Real-Life Communication
A giant grocer has just bought a historic downtown train station
that's no longer in use. It plans to convert the main structure to a mall,
build on a new supermarket and lease the additional space to smaller stores.
Heritage
activists are fuming. They're angry that the city chose to sell the station
to the highest bidder. And they're worried about what shape the new mega-structure
may take.
As an independent building heritage specialist, you find
yourself caught in the middle. While you know and sympathize with many of
the activists, you worked as a consultant on the project's winning bid.
You
feel satisfied that the architect's plan does justice to the building's past.
For example, the exterior of the new supermarket has been carefully designed
to complement the station's, while the atmosphere of the original concourse
has largely been preserved.
It's natural, you wrote in your report,
for a building to change as its function changes. The activists know this,
too, and you believe they would be more accepting of the project if they were
included as part of the decision-making process.
You recommend that
their suggestions be considered and possibly incorporated into a revised version
of the plan.
Both the architect and its grocer client like the idea.
They ask you to serve as liaison. Though you have misgivings, you eventually
agree.
Building heritage specialists think of communication skills
as tools of the trade. "Sometimes architectural abilities are the least of
it!" says building heritage specialist Barbara Campagna.
Your first
challenge is to approach the president of the local historical society, who's
been spearheading protests over the sale of the station. As prominent members
of the society, you both know and respect each other. But he doesn't know
yet that you're working on this project.
You decide it's important
to initiate contact with a personal phone call. How will you handle it?