Aesthetics of Your Space

In Caring Spaces, Learning Places, Jim Greenman paints this picture of the aesthetics of a center...

"Imagine a room where there are bright splashes of color, often attached to moving bodies, and warm muted hues on carpet and walls — the colorscape....  There is a lightscape that changes, marking the passage of the day.  Sunshine catches the light of a prism in one corner, and there is a small patch of sunlight so bright you have to squint.  There are soft indirect lights, shadows, and cool dark corners...

"There are hanging baskets of trailing green plants, flowers, pussy willows and cat tails, angel hair and dried grasses....  There are smells of fresh dirt, lilacs and eucalyptus, garlic and baking bread:  an aromacape, not dominated by disinfectant and bodily waste.

"One hears laughter and singing, animated conversation, perhaps soft classical music or the faint sound of the infectious backbeat of reggae from somewhere down the corridor.  Added to the soundscape is the ticking of clocks, chirping of birds, and the squeaking and rustling of a pig.

"As one walks around feeling heavy, dark wood and silky fabric; hard, cold metal and warm fur; complex textures; and watery, slippery, gooey things, there is a breeze from an open window here, and a sunny, hot spot there, creating a number of microclimates. 

"Everything somehow seems to fit together in a comprehensible way — a rich normality."

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