One of our clients is in the process of creating an Imagine Room. This is a space for an organization to join together with prospective donors to imagine how a future facility could look and feel. “Feel” is an important piece of the experience. Buildings evoke moods and associations. A new facility represents a new chapter, new opportunities, new experiences. The Imagine Room gives a small taste of the new possible future.
Today, as I was preparing to meet with them, it struck me how rare it is that we truly get a clean slate. How often to you get to design a space from scratch that tells the story of who you are, but more importantly, who you’re going to be?
When I returned home, I did a slow turn around my living room, wondering what the objects and the overall room says about me. There’s a story behind every single thing: the coffee table my Dad made for me, the couch that was the first piece of “grown-up” furniture I bought for myself, the chair my friends couldn’t fit on the moving truck, the painting a friend had commissioned for my birthday.
Each of these things says something about me. I chose them. I arranged them. If I had to start over again and create a room to imagine my future, what would I keep to represent my past? What would I eliminate to give myself a clean slate?
My photos of the Imagine Room will be featured in an upcoming post on my professional blog at donorbydesign.com.