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june 2010 |
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doctor Virginia Green
& architect + creativity coach Alla Kazovsky
are teaching together:
summer workshops
held on Sunday afternoons /3:30 to 5:30 pm/
info@designedrealestate.com
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Piazza del Campidoglio and Spasms of Disapproval
Jean, a coaching client of mine, asks:
"I am suffering from isolation; people around me just can't measure up to
my standards. As soon as I get to know someone, I begin to see their "flaws" and experience spasms of disapproval. What can I do?"
Thank you, Jean. You are describing destructive thinking that does not serve you. Conjure up a mental image of "approval" next time an opportunity presents itself.
As an architect + coach, I'd like to suggest a design metaphor for an all-encompassing sense of complete acceptance. Are you familiar with Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome? It was conceived by Michelangelo to mark the historic "center of the world." Michelangelo's solution has three main components: the eighty degree tilt of the buildings which creates a trapezoidal shape for the space, the intricate paving pattern, and the monumental wide ramped stair ascending the hill to reach the high piazza. Every element in the design acts together to create a welcoming experience. The result is the space that makes you feel comforted, even cradled; it is an urban room where everyone is acknowledged without being judged.
What Michelangelo accomplished through design,
you could achieve by thinking constructively:
shaped the place that throughout centuries symbolized the center of the world; similarly, you could recognize opportunities for intervention and engage.
adjusted his design to address insurmountable pre-existing conditions on the site; similarly, you could transcend the pain of the past and immerse in the present.
"connected" three buildings as parts of one continuous spatial boundary; similarly, you could define your boundaries to "connect" with what is meaningful to you.
redesigned the facades of existing structures to create a coherent composition; similarly, you could rethink your expectations of others to lead a coherent life.
created a unique urban interior using open space as primary building material; similarly, you could claim the present as your primary building material.
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Kitchen of the Mind
My clients came to me with a goal. They were thinking of converting a guest room that was vacant 95% of the time into a usable space that would serve as a play room. In addition, it had to have a pull-out bed and a closet for an occasional visitor.
We brainstormed as a whole family (I always include children in the process) to come up with a "wish list" of requirements. The clients wanted to fit a lot of functions into a standard size bedroom and were reluctant to even bring them up. I was relentless and insisted on acknowledging every desire, not only necessity. I did not allow them to give anything up, like a vision to have the freedom of leaving unfinished puzzles intact for days at a time.
We set out to transform the existing room that was hardly ever used into a hub of activity where both parents and children (two young boys) could come together for projects, listening to music, and doing homework. We aimed at a welcoming place with comfortable seating as well as various work, storage, and display areas, a "kitchen of the mind."
A work table on wheels had hinged extensions that stayed open for any project in progress.
A ladder permitted use of the "attic space" that otherwise would have been wasted.
A closet utilized a corner with graceful ease.
A system of magnetic boards was designed for display.
A Murphy bed was concealed by a book case hung on the rail for ease of movement.
The clients' wish list was materialized and the goal accomplished. Now we were ready for the next challenge together!
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If you have any questions about any of these projects, or would like to discuss your own design concern(s), please forward (it) them to me at: alla@live-by-design.net or alla@designedrealestate.com.
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