Embracing the Messiness of Everyday Life
There always seems to be a clash between architects and their users on the grounds on the reality of the life within the spaces. In the beginning of the semester, when we discussed Eisenmen we laughed at how he would photograph his buildings with no occupants right after it was built. While it seems ridiculous, I have worked for a few firms that also preached taking pictures of a new building before the user gets settled in. One interior design-build firm would take out all of client’s belongings and stage the kitchen with their own and even go as far as photoshop out the artwork on the walls to match the aesthetic. If you’re not designing for the client and their tastes, who are you actually designing for? I think we know the answer to this as most significant houses of the last century are usually followed by a huge clash (maybe even a lawsuit) between the client and architect as the architect designs what they want regardless. (cough, cough, Farnsworth House).
With this in mind, I was struck by Sanaa’s gritty images of the Moriyama House. Most designers would balk at someone in flip-flops standing next to their building or showcasing a kitchen full of clutter and looking well, lived-in. Nishizawa’s plans even embrace this notion of the space being occupied by real people as even the plan shows knickknacks and objects thrown about, even a sweater draped over a bed. He obviously understood his user and used his architecture to complement their life, rather than prescribe certain behaviors. Architecture mainly focuses on strategies (long term goals) and we get blinded by the reality of tactics that undercut them. Nishizawa acknowledges the tactics (day to day choices) of the user and designs with them.
The Moriyama house embraces the messiness of everyday life and celebrates it by creating spaces for mingling and living. The concept of a “village in the forest” behind the house is beautiful as the five mini houses create a semi-communal lifestyle. The humble minimalism is sensitive as no openings face directly face another creating privacy, yet the composition of the structures encourages occupants to move about, cross thresholds and step outside. As Moriyami has put it, “This space gives you the freedom to do anything you like, and it makes you want to.” Who wouldn’t want a house that gave you possibilities?
Cora, I love your post and how you put it together. "Messiness" AND architecture, what a beautiful thing to contemplate. Humans beings with their imperfections and the beauty of how every single one of us create their own spaces whether at home or at a college dorm again is a reminder that we are "messy" yes we are and that is what makes spaces more interesting. My question after looking at the House above was "what if the circulation was public?" Can you imagine what it would be like, the barriers that would be broken and the beauty of it. Of course, privacy matter but talking about "messiness" and rethinking how it can reinforce the way we design the spaces we want to call home is one big step that should be approached with care and uncommonality. I like the design of this house and how it creates layers that connect it to the street, the earth, and the sky. It is beautiful, but then I think, one thing the architect has failed to address was to rethink circulation through the uncomfortable/comfortable interaction between the home owner and his/her neighbors. Design at the end of the day should raise more questions and break more barriers as much as it is reinforcing them.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post and i really, really love this project. When I first saw it i wondered if i could ever get used to the tiny-compound-style layout of it, but now that I spend almost all of my time in a non-climate controlled detached shed in my backyard i'm confident that i could. just took a couple of weeks to get used to it. do you ever read Apartamento? i like it a lot because it's kind of just people's spaces like this, documented about as honestly as one can document the home of a person knowing they're going to have their IRL apartment photographed.
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