Power of Politic.

So the best thing about working for a firm principaled by two women is the amount of resources put towards female types of initiatives - collaboration, education, hospitality (parties), etc. This statement may seem stereotypical but there is actually a significant body of research regarding the leadership styles of women. Especially so since more and more business leadership roles in the states are being created and filled by women.

Last Wednesday, my principals arranged a morning long office tour of Central Park with one of the park tour guides. I can't imagine a more frustrating tour for a guide - 15 landscape architects who collectively might know more about Central Park than himself. Many small details were discussed about what sculpture came from where, which trees have been replaced in the last 150 years, that the reservoir would be empty in exactly 8 minutes if it were ever needed as an emergency water source for the population of Manhattan, that boys once had to present their report cards to be able to play in the children's park, that girls were not allowed in the children's park for more than 75 years of it's existence.



Aside from the details, every trip to Central Park astonishes me; the foresight, the legacy, the grand intent of social justice in 843 acres of entirely public space in the dead center of one of the most urban environments on the planet. Of course, the great American empire has fostered an edge condition to the park that is entirely unaffordable and unobtainable to anyone outside of extreme wealth or aristocratic pedigree. Ah the contradictions of fabulous intent met with capitalist zeal. I digress. In addition, the park is a primary example of 'landscape urbanism' 150 years before the term was popularly coined; the argument that landscape, rather than architecture, is more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience. It seems that Olmsted and Vaux fervently believed in this principle but at the time had no idea what effect on the surrounding urban fabric their park would ultimately induce. Comparing Central Park to other parks of it's size around the world leads to a curious question: is a park in the middle of a dense urban island a more complex and more effective gesture than one on the edge or in the middle of an already natural surrounding - the condition of a majority of park space/land in the United States? This question makes me think of Stanely Park in Vancouver, a park I know very well. Although a gorgeous and important civic (sort of) space, I always secretly wished it contained more 'designed' urban park elements simply because of the 5 minutes away availability of the type of 'wild' open space it mimics on the North Shore.

The tour was enjoyable and as a finale we were ushered into a room that houses the original 10' long, hand drawn site plan of the park. Of course it was cool to see, but I have to admit I was more intrigued by a clock that hung above the door:



















At first I assumed it to be counting down the days until George Bush leaves office - a very logical assumption. But no. It is a countdown, to the second when Mayor Bloomberg leaves office. The clock, which apparently exists in every city office that has anything to do with parks, open space, public space, is a reminder of the fear of the unknown successor to the 'green' friendly Bloomberg administration. The open and public spaces of New York City have not received as much support, perhaps ever, from a city mayor. And people are working like crazy to accomplish many things before that clock runs out. 801 days left - most of which I plan to spend contributing to this effort.