The year of Kong

20 Dec 2011

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'Kong’ is the character that defines 2011, according to a survey conducted across China by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Each year the survey asks Chinese people to pick the character that most defines the past year, and this was their choice for 2011. The basic meaning of ‘kong’ is ‘control’, and it has related meanings including ‘to rein in’ or ‘to draw back’. Chinese words can also carry the meaning of foreign words that are near-homophones, so ‘kong’ also means ‘complex’, as in a single-minded focus on something.  So, if the Chinese have had a ‘kong’ year, what about us?

As for the wider world, perhaps, as Chairman Mao said of the French Revolution – it is much too early to tell. In some respects, we have had a thoroughly un-kong year as long-established systems have been tossed to the four winds with scarcely a second thought. The new philosophy of localism and the big society began to take effect in 2011 – first the planning system was broken up in Northern Ireland and the proposed NPPF in England will have a similar effect once it comes into force. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the government’s statutory adviser, was shut down, and design quality was left to developers and planning authorities to sort out as best they can. 

In other respects, 2011 has been a classic vintage year for kong in the UK. It began with the government attempting to de-kong the forests, which were then re-konged by popular demand. There was a great deal of kong on the 2012 Olympic site, an enormous landscape-led project. As a result, it was delivered on time, on budget, with no major contractual disputes and a carbon footprint about 50 per cent lower than conventional. The Chief Construction Adviser announced that all public construction contracts will require BIM compliance by 2015, driving major technology change forward by central command.  

The Chinese survey does not ask people to forecast the year to come, so we don’t yet know which character will sum up 2012. However, the good news is that 2012 is the year of the water-dragon in the Chinese zodiac. Dragons symbolise character traits like passion, determination, fearlessness and ambition. Dragons are creative leaders, expressive, and inspiring to others. The water-dragon which governs 2012 also has the particular characteristics of maintaining calm and being able to see things from other peoples’ point of view.  They don’t always have to be right. They often succeed by involving others in decisions.  

So if you are a landscape architect born in 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952 or 1940, 2012 could be a really fantastic year for you, because next year will be the one in which your inborn characteristics can most readily flourish. If you are not lucky enough to be born in a water-dragon year, you’ll just have to make the best of things with the rest of us. But then maybe the water-dragons around us will help lead the way.

Best wishes to all for a happy and prosperous New Year.

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