“A Memory Point Could Be The Tipping Point”

By: PJ Littleton

“Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” – Walt Disney

Memories, good or bad, can be highly evocative, so it’s vital that we honor the mental phenomenon of a memory and just what it might stir in us. Obviously, to elicit a positive memory response, we must present a consistently favorable thought process toward those we aim to charm by conjuring or triggering good, vivid memories.

Exemplary features and profound experiences that are unanticipated and pleasantly surprising to our discerning psyche are the impetus for positive memory points. As a developer of both chic and contemporary mixed-use high rise communities and timeless, heirloom traditional neighborhoods, Southern Land Company has always been committed to stretching the imagination beyond the mundane to reach the sublime. No detail is too small. No detail is insignificant. Nothing is accidental.

To share what we’ve learned about memory points, Insights will begin a four-part series to unpack some of the key inspirational and intrinsic qualities that can be the catalyst for memory-making in our enacted spaces. We will visit Community/Town Planning, Architectural Design, Horticultural Design and Home Features/Amenities & Activities and learn how their memory points coalesce to create a “sense of place” and a soulful home.

Singer/songwriter and wanderlust Jimmy Buffett once sang, “Don’t try to describe the ocean if you’ve never seen it.” He understood the breadth and majesty of the ocean’s awesome splendors to the brink of indescribable. So, it’s incumbent upon the presenter to understand the hows, whos, whats and whys of whatever it is that he/she is tasked to entice.

In the establishment of “placemaking,” Traditional Neighborhood Development practitioners reference attributes in terms of “sense of place.” The collective of all that envelopes us and our souls in these settings is where memories surface and begin to influence the experience. It is here that we have arrived on the shores, having moved fond and familiar images to the forefront of our minds. This is where we become immersed, dwell and remember.

An exuberant and passionate demeanor is palpable and contagious and will almost always engage your audience to begin embracing the notion that something special if not unique may be about to happen. The rest manifests in the details ceremoniously unveiled and stirred by the senses; the sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch. Walt Disney recognized the significance of this amalgamation in the pleasantries of the human experience and created his own special elixir that intoxicates us in the vastness of the parking lot even before we pass through his gates to the “happiest place on earth.”