16. Gandhi's Tomb

This section of the 33 Project would deal with 'desire lines' (previously discussed in this blog). Ever since I visited Mahatma Gandhi's memorial park I've held a vision of the bare ribbon of earth worn by the feet of thousands of pilgrims through the grass to the simple marble tomb in the centre. The idea was a natural one - to let the people define their own pathway through the space...once visible it would then be paved.

Sensitivity and sustainability in design - ergonomics and human centred design. Sometimes the best design is not exactly design at all, but a sensitivity to the environment and having a light touch.

There are no strictly straight lines in nature. I believe that civic spaces should be more Steiner than Corbusier.

Sometimes, the subtle, organic or temporal elements should drive design whether it's architecture or even a website. So much of Le Corbusier's vision is a total disaster* because it was more about grand ideas and hubris rather than about serving universal human needs. Le corbu was a product of his time, all designers now ought to have a sense of duty - In our times considerations necessarily should be about sustainability, recycling and ethics.

Starck - Conway Lloyd Morgan
"Production in only one means of expression, and it should be the last resort. All the other possible solutions, not involving material consumption should be explored first. And if production is necessary, that production should be ethical. For example, re-organising a bus timetagble to reduce city centre pollution is design. It is honest work that serves social ends. It is a 'design production' even though no consumption of material is involved. It is pure design."

"The rise of materialism has created both greed, which kills love, and, in a more sinister fashion, passivity. This passivity is shown by the feeling people have, that control over their future has passed from their hands, and even from the politician's hands." P31

*I need to read Alain de Botton's Architecture of Happiness (I hope he agrees with my analysis on this one!)

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