Uniformity
Uniformity. My new preferred word for describing a public space. Bear with me, while I try to clarify.
One of the great movements in my life has been the way that people have stepped up to make getting around easier for a designated minority. Not everyone comes with the usual “tools” for navigating spaces. Yes, I am thinking of people with various mobility and vision issues.
Last evening, I went out to a restaurant. Unfamiliar. I cannot confirm that the company was actually involved in designing labyrinths, but serving food and liquor was a profitable sideline. Assuming you got through the man-trap serving as a front door (three doors, set at angles), you were inside. There were tables, and chairs and so much more.
In my case I was fascinated by the stairways (decidedly not wells) with random step heights and widths and colors. Not one step edge marked by anything other than best wishes. To the person that decorated handrails with garlands of tinsel; you left me speechless and short of breath. Panic attacks. Did I fall down the stairs? No. I have mountain goats somewhere in my family tree.
The custom of dimming the lights when people are dining is a polite nod to candles. We don’t use those, any more. Ergo, neither should we play with those fancy dimmer switches.
As I wandered the maze of twisty passages, I did not get too lost. Or disoriented. No beer ballet. And I had friends that did come and rescue me before I found a broom closet or a cellar. This was an old building. Dating back to Victorian times. I think it serves as a warehouse. The repurposing might have seems like a great thought to someone (beer ballet?) but going forward, could we finish the retrofit. Step markings. Lights down by the floor level. Door markings that did not need decoding with a bright light (I didn’t have one). Will I be back? Oh, please, no. The company (friends) were fine. The food was good. But getting around the place (in the dark); challenging. On so many levels.
