"Quest for Community"

" A number of recent American writings indicate that nostalgia for the small town need not be construed as directed toward the town itself: it is rather a "quest for community" (as Robert Nisbet puts it) -- a nostalgia for a compassable and integral living unit"

--Max Lerner, America as a Civilization, 1957--

In our "quest for community", we must first understand the context of the American society and the developments of suburban life. Through these developments, we are able to create a third realm, known as the "Great Good Place". One of the main developments in the suburban life was the automobile, which was created shortly after World War II. The type of environment gave a sense of safety and order. However, the missing element was community, which is needed to give individuals a sense of place and belonging. Although the intention of the typical suburban home was to offer rural and urban life, it separated the individual's world.

When one looks at the American society compared to another society, several realizations can be made. For example, in Los Angeles, people are less likely to leave their homes because of the distance they must travel to reach a destination. Then, look at Vienna, traveling outside of the home is not prearranged and more convenient. The convenience comes because of the proximity of places in relation to the residential areas. The example of Los Angeles and Vienna shows that more community interaction is needed in order to reduce the effects of the evolving suburban development.

As the suburban developments continue evolving, there is less life outside the house than before in addition to a substitution of views from ideal home to ideal city. People are being taught to place personal preferences above the public good. Tract housing, which promotes community life, can also be disappointing because it requires great efforts by a single individual and depends on good relationships within households.

According to Sennet's observations, Americans lack the third realm of satisfaction and social cohesion. We are focused more on two realms: home and work. These two activities develop a pattern to life, making individuals want to retreat back to their homes in the evening away from everyone else. I see this as a true design problem that we as interior designers, architects, urban planners, and other design professions should seek to address. Because this community is inefficient, relationships are suffering because of this lifestyle. According to Oldenburg, this suffering with relationships has caused America to lead the world in the rate of divorce. So one may ask ,how do we create that third realm?

Some elements that are important in creating the third realm are setting standards for the informal public life. The people of the community should focus on the future as opposed to the past. Public spaces should be the grounds for presence of all people, which includes all races, ethnicities, ages, economic influences, etc. Streets should be focused on both pedestrian and vehicular use. In order for daily life to be fulfilling and relaxing, three realms must be present. The first realm is domestic, the second realm is gainful or productive, and the third realm is sociable.

Core settings are then developed to keep the peoples' needs in consideration at all times. These settings must be referenced in respect to their nature and benefits for their continual success. These core settings are what establish the third realm in communities. The three realms are interdependent on one another. As Oldenburg says,
"We need a home even though we may not work, and most of us need to work more than we need to gather with our friends and neighbors" (17). In conclusion, I see this third realm as the author envisions it as the "Great Good Place".

Downtown Adventure

This is a sketch that I took of Chase Bank. I thought that the curved balconies were a unique feature of the architecture. It also provides a ledge for the walkers beneath allowing shelter from direct sunlight or rain. The openings on the bottom level are for vehicular and pedestrian use.

This image is of the facade of 333 Laurel, which is the site for our upcoming healthcare project. The building is surrounded by several other businesses, i.e. Capital One, China House, an art and photography studio, the Wine Loft, and parking lots. There is a parking lot directly across from the building as well as adjacent to the building. These parking lots are something that may need to be addressed if we are to propose a hospital or healthcare facility in the area.

The image shown to the right is of a glass window where the tint seems to be bubbling in some areas. I though it had a resemblance to rain drops so this is why I decided to post this image. Also I thought the reflection added to the pictures content.

The next photograph is of the interior of the Commerce Building. There are two columns that are a predominant feature of the elevator waiting area. The columns and the walls are covered in a black and white tile or stone of some type. The entrance wall and doors are completely made of glass with mullions.
I chose to take a photograph of the parking meter because it a typical feature of a lot of downtown areas, locally at least.

This is small seating area on the corner of Main Street and North Fourth Street. As you can see, this area is scarcely inhabited by people. The trees are also newly planted and do not provide a lot of shade, which is probably part of the reasoning. You can see the Commerce Building in the background. The trees do a good job screening out the parking lot though.


This is an image of a house on top of another set of buildings. It is painted brightly, which helps draw it out from its surroundings. The pitch on the roof is another feature that makes it predominant because typically the roofs on buildings downtown are flat on commercial buildings.

This is an image of the river from Third Street. Hopefully, some of the rooms on the second floor will be capable of taking more advantage of this view. I also think that having nice views, particularly of water, are therapeutic and healing to the person that is using the healthcare space.

This picture shows the structural grid within an abandoned space. I thought that the linear grid was similar to that of the city streets in the downtown area. I see this grid also as a representation of the industrial nature and business-like atmosphere of the area's downtown.

This was a building located behind the commerce building. The reflectance of colors from the facades is incredible and makes the building a dominant feature within the cluster of buildings downtown. I also found the mixture of building types or architectural features very interesting. The reflectance of this building in comparison to the brick facades or painted home are incredible, and all of these colors add to the visual liveliness of the city.

This sticker shows the communities efforts to keep the community clean. They are randomly scattered on trash cans throughout the downtown area. The phrase on the sticker says C'mon Baton Rouge Pick up the Stick. I think that this slogan says something about peoples' respect and admiration for the streets in downtown.

This is the final image that I selected for this blog entry, and I also did a pencil rubbing on the texture of the wall. Although, it does not seem drastic on paper, the actual material had lots of undulations and texture to the surface.

"Outside Lies Magic" Thoughts and Summary

“Outside Lies Magic”

The overall theme of the excerpt emphasized a strong focus on the power of observation. The excerpt begins by explaining the course objectives of the author’s course syllabus. The author makes it necessary as part of her course to get out and look around, which allows students to make connections. The class is given a list of readings, subject matter, and sequence of topics, but the instructor does not give a designated schedule. The reasoning for not having a schedule is to allow the students to explore discussions and topics thoroughly. This is more of a subjective approach according to the individuals that compose the class. For example, if they are talking of a subject that sparks interest for students, they can stay on the topic for a longer period of time. To me this setup seems to be more personal and makes a class have a relaxed atmosphere. The author views this process as a technique that creates surprise and delight in addition to making the class seem less ordinary. I agree that in a somewhat monotonous day of lecture after lecture, it is nice to have a break and focus on a new learning technique, such as observation.

By using observation, we are able to connect individual elements and understand broader concepts. The author uses the word palimpsest to describe the built environment, where there is a layering process. The author uses the example of liberal arts as being an exploration in a literal sense as well as that it makes an individual more open minded. I think that being open minded is a skill that is necessary in the interior design major, particularly in communication with a client. Sometimes the observation of outdoors can awaken dormant skills and points of view.

Exploring can also be seen as a way of sharpening the senses. Of course, the most recognizable sense affected is sight. The author uses an example of placing one’s hands over the eyes while viewing the shadows created by trees on a sidewalk. These shadows prove that the colors are more saturated and that they are not caused by dispersed light. In conclusion, the author strives to motivate people to heighten their awareness by observation and in return thinking of those observations. His final note is that creativity originates from going outdoors.

Hospitality Project 09/10/07

Today, in class, our group continued to consolidate the information that we have been continually researching. We are going to meet on Wednesday before our trip downtown and consolidate our PowerPoint into one large presentations and work out the details of the organization for the outline. In class, I finished typing my information into the outline format designated on the project sheet.



After talking to Matt during class and re-grouping about the organization of the PowerPoint, we decided to format the PowerPoint according to different experiences offered by the hotel industry. There are technologically savy hotels, hotels accomplishing new goals like the freestanding restaurant at the Broadmoor Hotel, as well as experiences that invoke relaxation. I have re-formatted the information that I obtained into this format to make a more cohesive presentation.

Hospitality Project 09/07/07

Last night, I found another article pertaining to the hospitality industry in Interior and Sources Magazine. The article featured a hotel in Colorado and the restaurant called Summit Restaurant. The space also has a wine cellar that has a rotating wall unit containing 2,000 bottles of wine. The restaurant is known as the first free-standing space.

Today, in class, I used my time to share with my group the new research that I had found about a free-standing hotel. I added this into our Power Point presentation, and began to type up the outline that is also due with the project next Friday.

Hospitality Project 09/05/07

Today in class, I went to Middleton Library with my group members to continue researching the hospitality industry. We found several sources today, including a magazine called Metropolis Magazine. Matt recommended the Metropolis Magazine because he had previously discovered an article geared towards the hotel industry. We also searched in the Architectural Digest and Interior Design Magazines.
For Friday's class, I plan to finish synthesizing the materials I gathered into PowerPoint. I am also going to add the information that Jill and Ashley are summarizing into the PowerPoint presentation sometime towards the end of the week.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF

My name is Lisa Trapani, and I am a senior in Interior Design at Louisiana State University. I began as an engineering student, and after a year decided that I was interested in changing my major to Interior Design. After graduation, I am considering becoming a grad student and studying architecture. This blog was created to document the development of my senior project. The topic I chose was hospitality, restaurant, and bar. If you would like to see more of my work, please check out my website at http://my.lsu.edu/Ltrapa1.