“The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognisers and meaning makers. These people...will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.” Daniel Pink, author of A whole New Mind.

I came across this quote the other day while reading Donald Trump and Roberty Kiyosaki’s book Why We Want You To Be Rich.

Given recent events driven by corporate greed and corruption their predictions have never rung truer. As more and more corruption is exposed and increasing numbers of people in traditionally highly valued careers, such as lawyers, accountants, and bankers, fall from grace, society will assign less financial, and I would add – moral value - to these occupations.

As a society many people have tended to see left-brained, analytical types as smart, successful and needed. Creative, right brained people have often been under-valued and written off as “airy fairy” and ‘flakey.” That is why accountants, attorneys, doctors, dentists ad MBA’s are generally paid more in corporations all around the world.

But now the moral fibre of many of these “professionals” is being called into question and with the spot light firmly on their activities many of them are not looking so bright.

Bankers are a case in point. Appearing to lack empathy and unwilling to move beyond the boxes they must tick on their forms they err less on the side of humanity and more on the side of excessive caution and profit and are calling in loans and kicking people out of their homes in every increasing numbers. Fraud is rife too. Recently one of NZ’s biggest players has been exposed for misleading investors – something their laywers are trying hard to avoid taking the rap for. Many people blame the banking institutions for the crisis we are all facing now. Their shonky loans and greedy activities have virtually caused the world to self implode.

Then there are the lawyers. I watched with disgust as a lawyer appearing on National TV argued why a man falsely accused of rape should not have been given name suppression until the truth of the allegations was determined. She smiled with smug self-satisfaction as she argued her case convincingly – sparing little compassion for the man’s career and life now in ruins. Not long after I heard of a man caught using his phone to take photos peering up woman's skirts was allowed name suppression. Supposedly if you cry "suicidal thoughts" this is a more "just" reason to avoid being named. :( We all know of similar stories where "smart" lawyers allow wrong doers to walk free. Others charge like wounded bulls, often by the second, and cause people to run up such huge bills that they end up practically giving them the clothes off their back - or as was the case in Horowhenua in the 1800's, forcing people to sell their tribal lands to clear legal debts.

Creative people on the other hand, whilst not beyond their own ego drivers, tend to have more innate sensitivity and a compassion for all living things. They tend to be natural empathizers - caring people who know what it is like to walk in another persons shoes. Creative people are also flexible – able to adapt to changing circumstances.

Creative people, argues Donald Trump, don’t need to be motivated by anyone else. They motivate themselves. They find their inspiration instead of looking for it. JK Rowling for example, found her inspiration for Harry Potter while sitting on a train.

Creative people use their brains in the biggest way possible. They listen to and use both sides of their brains for maximum impact. "A few years ago, there was an article about the most desired recruits for medical school, music majors. The reason is that their left and right brains are equally developed because music is mathematical and creative at the same time,” recounts Donald Trump in his book.

The same principal applies to truly great architecture. Mediocre architects lack an artistic, creative sensitivity, They also lack a concern with the human connection or sensitivity to space. I’ve seen this first hand and benefited in turn by being invited to come up with an alternative design to what I can only call the most inhumane, ugly and totally devoid of any sensitivity, design I have ever seen.

The fact that my concerns are being listened to is further confirmation of the power of creativity. Here’s little ol me, with no formal training in architecture, but a naturally creative and empathetic mind, being taken seriously. You can follow my journey to architecture here

Creativity is also related to intuition – a powerful, non-rational innovative and decision making tool. More and more businesses are tapping into the power of intuition to help them achieve phenomenal results. Donald Trump, is a big fan of following his gut instincts and has achieved results that many people only dream of.

Are you creative? Have you ever had a great idea? Have you ever made money from your great idea? Have you ever used creativity to solve a problem or challenge? Would you like to do less and achieve more?

Click here to learn how you can strengthen your creative powers and get rich.

Labels: Cultivating Creativity

Hopefully I'll be able to get involved in getting Horowhenua library to reconsider the new design to expand the library - have a look and let me know what you think of it as it currently stands. This is how it currently looks - a little tired but still not devoid of style - just needs a good eye to bring out the best of her.


Stage 0ne of the new design

This is what the architect would like to do with her



When I initially saw the plans in the library my reaction was so acute (I hated it with a passion!) I marched on down to the Council buildings and asked if I could have a copy of the plans and, after asking a few questions, they suggested I phone the architect and have a chat with him. Which I duly did.

When I met with the architect who has been appointed to the project he conceded that the exterior design was “harsh” however he maintained any improvements will be too expensive. Of real concern is the fact that the library staff and most of the community hate the exterior design.


The library is expanding into the former Countdown building - they are keeping the front and the architect has said that they have hardly spent any time on the exterior (it shows!). They changes largely involve painting it "mental ward" green and adding towers which he says are for aesthetic purposes only and expensive to build. Apparently these are to show people where the entrance is. Feedback from the community is that these imposing forms look like gun towers. Not a very welcoming association is it?

Here is some of the feedback about the current design I have gathered so far:

Yuk

It could be a petrol station

It looks like Stalag 13

It’s a bit bleak. A bit square

Fits Levin – looks old

The more I think about it the more austere it is. It would be a shame not to revise the design prior to building – a real missed opportunity.

Tawa library is brilliant – they kept the early 70’s design and tinkered with it – added a bit more.

Ugly

Boring. Dead.

Oppressive

It looks like what you’d expect

The design is harsh. It has to be rectangular because that’s how the materials come – curves (or other visually interesting forms) would be too expensive. To be honest we have hardly spent any time on the outside. The design will NOT be changing. (The architect.)

Had a good look at the design - uninspiring. I know they probably have cost and functionality issues but it doesn't speak to me of the community and culture it is a part of.

I think it will frighten children

It amazes me that councils all over Aotearoa have no concept about Architecture & Urban Design and the effects it has on the community. I am no Architect but I know what works. Check out attached for the Papamoa Library. At least this building talks to its people and opens dialogue. The proposed concept was aimed at engaging and energizing the existing urban fabric by integrating it with the beach landscape. Anyway, thats my rant... ;)

Boring. Blocky. Old. Like a barrier. It’s an abortion – not very nice at all.


When I met with the architect he challenged me by accusing me of imposing my own views on others (interesting comments given that many people involved in this project say they don't feel like they have been listened to!) The feedback above gives me the passion, courage, confidence and hope to challenge the current design and press for something way more inspired and human/e.

A yearning for something more natural
I'm interested in natural architecture - so going to see if we can soften a bit without blowing budget (which is the "excuse" for the current sterile design). It will be a good project for my end of year portfolio anyway. Meeting with one of the councillors tomorrow to see how open they may be to revising design slightly.


The need for change

By far this was the strongest reaction that I witnessed first hand: “That bloody Hitler building! I’ve seen better looking bunkers on the north coast of Denmark. Those gun towers - that’s what the German’s built all around the edge of Berlin...gun towers with slits in them. How the hell does that motivate anyone to come in here.” The poor man looked so distraught I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He was so angry and upset I felt sick at the thought of this building ever being built.

Thoughts to ponder:

“Good urban design creates great communities”

“The Library was not only a book collection but also a sanctuary....for travellers...the building was a landmark...”it will prove a spring from which only blessed waters will flow.” (Source, Levin The Making of a Town pg 1001)

“Bad architecture is in the end as much a failure of psychology as of design.” Alain de Botton, author of The Architecture of Happiness.

“One eye sees and the other feels.” Paul Klee, artist

“It’s hard to tackle change if you don’t realize you have a problem.” Andrew Barclay, architect

“In a world that has grown rational and cold and has lost much of its meaning, architects and designers, like other people, are looking back to ancient archetypes for more direction and inspiration.” David Pearson, architect

“Returning to the roots of design as a way of enriching people’s lives.” Yves Behar, designer.

“Design is many things, but to us it’s essential that it will help you to ease your mind and eyes.” Design Denmark


“Many people are saying that this is a landmark building, a work of art and our people are saying, “that’s where I go to work, and I think that is special.” Snr employee working in London’s “Gerkhin.”

“Sustainability makes life easier, is more economical and it has to be the way we think in the future.” Peter Stutchbury, architect.


“We would be blaming a lack of inspiration on poverty by proposing that a tight budget always condemned a building to ugliness – as a visit to the wealthy suburbs of Riyadh and the shopkeepers houses of Sienna will rapidly and poignantly attest.”
Alain de Botton, author of The Architecture of Happiness.


The call for something more natural

As you may know from earlier posts I have a real passion for organic, natural architecture. Like Frank Lloyd Wright my passion is stirred by my affinity to the land. Perhaps, as the quote below suggests, it also stems from my innately challenging and fun loving nature.


“Organic architects are often very individual characters. Some like to be maverick, provocative and even anti-establishment. Their architecture feels youthful and playful with a childlike love of fun.” Renzo Piano, Italian Architect.

I think the reason my passions have been so stirred by the Horowhenua project is because of my acute sense of fairness and democracy - something that appears to have been neglected in the current design process. Lack of community consultation, marginalisation of local IWI and a feeling by Library staff that they are not listened to seeps out of this design - it's ugly through and through.

Architecture should be of the people, for the people - I see the role of an architect as facilitating hopes and dreams not imposing his or her world view on an unsuspecting public. I feel design should be a collaborative process where ever possible 0 hence the reason for finding out how people feel and what to feel about THEIR library.

As organic architect Balkrishna Doshi powerfully attests:
"Buildings are meant for people - this includes literate, illiterate, young and old...each individual, each community has it's own preferences. Hence they should be allowed to express themselves symbolically...form should not be finite but should be amorphous so that the experience within is loose, meandering and multiple."

He also goes on to say:

"Organic design places special emphaisi on developing a sensitive and creative relationship with both the client and the users of the building. Designing from the "inside out" means that instead of having preconceived ideas about form and structure design begins with the community and the people and expresses their needs and wishes, even their personal idiosyncrasies."

Funky furniture, listening hubs, a grass roof and an mini grand piano - no it's not the latest Big Brother house but Cardiff's spanking new library. Check out how funky a library can be here:


In case you are thinking that great aesthetics are a luxury cash strapped economies can't afford check how an organically designed toilet transformed one New Zealand city.

From a sleepy hollow just off the tourist track through the Bay of Islands, the Kawakawa township has burgeoned into a "must see" mecca for Hundertwasser devotees worldwide.

It all happened as a result of a public toilet - probably the most unlikely building to have ever captured international visitor attention anywhere. The project has already attracted both French and Japanese television documentary teams to Kawakawa, together with international visitors already beginning to number in the thousands. Bus tours pull up outside for photo sessions, travelers familiar with Hundertwasser's work in Europe are making special visits to the Bay of Islands rural township, and domestic visitors are making a stopover for both practical and philosophical reasons. Already there are clear indications of an economic impact in the small town's retail sector and this very public loo has given people san experience like no other!

What other libraries are doing

I have already been touring around some of the regions other libraries - including the ultra modern Paraparaumu Library, recently restored Tawa Library (Athfield Architects); and Newtown Library (which is a really lovely, warm, light filled space) where many people seek comfort, connection and education -as they do in many libraries.

A friend posted me these images of Papamoa Library."At least this building talks to its people and opens dialogue. The proposed concept was aimed at engaging and energizing the existing urban fabric by integrating it with the beach landscape. " he wrote in his email.


Libraries overseas
If these libraries can get funky Levin can too!

These images are of Cardiff Library.



Sweden's library is funky and friendly too:
Here are images of Hjørring Library by Bosch-fjord. I like the rounded shapes and playful ribbon like thread that weaves around the interior.

Then there is Kansas City Public Library. They've run with the book theme - literally!








A reminder of what Horowhenua is, or WAS (if my ideas re listened to), planning to do

It's time to break free of the box. Click here to see some of my inspiration as I begin to create a more organic, natural form

Labels: architecture

Glorious summer is still here but winter looms on the horizon. The worst thing about winter in NZ is not so much the cold, it's the deathly march of people dressed head to toe in black. :(

Please, please try to make the world a more colourful, joyful place by not dressing this autumn and winter as though you are going to a funeral. There is absolutely no reason to dress head to toe in black! Many people are depressed enough. One eye sees and the other feels – so do you part and help people feel great in the months ahead.

If you need more courage to wear colour contact me for a colour consultation – I would love to help!

Black is very rarely chic - more often it is dull, boring and depressing. It is also incredibly aging and tiring.

Black is the colour of:
Mourning
The vultures that circle cemeteries
Black crows announcing bad things to come
The grim reaper
Depression
Conservatism
No colour at all



In New Zealand June 01 is officially the beginning of winter. Join me in the Colour Girl challenge and ban black from your wardrobe this season. Everyone is depressed, or repressed (depending on your world view), enough as it is. We'll be encouraging everyone to mark the first day of winter symbolically by colouring their hair a glorious colour. This can be permanent or temp - it's up to you

Do yourself and everyone else a favour and stay well away from black - NOW! I dare you!

Colour gives life! It makes people feel joyful, sexy, motivated and hot to trot!

I just received this lovely feedback from a recent client of my new service The Colour Girl. It was so exciting to see how wonderful she looked in vibrant colours. So much better than than the funeral black garb everyone thinks is chic. :

“I had a lovely time with you yesterday evening. I was delighted with the colour consultation and it was a lot of fun. I’m very excited about starting to wear more vibrant colours! I feel more confident about broadening my range of colours now. You came across as knowledgeable, enthusiastic and authentic with the Colour Girl service, and of course you looked the part.”
Julia Napier, Communications professional

Just read this in a book I have just finished - sums up the deathly overtones of Black perfectly:


“Godiva stood before them all, wearing a dull black dress that she only ever wore at funerals. With no jewellery and with her long, newly graying plait hanging down one shoulder, she resemembled an aging maiden. The effect was worse than a funeral; she seemed to be dying on her feet before their eyes.”

Extract from Lady Godiva, Nerys Jones


If you would like some help injecting more vibrancy into you life contact me to arrange your personal colour analysis session - start living a life more colourful today!

Labels: Colour, Thecolourgirl.com

Being free to be you often takes great courage. Not only does it mean taking on new experiences it often means changing who you are and who you want to be. Very often it also means breaking free from the expectations of others - maybe even disappointing them.

Louis Khan, regarded as one of the the 20th Centuries greatest architects, suffered well into his 70’s from his father’s disappointment that he was not working in a more “practical” profession. Louis’s architecture is so emotionally powerful it makes people weep.

Cricketing legend, Imran Khan’s father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and be an engineer. “It was the last thing in the world I wanted,” he said.

Entertainer Meatloaf’s dreams of being a singer were laughed at, “You’re too fat and too ugly to sell any records,” supposedly more enlightened folk told him. Meatloaf’s album Bat Out of Hell went on to sell millions of records and is still selling today.

Paris’s Pompidou Centre, with its exposed skeleton of brightly colored tubes for mechanical systems, caused such an outcry that the architects, Renzo Piano, Richard and Sue Rogers, and Gianfranco Franchini, were belted with tomatoes and told to “get out of here!”. Reporting on Rogers' winning the Pritzker Prize in 2007, The Pritzker jury said the Pompidou “revolutionized museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city.”

Wellington based, Chinese born, natural healer and astrologer Alice Morris broke with a very strong cultural expectation that she would pursue her parents wishes and work as an accountant.

With all the negativity around no wonder people often put more energy into resisting change and preserving the status quo than they do in embracing a new beginning.

Changing can be hard work. It means taking a risk and stepping in the unknown. Some people fear change because they believe that they might lose what they have – even though what they have may be nothing at all. For many people change means taking responsibility and ending years of blaming others, being a victim, or living in denial or in a state of apathy. For others it can mean being left out in the cold, marginalized by family or society.

Everyone feels fear at some stage in their life, but the truly successful people nip it in the bud before it takes hold and squeezes their life from them.

People living courageously bring colour to the world. They live a life less than ordinary. Are you?

Labels: Spirituality in art