hadn't mentioned what material we chose to fill the joints in the brick paths of the Monk's Garden. Harry, who was interested in everything, wanted to know both about the material and about why I had left it out of the book. (There was no good reason for the omission, but project manager Matt Girard, who was with me, described the black polymer sand we used, much to Harry's satisfaction.)