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As one who has been accustomed to work with institutions serving three or four thousand and more patients, I am fully -- indeed painfully -- aware of the tremendous problems which face us in accomplishing the needed readjustments.

One of the members of the Conference mentioned to me last night how necessities brought on by an extremely sparsely populated area forced his office to design a small modest living unit for no more than seven retarded individuals -- and these seven constitute the entire institutional population.

As I listened to him, I wondered whether it would not be these small units (and of course they do not have to be quite that small) which can help us to return institutional living to something which bears greater resemblance with common human existence, and provide us with basic patterns of group living which can be adapted in larger institutions.

I realize, of course, how much in some of the countries here represented the regimented routines in our regimented buildings go back to regimentation from a distant bureaucracy that clings to out dated concepts, bases its judgements on outdated information, and prevents the use of modern building concepts and materials.

Having spent a good part of my professional life as a State bureaucrat, who had to formulate and enforce rules and regulations, I am well aware of the tremendous force of inertia one can here encounter. Therefore, I hope this Conference will not neglect to discuss international aspects of the effects of State rules and regulations pertaining to construction, fire prevention, etc., for buildings for residential use or for day care or instructional purposes.

This would appear to be an area where international exchange of information would be particularly important, because certainly for once we should not hear the objection "but things are different in our country -- we have a different culture" because fire resistancy should be a more objective, generally applicable criterion.

Certainly, I do not want to press this aspect as a matter of priority in our discussion, but neither should we lose sight of it, as it unfortunately happens all too often.

Altogether, I do hope that this first international exchange on architectural planning in mental retardation will be followed by some international action. It is for this reason that I am most appreciative of the presence here of several international organizations. Usually on occasions like this one can expect a friendly greeting by wire -- but today we have with us the Presidents of the two voluntary international organizations working in this field, the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency and the International League of Societies for the Mentally Handicapped. We certainly hope that they will feel stimulated to seek further contacts with the International Union of Architects which has sent here an official observer, but which is of course represented also by many of the architects who are participating in this meeting.

Some of you may wonder why we have no one from the United Nations agencies here with us. So do I. We sent invitations both to the European and to the main office of the World Health Organization, but they could not arrange to be represented. This is doubly regrettable since during a symposium called a few years ago by the European Office of the World Health Organization the question of architectural planning for buildings serving emotionally ill, maladjusted, and mentally retarded children was pointed up as a particularly pressing need.

However, I am sure that the International Organizations here represented will -- on the basis of the findings of this Conference, persuade the various UN agencies that within their broad interests in the fields of health, education welfare and rehabilitation, the challenge to architecture in the field of mental retardation should find a place.