On the first of June, 9 people joined
this last session before the summer break. A few people will be
out of station for a couple of months and the Circle will start
again in August.
Those attending regularly or at times
have been among others: Supriti, Bankim, Lalit, Helmut, Kathryn,
Gloria, Piero, Alan, Dominique, Ann, Janet, Gundolf, Peter A.,
Paulette, Felix, Jean of Djaima, Kathy. Mr. Dattatrai attended
once.
The topics for this session was the
process and method of the circle, its relation to the Masterplan
organisation and Lalit's paper
published in AVNews, 26th May '01.
Without a clear objective in terms of
life-quality, defined in all its aspects, development is bound
to become merely an outer shell. We are planning for social and
cultural interaction as much as for buildings. A city is a
pattern of relations between all kinds of things. The purpose of
the Circle is to look at this texture. What does it contain to
make it 'successful' (or not so) to the daily experience of the
people living in the city? To arrive at 'objective' conclusions,
studies need to be conducted in an impersonal spirit. It is an
educative process. No blueprint can be applied as a solution.
The methodology to build scenarios is an approach by which it is
possible to learn more about physical and social etc.
Consequence, and at the same time get a healthy distance to the
various ideals that we all, in one way or another, have
projected on the future.
"...to take the Master plan
work further and detail our action..." as Lalit proposes in
the Interactive Facility paper, implies also a further
elaboration of the aim that we set before us to realise. Once
our aim is clear, we can look at different ways of achieving it.
To prepare a ' Built Environment Plan crystallising the City
Image, Densities...' as is further stated, would mean to
transform the aim into a city-structure synchronising all
aspects to become a working whole. It seems too early to think
of such a plan without at least first analysing different
scenarios. The Study Circle will continue to gather qualities
that can make up some proposal for 'Aims and Objectives'.
In relation to the Masterplan
organisation, it was felt that it is essential that the Circle
remains independent to follow its own approach, and select
issues according to its method of working. It is clear that all
efforts in the field of planning in the community have a natural
place in the work on the Masterplan.
The psychological aspect of the
planning process was felt to be of decisive importance.
