Parking Garage Improvements

This afternoon I visited Westfield Century City and was greeted by the first useful improvement to a parking structure since painted lines. Above each space was a gleaming LED light in either green or red. Red means the space is occupied. Green means the space is available. I could see this light array from everywhere in the garage. In addition to the lights, an LED screen next to the entrance displayed the number of open spaces, however this was not nearly a helpful as the direct connection between the colored light over a space. If your goal is to make a pleasurable visitor experience - improvements to your first interaction, entering the garage and finding a space, is a great place to start.

Chinese Gardens at The Huntington

I visited the Huntington in San Marino this morning and found the Chinese Garden had fallen victim to what looked like a drunken sea captain's mishap with his oil tanker. I was assured it was naturally occuring biological sludge that had collected due to an underpowered filtering system. Apparently there is a beautiful lake there on every other day except the day I was there.

Aside from the smell of decaying algae and near 100 degree temps., the garden did a great job of blurring the line between authentic and synthetic. Brilliantly hand laid stones and impeccable attention to every kind of detail is a testament to the level of commitment to capturing the essence of a Chinese Chinese Garden. Some material choices - like plastic columns - and a general impossible freshness to these "old-looking" structures reminded me that I was in a re-creation and that it is impossible to truly re-create something.

I wonder if hinting at the idea of a re-creation with references and abstractions and allowing a visitor to use their imagination to tell a story is more rewarding than making a precise model that stands in for the original?