Backward Numbers and Distorted Views

The walls and fences of Harvard Yard are punctuated by gates. Many of these are topped with complex patterns of grillwork, at the center of which sit the years of the classes that donated them. The grillwork stands out, almost in silhouette, as dark, sharp lines and shapes against the bright sky.

Gates, by nature, are viewed from two directions: the outside as you enter and the inside as you exit. Grillwork can also be viewed from both sides, but one side is the reverse of the other. With abstract and symmetrical shapes, this duality works nicely. However, a number that looks right from one side will look backwards from the other. Therefore, in designing a gate with a number, the artist must favor one viewpoint over another. As I walked around the Yard, I found that many of the gates were oriented outwards, so that from the inside the numbers appeared backwards. In some cases, a flat background allowed the artist to include two sets of numbers, one oriented inward and one outward. While this solves the problem of the backwards numerals, it sacrifices the stark and beautiful contrast of the numbers against the backdrop of the sky. In no cases were the numbers oriented inwards, so that to view them from the outside was to view them backwards.

On the most literal level, this is a practical choice. A tourist or visitor who has come to see Harvard is more likely to stop and look up at a gate than a student running to class who passes it every day, and it seems that tourist is more likely to stop on the way in than the way out. The implication, though, is somewhat larger: At least in some sense, the architecture of Harvard Yard is designed not for the sake of the students but for the purpose of projecting an image to the outside world.