Inside Planned Parenthood Golden Gate’s building design
I love architectural design, and I love finding everything out about Planned Parenthood I can.
So today when I stumbled on 2 architect’s videos discussing design of a PP facility, I felt like I’d won the “lot-to,” as Chicago politician Mel Reynolds would say.
Friend John forwarded me a link to these videos, posted recently on the McGraw-Hill Construction Home Library website, about the 2003 remodel of 1 of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate’s 7k sq ft Oakland, CA’s, mills.
The first thing that jumped out from watching the videos was totally unrelated and cracked me up. I immediately recognized PPGG CEO Dian Harrison as the inspiration for the heroine of PPGG’s ill-conceived (pardon the pun) 2005 viral cartoon, “A superhero for choice.” The cartoon starred PPGG “Dionysus,” who drowned, blew up, and decapitated pro-lifers.
Of course MSM ignored PPGG’s cartooned penchant for violence, although were pro-lifers ever to produce such a video, Oh. My. Goodness. That said, PPGG quickly felt enough pressure to remove it. (But through the wonders of the Internet, pro-lifers have preserved the classy toon for posterity.)
But I digress. In the architectural video Dionysus Dian mentioned the abortion mill “happens to be located in a medically underserved community.” Architect Anne Fougeron said the mill served “underprivileged women.” Surprise, surprise.
Also, one of the goals stated was to create a “joyful space,” a tall order for a place that kills babies. At the Fougeron website additional goals sited were “peaceful design” and “the impression of openness and light.” The “fun” jars of condoms – nice touch.
Sarcasm aside, there is always much to learn from PP’s marketing and money management strategies, as I did by watching these videos.
[Photo via Fougeron]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
The empty pot they kept showing – outside behind a glass wall- said it all. And then the comment about it.
wow. WOW.
Everyone- I repeat: EVERYONE- needs to watch “A Superhero for Choice.”
I was rolling and my eyes were watering I was laughing so hard. My stomach hurts now. That is just too funny…
Words cannot describe.
Vannah,
I just watched it. Call me a stick-in-the-mud, but I was disgusted throughout the whole thing. It was overloaded with offensive remarks. I wasn’t amused, but hey, that’s just me.
Who was the naked senator with the apple in his mouth supposed to be?
I don’t know who the senator is supposed to be. I just laughed. :)
They hit about every inaccurate cliche that they could though, didn’t they? Man, they put out a lot of propaganda- every day, in fact- so I would have assumed by now that they would be at least partly competent about it. The not-so-subtle attempt that it was, I think, was what made me laugh. I couldn’t take it seriously, but I definitely can see how you would find it offensive.
Where to even begin… :)
Look at the comments posted on youtube about the ‘cartoon’,too. Doesn’t sound like anybody was too impressed with it…GOOD! :)
Yes, yes, I remember the offensive violent cartoon suggesting violence would be a super cool way to deal with the pro-lifers. It was actually ON Planned Parenthood’s web site, wasn’t it? Abortion IS violence & they are quite comfortable with that. The design, where do I begin? The blood red color on one of the walls, or the empty pot with no purpose whatsoever except to suggest that the women will not only experience emptiness but may come to embrace it? No, no, here it is: Number 1!: Good design is good “BU$INE$$”! Number 2: The empty pot. Number 3: The disgusting floors of other clinics that they hope to avoid. Number 4: They would like us to think they put in all kinds of security features for procedures such as pap-smears. Number 5: They hope turn it into a light fun, joyful space (nice try). Number 6: “Serving” the disadvantaged by taking their children, often through painful dangerous surgery. Number 7: The blood red wall. Number 8: The condom jar to reinforce the idea they can have sex without serious consequences, that the STD they just contracted or the abortion they are about to have are anomalies within a lifestyle of indiscriminate sex. Number 9: Pretend it’s all about the “young women” they process through there. NOPE, It’s #uno baby!: Bu$ine$$!
Vannah,
When I first watched it, the Senator bore a striking resemblance (teeth & hair) to Ted Kennedy. I thought maybe his “past” before being thrown into the witches brew was his pro-life stance. Then, after he came out and “saw the light”, he was a full-blown pro-abort. Other things about that made me think it wasn’t, though, so that’s why I asked who you thouht it was.
The definitely hit every cliche…you are right about that! I feel sorry for them, though. I truly do. What on earth is their obsession with condoms?
Just my opinion, but the lips and the accent of the ‘senator’…Jimmy Carter ????
In the time it took you to watch that disgusting cartoon, about thirty or so babies were aborted around the world.
You found a pro-abort “superhero” cuddling a little baby while in the same breath preaching about how great abortion was FUNNY? Seriously?
Can I say sick? I don’t think a lot of the people who laughed understood exactly what this represents. Tearing apart little babies is never, ever funny, and no part of its advocation is, no matter how retarded it is. In fact, the very stupidity of it mocks us, because surprise, surprise, they’re still winning, aren’t they?
I thought “Ted Kennedy,” too, once he started talking and she called him senator. Prior to that I thought that it was a poor representation of Bush. But I didn’t want to picture either man like that (to be frank, I don’t want to picture anyone like that, no matter where they stand on abortion; that’s just beyond decency), especially given that Kennedy recently died.
Abel, I didn’t think that they themselves were funny. I thought that the fact that they actually took this seriously was funny. I’ve never found abortion humorous in the least, but there was something so absurd about this blatant stab at propaganda that was really, really, uh…dumb that made me laugh.
Actually, if it makes you feel better, I was really pissed at their depiction of the Ethiopians. That could just be me. I admit: I’m extremely paranoid of racism. And so sometimes I tend to think too much about something that could have been- well, not harmless, but not racist. To me, it seemed wrong on so many levels the way that they showed the Africans, but, again, I could have just been paranoid because when they rejoiced at blowing people up with condom bombs, boiled a senator and depicted him naked with an apple, and drowned some psycho talking to these kids on a street corner (who, apparently, represented the typical American parent who doesn’t want his or her child doing something foolish as opposed to something more productive), I was left with a general attitude of:
“Bring it on.”
So I could just be sensitive about racism. Am I the only one who found that racist? If I am then, yes, I was definitely just on edge, but I try to find something good in the bleak. Even in the depths of their intolerance, they somehow managed to come up with that brainchild, which, though not good, definitely put it all in focus for me.
I don’t think that they’ll win, Abel, or that they are winning. As long as people have that hope that things get better in any circumstance in any place in the world, we have a shot. Was it Martin Luther King, Jr. who said that good always triumphs over evil? I think so (well, lots of people have said that, but anyways…).
All of these children will have justice. :)
Well then, if they have that kind of money to spend to elegantly decorate, then why don’t they put their money where their mouth is and start putting more money, time, and effort towards support services for women who are pregnant and have chosen to carry to term, not just for abortion and contraceptiom.
Is it just me or is this more frightening than Nazi deathcamps. Murder shrouded by fresh paint, a serene garden, interior lighting, and some pots. Is that the front desk that looks like a cafe? Yes, I’ll have a non-fat latte, with an abortion the side.
I think the condom jars should showcase the babies they just murdered that morning. Show what they are really doing at these mills. Just sick.
When these young girls walk out of there without their babies, the facade will slip away very quickly. Under all the gloss and “fun” colors you can’t hide the sin.
oh that video was classic, just ‘awesome’.
How old is the PP cartoon video again because whoever produced it made it look baadd!?
Amen Burning Woman!
Somewhere in that bright, beautiful building there must be adoption referral services!! Somewhere over the rainbow….I’ll keep looking.
HOW do they help a young woman who is pregnant, alone and broke but DOESN’T want an abortion?
Exactly, Carla! That’s what I was saying.
And as for that horribly cheesey “A Superhero for Choice” video, if we were to put out a video like that, they’d all be up in arms at the perceived threat of pro-life violence from the video. But when they put out a video depicting the PPGG director drowning “evil” pro-lifers in astro-glide and decapitating them with condoms, it’s ok, after all it’s just fantasy
…visions of violence towards pro-lifers, and they scoff we need a sense of humor. Ah the hypocrasy.
Somewhere in that bright, beautiful building there must be adoption referral services!!
Great idea, but personally, I wouldn’t set my foot in that building for all the tea in China. Death lurks there.
The architect commented that before this project, she had never worked on a healthcare facility before.
Someone needs to tell her that she still hasn’t worked on a healthcare facility. Abortion is not healthcare.
I know, Janet. We all know that choice is really only about one choice. Kill the child and wound the mother for profit.