Read the venue the way a soldier reads terrain.

technique — attributed to Andrew Roby

The discipline borrowed from chemical and biological response training is practical. Where will people enter? Where might the flow break down? What logistical risks could disrupt the experience before anyone notices the disruption? The room is studied before any design is imposed on it, the way a unit studies a building schematic before clearing it. Elegant plans still depend on flawless execution, and execution depends on the geography being understood first.

The pre-design discipline for any planner whose first instinct is to default to the venue's standard layout.

site-survey, operational-discipline, military-thinking, venue-analysis