Why does everything have to be dumbed down? Going on holiday meant that I had a TV. I watched it for a while, once I’d worked out how to switch it on. It’s been at least 15 years. I’m horrified at how programmes and most particularly adverts are designed to factor to the lowest common denominator. I had to switch it off & get out. Portmeirion has long been on my wish list of places to visit. I love the eccentric collection of buildings quirkily constructed on the edge of a magnificent estuary. Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’s legacy was proving that a “beautiful site can be developed without spoiling it”. It’s a superb example of this. The heart of my inner unfledged property developer flutters with excitement. The romanticism of the architecture, the colourful array of styles of the buildings is intriguing. I love seeing the interplay of lines created by spiralling steps leading to the very erect uprights of walls set into the rugged cliff face. Interesting sculptures stand tall on monumental plinths, intricate plantings & clever landscaping sympathetically enhance the natural lay of the land. Despite this I felt disturbed & irritated. On arrival the ticket seller had given me a map to find gifts & food. She described the place as a holiday park. The buildings each had a story & yet I have no idea what they might be. The guide book only appeared as I was leaving. Too much information is dumbed down, made small and insignificant. How are we to effect massive change if we treat our society as mindless idiots? How can Williams-Ellis’s message be heard if we only feed visitors ice creams & treat them like fools? Where are the architects conferences? Developer workshops? Planning seminars? Creative retreats? How can we make the massive shifts we need to stop climate change, support humanity, eradicate poverty? How are we to protect the very environment we need to survive, if we behave as if the worlds’ population is too stupid to get it? We can do better. . . . #portmerion #nottoostupid #effectingchange #change #itsnecessarytochange #climatechange #architecture #environment https://www.instagram.com/p/CU16ocjIvGk/?utm_medium=tumblr
