Thoughts of the week taken from work. Tony discussed this with me yesterday (10 May 2003). We were discussing a more generalised way of expressing what was bugging me at work. I am working on a doctor's surgery (offices for 17 doctors and some nurses) in north London as part of a team. The lead Architects just assumed that we would cut all the trees down on the front of the site.

CONFLICT BETWEEN TREES AND BUILDINGS

It is stupid (will think about changing this word) that keeping trees should conflict with the design of buildings

1) trees need not conflict with the design of buildings

2) why should car parking be given any dominience in a building program

3) I felt annoyed at having to make an arguement to keep the trees.

resolution

to have a motivation to keep the trees and create a quality building through a creative solution.

11th May 2003

There was something on in the week (TV) about John Kenneth Galbraith and the Great Society he proposed as an economic model which encouraged greater public spending. The example given on the program made an impact. They showed a film made at the time (1960s) where they showed a typical nuclear family going on a picnic in a public park. They arrive in their nice car and they have all the nice picnic things to hand, but not having paid for upkeep of the park it is a mess, with litter everywhere, etc. The next part showed the tube (underground rail) station next to me in Belsize Park north London. The presenter was in a bus going down the street past expensive houses with prosperous owners, but when they came past he station it was littered and in bad repair. The Underground people said they had other priorities, but how is it that the fortunate can look after their private space and their public services crumble.

On the tv now are lots of programmes about fixing up houses and real estate. The motto of the property investor is Location, Location, Location. But they don't mean next to Starbucks or a private gym. What is meant is being near public services, schools, hospitals, trains and roads. Just a thought.

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My mother, Shirley, emailed a newspaper about the war in Iraq. She felt that she might like to read or re-read "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene. Written fifty years ago and we have been in another war. There are a lot of people around the world who don't want us telling them what they want.