How to Travel Back in Time (for Architects, at Least)

Soon after Ying Zheng became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BCE, he made a point of standardizing not only the currency and forms of writing but also the weights and measures to be used throughout his empire. Two thousand years later, when, during the summer of 1787, the members of the Constitutional Assembly gathered in Philadelphia, they were also inventing a new form of government. One of the things they specifically addressed and made sure was explicitly stated in the new Constitution was that “Congress [not the states] shall have Power to … fix the Standard of Weights and Measures.”

These two examples show the importance of standardized weights and measures in governing a unified people. In the United States, that means my inch, my gallon, my acre are the same as everyone else’s.

The same is true at an international scale, and has been for centuries. When the French, in their revolutionary zeal to redefine everything, established the metric system for their weights and measures, the system’s comprehensive scope and logical approach of using the meter to unify all measurements convinced one country after another, as well as the international scientific community, to adopt it. The metric system, officially called the Systèm international d’unités (SI), establishes, with its pervasive base-10 logic, nearly everything that can be measured, including length, mass, electric current, temperature, and luminous intensity.????????

Everything, that is, except time—not that the French didn’t try. While every other unit of measure was based on the meter, which was based on the size of the Earth [1], the French accepted the second as a given, and looked for ways to define it in metric terms. But the French went further and tried to create a decimal form of timekeeping. They kept the day (jour in French) and year, since they were based on astronomical reality, but proposed the day to be broken into small units of tenths (deci-jours) and hundredths (centi-jours). It didn’t take long for the French to realize that this decimal method of measuring time was a bit too revolutionary, and that few people were willing to abandon minutes and hours. So instead, their metric system adopted the second as its basic unit of time, along with, for scientific purposes, milliseconds (1/1000 second), kiloseconds (1,000 seconds), and every other base-10 possibility.

Despite its impeccable logic, the SI has a basic problem, one it shares with the Imperial System: at large scales, it isn’t tied to the everyday lives of everyday people. Instead, we have created, by some form of unconscious consent, forms of measurement we can all relate to.

The most universal of these informal global units of measure is the football field, which is based on sports (soccer and U.S. football) that are played throughout the world, and, more importantly, are played by nearly everyone, even if only during school gym classes. So everyone—and I mean everyone—understands what is meant when something is the length or width or area of a football field.

We have other such informal units to describe other large things. For large volumes, we use Olympic-size swimming pools; for large bursts of energy, we use Hiroshima atomic bombs; and for large amounts of data we use the Encyclopedia Britannica, the complete works of Shakespeare, or, for really large amounts of data, the Library of Congress. These unofficial yet commonly used units of measure serve us well in understanding the scale of large things.

Everything, that is, except time. We don’t have a unit of measurement that is the football field’s equivalent, that allows us to comprehend, at a deep experiential level, large chunks of time. We have decades, but they are too short; using decades would be like using inches to describe the Burj Khalifa’s height (which, by the way, is just over nine football field lengths). We also have centuries, but few of us will live long enough to experience an entire century. And we have generations, but how long is a generation? Twenty years? Twenty-five? Thirty? As we saw at the start of this article, units of measure, even unofficial and informal ones, must be agreed upon.

So, recognizing our lack of an informal but logical unit of measure for long stretches of time, I am proposing the arch-life—the “football field of time”—which is the average period from when architects become licensed (around age 30) to when they leave the profession (around age 70). Thus, the arch-life (or ɑ?—every unit should have a symbol) is a period of 40 years. To test this proposal, let’s look back in time, one arch-life after another, starting in 2024, to see how it gives us a better experiential grasp of the past:

One arch-life (1 ɑ?) ago, in 1984 . . .

Apple Computer’s “1984” Macintosh commercial was broadcast during the Super Bowl ? Richard Rogers’s Lloyd’s Building opened in London ? Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandha was assassinated ? Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympics ? the Seagram Building won the AIA Twenty-five Year Award ? Trevor Noah, Scarlet Johansson, and Mark Zuckerberg were born ? the books The Hunt for Red October, Empire of the Sun, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being were published ? the movies Once Upon a Time in America, The Terminator, Amadeus, The Killing Fields, and Ghostbusters opened ? the first PG-13 rating was given, to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ? Born in the U.S.A was the first American-made compact disc ? the songs “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “I Just Called to Say I love You,” “Against All Odds,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Hold Me Now,” “Karma Chameleon,” “Purple Rain,” and “Thriller” were released ? the Turkana Boy fossil was discovered by Richard Leakey’s team in Kenya ? the first TED conference was held in Monterey, California ? also in Monterey, the Bay Aquarium opened ? New Orleans hosted the Louisiana World Exposition ? Cirque du Soleil was founded ? Ronald Reagan was re-elected president ? Truman Capote, Chester Himes, Ansel Adams, Ethel Merman, James Mason, Francois Truffaut, Sam Peckinpah, and sociologist Stanley Milgram (of “six degrees of separation” fame) died ? and Kelsey Grammer made his first appearance as Frazier Crane on Cheers and Alex Trebek began hosting Jeopardy.

Two arch-lives (2 ɑ?) ago, in 1944 . . .

D-Day: Allied forces invaded the Normandy coast ? also in WWII news: the monastery at Monte Cassino was destroyed by Allied bombs, Paris was liberated, POWs from Stalag Luft III made “the Great Escape,” V-1 and V-2 rockets began falling in London, and the Battle of the Bulge began ? Franklin Roosevelt was elected for his fourth term ? Jackie Robinson was court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of an Army bus (he was acquitted) ? Anne Frank was captured by the Gestapo ? Mount Vesuvius erupted for the last time (so far) ? Thom Mayne, Bernard Tschumi, Jan Utzon, Rem Koolhaus, Rafael Vi?oly, Jimmy Page, Joe Frazier, Richard Leakey, Al Kooper, Alice Walker, Carl Bernstein, Armistead Maupin, Rita Mae Brown, Roger Daltry, Diana Ross, John Rhys-Davies, George Lucas, Danny Trejo, Tim Rice, Michael Douglas, and Danny DeVito were born ? Louis Sullivan was awarded the AIA Gold Medal (posthumously) ? Laura, Gaslight, Meet Me in St. Louis (based on the 1904 World’s Fair), Double Indemnity, and To Have and Have Not were released ? the United Nations was founded at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference ? The Razor’s Edge and Anna and the King of Siam were published?? the play The Glass Menagerie premiered ? Smokey Bear (not yet Smokey the Bear) first appeared in U.S. Forestry Service posters ? Edvard Munch, Piet Mondrian, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Glenn Miller, and Wassily Kandinsky died ? and the songs “Swinging on a Star” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” were released.

Three arch-lives (3 ɑ?) ago, in 1904 . . .

The Larkin Administration Building and the Old Faithful Inn were completed ? the U.S. began building the Panama Canal ? The Great Baltimore Fire and the Great Fire of Toronto destroyed 1,500 buildings ? Theodore Roosevelt was elected president ? Cary Grant, Count Basie, Giuseppe Terragni, Bruce Goff, Christopher Isherwood, Pretty Boy Floyd, Glenn Miller, Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss), J. Robert Oppenheimer, Salvador Dali, Fats Waller, Johnny Weissmuller, and Peter Lorre were born ? the first Rolls-Royce automobiles were produced ? the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair and the Olympic Games were held in St. Louis ? Nostromo, The Sea Wolf, The Marvelous Land of Oz, and the first Bobbsey Twins book were published ? Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard premiered in Moscow, Barrie’s Peter Pan premiered in London, Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 premiered in Cologne, Sibelius’s Valse triste premiered in Helsinki, and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly premiered at La Scala ? New York’s Longacre Square was renamed Times Square, followed by the first Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration in December ? Antonín Dvo?ák, Eadweard Muybridge, Anton Chekhov, and Frédéric Bartholdi died ? and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 became the first complete symphony to be recorded. ?

Four arch-lives (4 ɑ?) ago, in 1864 . . .

Abraham Lincoln was reelected president ? in the last full year of the Civil War, many battles: Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, the Crater, Atlanta, Nashville, and Kennesaw Mountain ? Ulysses Grant was appointed commander in chief of Union armies ? Arlington National Cemetery was created on Robert E. Lee’s property ? the first Geneva Convention was signed ? George Washington Carver, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Camille Claudel, Casey Jones (a real railroad engineer), Prince Albert Victor (who, say some, was Jack the Ripper), Alois Alzheimer, and Richard Strauss were born ? Montana Territory was created ? the RIBA awarded Eugène Viollet-le-Duc the Royal Gold Medal and the Royal Society awarded Charles Darwin the Copley Medal ? James Clerk Maxwell proposed light as electromagnetic waves ? the first metal-framed curtain wall building was completed in Liverpool ? Gallaudet University for the Deaf was founded ? Chinese immigrants began working on the Central Pacific Railroad ? the first fish-and-chips shop opened in London ? Nathaniel Hawthorne died ? the song “Shall We Gather at the River?” and the novel A Journey to the Center of the Earth were published ? the Yosemite Grant preserved Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove ? and in New York City, the Central Park Zoo opened, a Confederate attempt to burn down the city failed, and the Booth brothers (Edwin, John Wilkes, and Junius Brutus) perform in Julius Caesar.

Five arch-lives (5 ɑ?) ago, in 1824 . . .

No one was elected U.S. president; the House of Representatives selected John Q. Adams in 1825 ? Anton Bruckner, William Thomson (Baron Kelvin), Charles Pfizer (founder of Pfizer), Paul Broca, Leland Stanford, and Wilkie Collins were born ? Louis Braille invented the Braille reading system ? Beethoven premiered his Symphony No. 9 in Vienna ? Thomas Telford’s Aldford Iron Bridge was completed ? Simón Bolívar was proclaimed dictator of Peru ? the first dinosaur genus, Megalosaurus, was named ? Hawai’i’s Queen Kamāmalu and King Kamehameha II died of measles; France’s King Louis XVIII also died (not of measles) ? Jean-Fran?ois Champollion published his Rosetta Stone hieroglyphics translation ? Portland cement was patented ? the Franklin Institute was founded in Philadelphia ? and the name “Australia” was adopted for the colony New Holland.

Six arch-lives (6 ɑ?) ago, in 1784 . . .

The U.S. Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris to end the Revolutionary War ? Zachary Taylor was born ? Mozart introduced his Piano Concerto No. 15 ? Jacques-Louis David finished his painting “Oath of the Horatii” ? American cotton was first imported to Britain ? Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals and tried to invent daylight saving time ? Samuel Johnson, Denis Diderot, and Junípero Serra died ? and a pterodactyl fossil was first identified and cholesterol was first isolated.??

Now let’s go?even further back in time:

Seven arch-lives (7 ɑ?) ago, in 1744, The Spectator, the first periodical for and by women, was founded ? Mayer Rothschild and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck were born ? Anders Celsius and Alexander Pope died ? and France planned on invading Britain, called it off due to bad weather, and declared war on Britain the following month.

Eight arch-lives (8 ɑ?) ago, in 1704, Isaac Newton published Opticks ? the Boston News-Letter, first colonial newspaper, was published ? and the first school for African Americans was established in New York City.

Nine arch-lives (9 ɑ?) ago, in 1664, Robert Hooke discovered Jupiter’s Great Red Spot ? and the city of New Amsterdam was surrendered to the English, who renamed it New York.

Ten arch-lives (10 ɑ?) ago, in 1624, a French royal hunting lodge was built; in an arch-life or so, it would become the start of the Palace of Versailles ? Cardinal Richelieu was appointed to the French Royal Council to be Louis XIII’s chief minister ? Oslo, Norway, was destroyed by fire ? and the Dutch settled in New Netherlands.??

Eleven arch-lives (11 ɑ?) ago, in 1584, Roanoke Island was discovered by the English.

Twelve arch-lives (12 ɑ?) ago, in 1544, King’s College Chapel at Cambridge was completed ? Giorgio Vasari published Six Tuscan Poets ? and rats were introduced to South America.

Thirteen arch-lives (13 ɑ?) ago, in 1504, Michelangelo’s David was unveiled in Florence ? Prince Henry (Henry VIII) was invested as Prince of Wales ? Christopher Columbus returned from his fourth and final voyage ? and Matsumoto Castle was completed.

Fourteen arch-lives (14 ɑ?) ago, in 1464, Cosimo de Medici died

Sixteen arch-lives (16 ɑ?) ago, in 1384, English Bible translator John Wycliffe died. Forty-four years later, by order of a pope in an exceptionally spiteful mood, his body was exhumed and burned, and the ashes were dumped into a river.

Nineteen arch-lives (19 ɑ?) ago, in 1224, the University of Naples was founded ? and Francis of Assisi received his stigmata.

Twenty-one arch-lives (21 ɑ?) ago, in 1144, the Basilica of St. Denis, the first Gothic church, was completed.

Twenty-four arch-lives (24 ɑ?) ago, in 1064, Harold Godwinson, after being shipwrecked, held hostage, ransomed, and released with the help of William I of Normandy, swore to support William’s claim to the English throne. Two years later, Harold forgot that oath and grabbed the throne for himself, leading to the Battle of Hastings and Norman rule of England ? and the construction of the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa began.

Twenty-five arch-lives (25 ɑ?) ago, in 1024, the first printed paper money was introduced in China

Twenty-six arch-lives (26 ɑ?) ago, in 984, the double-gated canal pound lock, as used more than 22 arch-lives later at the Panama Canal, was invented in China

Thirty-four arch-lives (34 ɑ?) ago, in 664, the descriptively named Plague of 664 swept through southern England.

Forty-one arch-lives (41 ɑ?) ago, in 384, the Forum of Theodosius was built in Constantinople.

Forty-nine arch-lives (49 ɑ?) ago, in 64, the Great Fire of Rome destroyed large areas of the city. The city of Lyon sent Rome money for reconstruction, only to be destroyed by its own great fire.

Fifty-three arch-lives (53 ɑ?) ago, in 97 BCE, the Roman senate banned human sacrifices.

Fifty-six arch-lives (56 ɑ?) ago, in 217 BCE, Hannibal led his Carthaginian army to attack Italian peninsula.

Sixty arch-lives (60 ɑ?) ago, in 377 BCE, Mausolus (of Mausoleum of Halicarnassus/Seven Wonders of the Ancient World fame) was appointed as the Persian governor of Caria in southwestern Turkey.

Sixty-two arch-lives (62 ɑ?) ago, in 457 BCE, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia was completed. The temple housed the 40-foot statue of Zeus, another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Sixty-four arch-lives (64 ɑ?) ago, in 537 BCE, the Jews captive in Babylon were allowed to return to Jerusalem.

Eighty arch-lives (80 ɑ?) ago, in 1177 BCE, according to author Eric Cline, the Bronze Age ended in what was a rough year. He documents it in his book 1177: The Year Civilization Collapsed.

Eighty-four arch-lives (84 ɑ?) ago, in approximately 1337 BCE, Queen Nefertiti probably died (or at any rate disappeared from the historical records).?????

Ninety-four arch-lives (94 ɑ?) ago, in approximately 1777 BCE, Babylon became the largest city in the world.

One hundred arch-lives (100 ɑ?) ago, in (very roughly) 2017 BCE, the Great Ziggurat of Ur was

One hundred thirteen arch-lives (113 ɑ?) ago, in around 2497 BCE, the pyramid of Khafre (the second-biggest one) was under construction.

Around 126 arch-lives (126 ɑ?) ago, around 3017 BCE, tin was discovered, kicking off the Bronze Age

Around 127 arch-lives (127 ɑ?) ago, around 3057 BCE, a bristlecone pine, still alive in California, was just a sapling.

Around 133 arch-lives (133 ɑ?) ago, around 3297 BCE, the Carnac Stones of France were erected.??

Well, we’ve time-traveled more than 5,000 years; going much further takes us to prehistoric times, when the arch-life no longer works (knowing that the Australopithecus afarensis Lucy lived around 80,000 arch-lives ago isn’t very helpful). But by using arch-lives—professional lives that we’re all familiar with, just like we’re familiar with football fields—we’ve become more connected with the past. Only two arch-lives separate us from D-Day, three arch-lives from the Larkin Building, five from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and eight from Isaac Newton. We’re separated from Michelangelo’s David by just 13 arch-lives, from the Basilica of St. Denis by 21, from the Great Fire of Rome by 49, from Queen Nefertiti by 84, and from the Great Ziggurat of Ur by 100. By measuring time with the arch-life—the football field of time—long-ago events become tangible, close enough for us to almost touch them.

Footnote:

[1] The meter was established in 1791 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. In 1799, the meter was redefined as the length of a platinum bar locked away in Paris. This worked until the mid-20th century, when greater precision was needed. The meter is now defined as 1/299,792,458 of the distance light travels in a vacuum in a second. ???????