Oliver – Co-ordinator (the boss)
Sharon – Plant (ideas lady)
Michael – Potatoes (in-between guy)
Me – Finisher (perfectionist)
Each of our roles are complementary and different, we have all the ingredients to make a good project recipe. Oliver will take charge, without being overbearing, Sharon will come up with some original and interesting ideas, Michael will see how to put those ideas into reality (with content) and I will perfect, polish and finish the job! Or so we think.. I guess exercises like this at least do make you contemplate not only your role in a team, but in society, family and work life. My role as a finisher does relate to the ways I present my projects, act in the workplace and reflects my role in the family. I like order, perfection and often don’t compromise when I can see the end result. Each of us reflected on what we perceive to be our nature, strengths and weaknesses.
Metaphors:::
A short exercise in cultural exploration saw the group trying to define culture by using metaphors. Some examples we came up with were:
Soul – Soul in the context of the religious belief of the soul in the body can be compared to the word culture. We chose this example to illustrate the driving nature of culture to shape human behaviour, interaction, movement or the environment. I found this metaphor interesting and delved a little more into the religious meaning of soul. According to Christian Websites (2002), the soul encompasses mind, body, will, spirit and emotions. The soul is connected to the body and will remain when the body perishes. It is the heart of a person, the fire within us and the spark that drives our personality and identity. Like the soul, culture can also be the heart of a city or place, or person. It can identify someone or something and can even be behind the passion to start a war.Iceberg – This was another metaphor that came to mind when reflecting on culture. At first glance the iceberg’s enormous size and character cannot be seen or understood from the surface. It cannot be accurately measured, as underneath there is a huge submerged underbelly. In the same way a culture cannot be understood without taking a close examination and submerging ourselves in it. A person can’t enter a city for the first time and understand the enormity and history that is the makeup of that culture. Also, in the same way an iceberg melts to expose its underbelly a culture with its vast layers can be unveiled to reveal a vulnerable, sometimes secret world.
Onion – Layers, many make up the whole onion, complex yet ordered structure.
Mountain – Erosion/deposition processes of a mountain just like the inputs/outputs that make up a culture. These inputs and outputs make the mountain in its unique form. It evolves through time and time shapes it. Other influences shape it eg. Wind, rain, rock structure. Culture similarly has influences that shape it.Jewel – Value to some, not to others. Precious, should be nutured to enhance and reveal its materiality. Guarded and sacred. It is just an object, but the meaning and history is complex, diamonds start wars, lead to poverty, shape peoples future and city.
The art of waiting:::
In a search for a topic for our project, we stumbled on a lost art, the art of waiting. In western society we live in a world of increasing urgency. Everything is fast; ‘fast’ food, ‘fast’ service, and ‘instant’ coffee. Yet there is an inevitable space that our architects are still designing.. ‘The waiting space’. There is still a need to commit to one place for a certain amount of time, despite our hurried lives. The doctors, the dentist, the bus stop, the train, the chemist, the art gallery que.. The list goes on. But our group is wondering.. Are we designing well for these spaces? Are other cultures doing it better? Do other cultures respect waiting a little more and therefore take more care in designing these spaces? And the questions continue.
In an article by Gavin (2007) she contemplates the art of delay and comments that for certain things we are willing to wait. She writes, “people will quite happily stand in line for an exhibition for up to an hour if there is cultural enlightenment at the end”. So, we don’t seem to mind, so why is my hospital waiting room at the RBH so stark and uninhabitable? Why is the bus stop a seemingly impromptu place to stand, so much so that I feel naughty waiting there? These questions need answering and this research will be attempted.
And so the project begins…
References:
Christian Websites. (2002). The definition of the three parts of man. Retrieved 7 August, 2008, from http://www.tripartiteman.org/definition/soul.html
Gavin, F. (2007, May 25). The art of waiting. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August, 2008, from http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/2007/05/the_art_of_waiting.html
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