The extent of your consciousness is limited only by your ability to love and to embrace with your love the space around you, and all it contains.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte
Here is the one who really runs the place!
Personal Space
In Chiang Mai, everyone normally comes to see the temples - and there are A LOT of temples (called 'wats' in Thai.) Big ones, small ones; old ones, new ones; white ones, silver ones (really!) They are great, but they can become a bit touristy and after a while, once you have seen one, you have pretty much seen them all. For my space, I chose something a bit more 'local' - Suan Buak Haad Park - the only ‘green’ space in the entire city of Chiang Mai. It is located on the outskirts of the Chiang Mai Old Town, and on the weekends and evenings it is a haven for people throughout Chiang Mai to come and relax, play, meet, romance. The space is welcoming; it is safe; its fun; it stands out from its surroundings in the city; it brings together people; it is stimulating; it is calming; it is unlike any other in the town. And there are some truly beautiful items that can be seen, particularly the flora and fauna. Overseas visitors to the park frequently remark on how basic yet nice it is, and it’s a place that I visit many times each week, for meditation, to read, or just to sit and observe as people pass their lives.
The one thing that stands out about the park is how simple it is - it would certainly never be confused with one of the most beautiful, or memorable, or unique, parks pr gardens in the world. Yet it is a haven for the people of Chiang Mai – families, couples, groups of athletes, other community groups. Its as if they all are drawn here for the same purpose: its safety and community. No one stands out here; all are equals (except the cats who run the place!) Games take place in shared areas, and there is no conflict I have ever seen. It is as if there is a common understanding that we all benefit by sharing. And it’s this equality that makes it so attractive. It’s available for all, young and old, male/female. There is no need for complexity; the park’s attraction is indeed its simplicity and accessibility. In a sense, it is what Christopher Alexander was referring to when he said ‘an environment is best shaped by those native to the environment.’ (A Room of Their Own, p.6) The people of Chiang Mai use the park in a way that best suits their needs.
I think in my own space - personal or professional - I would likewise need to have it ‘relaxed’ and simple, in terms of environment, workspace, attire, communication. This conforms to the way I operate – that the environment is one that is welcoming, and not rigidly structured. The hierarchical nature of the education system in Asia is to be respected as it comes from tradition, but it also inhibits the learning process as students feel restrained from asking questions or thinking on their own. And the result in the classroom is predictable. Ample opportunities for face to face communication would be essential; personal communications are more personal and powerful – the person's expressions, the tone of voice, the nature of expression – that is frequently lost in today’s email and SMS driven world. Several of the classroom examples in ‘A Room of their Own’ attest to the difference that being able to see a person made in understanding better what was being communicated or needed resolution. Moreover, I would want an environment that is as minimally hierarchical as possible, that the door is always open. People need to be able to believe that their ideas have an audience, and that they will be heard. In business its frequently the people who are on the front lines who can see the actual needs by being exposed to them on a daily basis and deciding ‘ hey, I am going to fix this.’ As ‘A Room of Their Own’ points out, ‘designers of learning environments often ignore what their users are telling them.’ (p. 5) We need to listen to those on the front lines. And in education, it just might be the students or parents who have good ideas that we the educators are missing
An example from the past: there is the classic story of the inventor of Gatorade – he was asked to come up with a drink to help rehydrate the Florida football team. Something like this would have taken years and trials to come up through a corporate product development team. But he tried out a few formulas (the story is that one of which was tasted and received the comment that it ‘tasted like urine.’) He tried again and now its the leading sports drink in the world. What's this say? Certainly, there is need for structures and hierarchies and management but sometimes to be able to minimize this greatly enhances the openness and creativity in an organization.
In Chiang Mai, everyone normally comes to see the temples - and there are A LOT of temples (called 'wats' in Thai.) Big ones, small ones; old ones, new ones; white ones, silver ones (really!) They are great, but they can become a bit touristy and after a while, once you have seen one, you have pretty much seen them all. For my space, I chose something a bit more 'local' - Suan Buak Haad Park - the only ‘green’ space in the entire city of Chiang Mai. It is located on the outskirts of the Chiang Mai Old Town, and on the weekends and evenings it is a haven for people throughout Chiang Mai to come and relax, play, meet, romance. The space is welcoming; it is safe; its fun; it stands out from its surroundings in the city; it brings together people; it is stimulating; it is calming; it is unlike any other in the town. And there are some truly beautiful items that can be seen, particularly the flora and fauna. Overseas visitors to the park frequently remark on how basic yet nice it is, and it’s a place that I visit many times each week, for meditation, to read, or just to sit and observe as people pass their lives.
The one thing that stands out about the park is how simple it is - it would certainly never be confused with one of the most beautiful, or memorable, or unique, parks pr gardens in the world. Yet it is a haven for the people of Chiang Mai – families, couples, groups of athletes, other community groups. Its as if they all are drawn here for the same purpose: its safety and community. No one stands out here; all are equals (except the cats who run the place!) Games take place in shared areas, and there is no conflict I have ever seen. It is as if there is a common understanding that we all benefit by sharing. And it’s this equality that makes it so attractive. It’s available for all, young and old, male/female. There is no need for complexity; the park’s attraction is indeed its simplicity and accessibility. In a sense, it is what Christopher Alexander was referring to when he said ‘an environment is best shaped by those native to the environment.’ (A Room of Their Own, p.6) The people of Chiang Mai use the park in a way that best suits their needs.
I think in my own space - personal or professional - I would likewise need to have it ‘relaxed’ and simple, in terms of environment, workspace, attire, communication. This conforms to the way I operate – that the environment is one that is welcoming, and not rigidly structured. The hierarchical nature of the education system in Asia is to be respected as it comes from tradition, but it also inhibits the learning process as students feel restrained from asking questions or thinking on their own. And the result in the classroom is predictable. Ample opportunities for face to face communication would be essential; personal communications are more personal and powerful – the person's expressions, the tone of voice, the nature of expression – that is frequently lost in today’s email and SMS driven world. Several of the classroom examples in ‘A Room of their Own’ attest to the difference that being able to see a person made in understanding better what was being communicated or needed resolution. Moreover, I would want an environment that is as minimally hierarchical as possible, that the door is always open. People need to be able to believe that their ideas have an audience, and that they will be heard. In business its frequently the people who are on the front lines who can see the actual needs by being exposed to them on a daily basis and deciding ‘ hey, I am going to fix this.’ As ‘A Room of Their Own’ points out, ‘designers of learning environments often ignore what their users are telling them.’ (p. 5) We need to listen to those on the front lines. And in education, it just might be the students or parents who have good ideas that we the educators are missing
An example from the past: there is the classic story of the inventor of Gatorade – he was asked to come up with a drink to help rehydrate the Florida football team. Something like this would have taken years and trials to come up through a corporate product development team. But he tried out a few formulas (the story is that one of which was tasted and received the comment that it ‘tasted like urine.’) He tried again and now its the leading sports drink in the world. What's this say? Certainly, there is need for structures and hierarchies and management but sometimes to be able to minimize this greatly enhances the openness and creativity in an organization.