Mission part 2

In order to consider where we are going we examine our memories of where we have been. We need to make sense of, and get pleasure from, the unexpected by reference to the already understood and enjoyed. New architecture can only make sense by reference to past experiences and future hopes. If its meaning has to be explained it has missed the boat. Somehow the meaning and the value of new architecrture has to be apparent without justification. We would argue that it can only do this by making the observer feel part of a benign physical and social universe.	Barcelona
It is reassuring that most adults, even those without children, enjoy the seaside. Humans seem to gravitate towards the parts of the world where the artificial melts away and is replaced by the natural world of tides and storms and the submarine; perhaps because because these things intrigue us and challenge our imagination. Paradoxically the seaside is also very calming. It invites play and pointless behaviour.	Barcelona
Equally many of us can also enjoy cities with generous public spaces, particularly cities with historic, usually mediaeval centres, and renaissance parks and gardens. Moreover we enjoy such experiences most acutely when in the company of others, both friends and strangers.	Venice
It seems that whatever our creed or skin or age or social status almost all of us are able to enjoy much of the natural and artificial environment if we feel we ‘belong’ in it. This joy seems to transcend religious and political conventions and provides a strong impetus to social cohesion in place of social deprivation and division and extremism.	The Bromley-by-Bow Centre
Imagine walking along the ocean’s edge, listening to the waves, seeing our footprints in the sand and contemplating the distant watery horizon of the 2/3 of the surface of spaceship earth that isn’t land. This is an experience that is common to most inhabitants of this island and which few would deny their fellow men and women. We feel both comfort and awe, our senses at once challenging and asserting our sense of self, of being.	Venice