hART iN pLACE

The emotional aspect of the spot is a major impact on the people who visit. The view from the top looking at downtown Boston is one that draws someone to reflect about the past and think about the future. What the view looks at specifically, is less important than the idea of a spot to reflect. Spots of reflection are often vast and creates a sense of awe. What is of most importance is what someone brings to the view. A view of the ocean, or a view overlooking a mountain range, or the view of something smaller like a lake or open field all fall into this category. I am not suggesting that the specific view is not important. I am sure that someone from Boston would have a more defined understanding of the view from the top of the hill than someone who was just visiting and the same would go for someone who is from the coast overlooking the ocean. But it seems that the relationships that we have to these views are like looking onto a large blank canvas and we are the ones who fill in the colors and shapes of the painting from our past experiences, thoughts, hopes, and mistakes. At first when you sit to look at the view you may spend a few moments understanding what you are looking at, how far away the city is, how it is surrounded by tree and the hills, and on and on. But very shortly after, you sort of slip into a haze of reminiscing about the past your not conscious of at which point you do this but it happens. It’s like daydreaming, you don’t know when you start to do it but you know when you wake up. These types of views have a way of creating this experience and the spot is a very good example. The spot does not however generate specific outcomes. To go back to the canvas example, if I go to a store and buy a white canvas and some paint, I know that the result is going to be a picture of some kind but what is actually produced has nothing to do with the canvas. What type of painting I created comes from other sensations from myself; the canvas is just a platform that serves to present my expression. The canvas does not determine whether the painting is going to be successful or relly anything. The same exist for the view at the spot. There is no reason to suggest that this specific view is going to generate some undiscovered insight or even that it is a good experience. What the space does is present the possibility to have a experience. And I think that this is where architecture lives. It lives in the whisper of suggestion. We can create spaces that have a specific function like a classroom but as one moves to a more defined outcome, like what type of education is taught in the school, how inspirational or if the education broadens the students’ point of view. At that point, architecture becomes a whisper and the results are because of the people is actions themselves, rather then the design.

tHE mIND iN pLACE

The spot facilitates contemplation or interaction depending on what type of cultural group you fall into. In both of these groups, the sentimentalists or the dog people, decision making at the spot, which includes where to sit and how long to stay depends on others who are there.

For instance, if the sentimentalists ( the people who come there to see the view and more or less want to be left alone) are deciding where to sit or how long to stay, more people may hinder their ability to choose, so they may not stay that long or find anywhere to sit if there are more people there.

It works in the opposite way for the dog people. From what I have seen, the more dog people are there, the longer they stay. At one point, there were seven people at the top of the hill behind the stones in a huddle like arrangement, with their backs to the view. Someone had a frisbee and all of them were playing frisbee with all the dogs together. They could not have known each other because they left at different times.

The more people there are the more it effect how private the space feels. Since there are two main groups each with conflicting desires, the sentimentalists have a body language that states the obvious, “leave me alone.” There is no eye contact and if a dog comes by to see what is going on,their owner is quick to call the dog back. The atmosphere is much more exciting though, when there are more people there. There are a lot more distractions when many dogs are running around than when there are none. And it is almost impossible for me not to stare at the dogs and see how they interact with people. Each dog seems to interact differently whith strangers, some stare, some come up and sniff, and some just walk by. But peoples reactions are almost always the same. They are always friendly and try to pet the dog, always with a smile.

The spot, however, feels much more private if only a few people are there. Even if there are one or two dog people there, the space is large enough that it is still private because of the distance from each sitting stone.

tHE bODY iN pLACE

The top of Peter’s Hill, which is located across the street from the last stop of the orange line at Forest hill, is the most southern portion of the Arnold Arboretum. The Arboretum is itself an amazing place with over 4,000 different species of wooden plants, another word for trees, it is a horticultural research facility for Harvard university. It is owned by the city of Boston however under the agreement that Mr. Sargent, the first curator of the Arboretum, made with the city, the city will own the Arboretum but will lease the park to Harvard for 1,000 years with an option for renewal for another 1,000. So, in other words the park is not going any where I think they still have something like 850 years left. Not a stupid move, assuming the city of Boston never disappears.

Once you get to the top of the hill before you see the view there is an entrance that lets you know that you are about to enter the viewing area. Just two granite stones turned upright about three feet high define the entrance to the spot. This gives an indication of a new space. Once you pass through the entrance there is a small open space that is usually consumed by dogs jumping on top of each other with so much excitement that they can’t seem to control themselves and their owners standing, watching over their dogs like they were watching their children, mingling amongst themselves. Then as you move to the very top of the hill, you see the view and the grouping of stones for sitting and looking at the view.

At the top there is a spectacular view of the city of Boston, and 5 groups of granite stones that are scattered around the top of the hill. Or, as I learned after talking to Matt the groundskeeper, this area is referred to the as “the moon” by the staff because of how hard it is to get something to grow here due to the hardness of the soil. The arrangement of the stones clearly suggests the function of the area. You can see from the picture there is always one large stone in the group; it could sit two maybe three people. There are also two smaller stones along side the bigger one, sometimes both on one side and sometimes one on each side. The groups are clustered in an arrangement that suggests interaction. They are placed close to each other in a half circle but are open to the view, probably four to five people could sit in each group but I have never seen more then two. Knowing that the space is designed to hold many more people but there is just one or two people there, is a comforting sensation because, your not sitting out by yourself, but you have room to spread out. The stones are about three steps high but I have seen some people just sit on the ground and use them for back support. I have only seen this twice and both times, they were couples that stayed longer then I did. Three groups of these stones are in what I would consider the open, so you can see them clearly once you get to the top. There are two other groups of stones off to the side but are not completely hidden, you can see them through the trees but they are off to the left side, away from the direction of the view so you would have to seek them out.

develop your research question

Is there a relationship between the age of a profession and the layout of the office.
Can one determine the age of a profession by the layout of their working environment.
Do older professions typically have a hierarchical structure in their office.
Do older professions change their office as new trends in office layout change.

observation WEEK 5

iDEAS iN pLACE,

I would say that there are three main groups of people or maybe two and a subgroup that use the top of Peter’s Hill (the spot). The first is the dog people who I have mentioned before. This subculture uses the spot to let their dog run free off their leash and interact with other, this aids in interaction between the owners themselves. Most of these people do not have an athletic build but take their dogs for walks maybe as a way to get out of the house. Generally, the dog people are around 30 to 50 years of age and cone to the spot by themselves with their dogs. I have not seen very many couples or children with their parents come to the spot with their dog.

The second group is the people who come and sit to see the view. This group could be divided into a group that is there to exercise and use the spot as an ending or a resting area in their workout. The second subgroup is people who just come there to sit and absorb the view (the sentimentalists). They may be walking for exercise but it is not obvious. While the exercising people are mostly alone the sentimentalists stay for a much longer time, and half of them are with someone else.

All three groups have some things in common; all of the people here are white and I would suspect live ether next to the park or a short drive away. All the groups seem to come from a white collar professional class background especially the group that exercises. I would also note that while this might be a good representation of residents in the immediate area it doesn’t portray the area as a whole. Forest Hill subway stop is located right across the street from the Arboreum. It is the last stop of the orange line and the population of the subway is about 50% to 75% black and Latino. I have not as of yet seen one black person at the spot that I can recall.

observation WEEK 4

Others In Places,
The site is secluded; you have to make an effort to get there. The site is not part of someone’s daily workday or something you would see casually. When you go there, other than the people who work there, you go because of the site itself. Someone has to dedicate time to go, they have to make it a planned event. Most people who make it up Peters Hill go for two reasons. The first is the reclusive setting that the site can provide. The spectacular view that is at the top of the hill that overlooks downtown engulfed in vegetation is an element that is strong enough to switch your attention to the view and away from what ever you are doing at the time. The view portrays the notion of reclusiveness by making you see downtown far away and you are here thinking about things in your life whether past or present. The city represents what is important in your life and you are outside of it looking in. This relationship promotes contemplation. The stones used for sitting are arranged so that they are not next to each other; there also are other elements that separate them further like bushes, trees, and the elevation of the stones. The stones for viewing are separated by a public distance beyond 12’ which affords private conversation. There is normally only one person sitting on each one but could they hold two or three. If there is more then one person, they could feel comfortable carrying on a conversation in private because of the distance. The second reason is for walking your dog. When these people are here, their main action is interacting with other dog people. The top of Peter’s Hill is the only spot where a social gathering is promoted. By design the wandering paths that run throughout Peters Hill are paths to somewhere. At the top of the hill, as well as the entrance are ending to paths, so it follows that gathering would take place at the top of the hill. The people who have dogs allow their dog to run free and interact with other dogs. The interaction of dogs promotes interaction of the people. One thing that I have learned is that dog people love to talk about dogs. As soon as one dog interacts with another it is almost guaranteed that the owners will have a conversation about their dogs. Today, when I was there, there were many dog people gathered behind the stones for viewing. Where they stand and have conversations is also interesting. Today they stood behind the stones but other days they have stood in front or off to the side. But, unlike the people who make it to the top for the view and reminisce about the past, the stones determine where they sit. Where the dog people stand is determined on where their dogs are playing.