OS Diary 1/13/02

[David Koehler]

Response to bolted down chairs...

After becoming involved in OST, I have become very aware of how inviting (or
not) physical spaces are, especially in institutional settings.  Bolted down
chairs, which you often find in high schools and churches, certainly convey a
quick impression on who has power and who doesn't.

I remember a discussion we had when I was on the city council a few years
back.  We were planning on remodeling the council chambers.  The desks for
the council and the mayor were up off the floor on a platform.  The audience
was at the back of the room behind a row of tables with a banister in front
and consisted of bolted down chairs.  After a long discussion, it was decided
that the council members desks would be set on the floor, so as to not give
the impression of being above everyone else.  However, the mayor keep his
desk in the front and center of the room about three steps high.  And of
course, not to give people the impression that they had any real say so, the
banister and bolted down chairs remained.

What kind of world might this be if government operated in open space?


Just a thought,
Dave Koehler

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