***

Many towns, villages, and universities have some kind of tower placed towards at center of the community. These towers tend to have a clock on them, and in some cases, (especially true for the older towers) they would have chimes on them. We explore the experience that clock towers give which makes them popular.

In a large enough community, people will most probably not know everyone else in the community. If people do not know each other, the community will not be so close. Relationships in the neighborhood will be tenser. People coming back from work will not feel "at home" until they are within their actual homes. It is desirable for the entire place feel homely. This attractive feature makes people want to stay. It will also liven up the community, making the place generally a better place to be.

We need something that would pull these people together. Such a "building" should be prominent, standing tall and firm among the community and be proud of its own existence. It should give a sense of strength, so that people can spiritually rely on the building. This "building", being so prominent within the community, will also naturally render itself as a waiting place.

A tower, clearly, meets the attractive qualities mentioned above. A clock tower offers something in addition. It further pulls the community together as a unity by exploring the fourth dimension -- time. The clock sits high and firm, giving a sense of power and leadership. The time that the clock face tells is the time that the community goes by. This is particularly true in the old days when not every household has a clock. With the clock sitting in the divine sky, it becomes less clear whether it is the rising and falling sun, or the clock itself that is driving Time.

A clock tower with chimes stimulates yet another sensory factor -- our hearing. The chimes being struck at the start and end of the day further imposes the forces of Time. Furthermore, the sounds that travel from the clock tower to fill the air wraps the entire community into one unity, giving it a warm, homecoming feeling. It is also this sound and melody that people remembers in the back of their heads, and when played again later in time, trigger trains of memories.

There are many clock towers, large or small, in European towns and villages. The clock tower shown in the opening photo is the McGraw Tower at Cornell University, NY. The existence of such towers provides social flue for the community. It helps enormously to increase the identity of a neighborhood.

The ingredients of a successful clock tower seem to be:

1. It is taller then most, if not all, other buildings in the community. This height may be attained either from the construct itself, or from choosing a location where there is a slight rise in slope.
2. It is placed towards the center of the community. This would further support the idea that is important.
3. There is a clock face on all four sides of the tower, so one can "see" the Time that is leading the community from all directions.
4. Chimes on the clock are struck at a regular basis several times a day. Most effective clock towers will choose a melody that "represents" the community.
5. There is some form of open area around the tower, whether people can gather for activities, wait for friends, etc.
6. Major passageways passes through this open area associated with the tower. Thie encourages the following scenario: people bump into an acquaintance or two, they can stand and chat for a short while before moving on.

When these conditions are present, the clock tower offers something unique to the people in the community that it leads.

Therefore:

Encourage a clock tower to be built in a large community. Place it at the center of the community and make it prominent. Ensure that there is an open area immediately surrounding the tower and allow major passageways to meet there. Use the chimes.