Hi dear Doug, Well, your question reminds me of hearing friends talk about architect Christopher Alexander's work, in which he emphasizes that "space must be considered an almost living entity – a kind of stuff which, depending on the recursive structures that are built up in it, becomes progressively more and more alive."
So that space can be more alive or less alive. I haven't read Alexander's 4-Volume "The Nature of Order" yet, and so I don't know what "these fifteen properties" are - but this quote from a book review makes me want to read it and find out!: "Systems in space which have these fifteen properties to a strong degree will be alive, and the more these properties are present, the more the systems which contain them will tend to be alive." http://natureoforder.com/overview.htm love & blessings, Christy On 5/5/09, douglas germann <76066....@compuserve.com> wrote: > > Hi space dancers: > > Recently someone pointed us to a poem about how open spaces are > necessary for a fire. It has had me pondering. > > At first I said, Sure, she is speaking of oxygen. Fires need oxygen. Now > I am not so sure that is what she meant, or at least what is true. So I > am asking you my friends, what you have observed. > > Just how important is the physical space for opening space? I am not > talking about amenities like chairs and windows and air, nor about the > exact number of square meters needed per person (this is cultural: some > cultures want to be close enough to feel each other's breath; some want > more distance). In Open Space Online we have a metaphorical space for > our chats; in face to face, we have that physical space. Is that space > in the center of the circle a separate, unnoticed but essential, element > in conversation? > > The flames need to lick upwards, the heat needs someplace to go, the > light needs to escape. The betweens are necessary to give birth to the > what and who is emerging from our collective. What is the role of space? > > :- Doug. > > * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
