Martha Stewart Living
In an article for Wired Magazine, Rem Koohlass and Beatriz Colomina interviewed Martha Stewart to ask her thoughts on topics centered around the home.
“There is isolation between houses in the suburbs. The homes I like the best are totally occupied, busy, and useful, whether it's a tiny little house or a great big one, but rarely do you find a great big house that's used in a good way. So I prefer smaller spaces that are full of books, full of things that people are doing.”
She goes on to talk about how all of the homes that she owns and decorates are no more than 2-3 rooms. She refers to each of these homes as a laboratory that she gets to experiment with. They are small and full of life and activity.
This topic was interesting to me because it made me think about what 2-3 spaces I would want to see in my own home. What scale they would be at. What features they would possess. What would be the site context of the spaces. By limiting the idea to 2-3 spaces, it actually did the opposite. I felt that I could combine programs and uses of a space to work for tasks or pleasures I would enjoy in my own home and then the possibilities became endless.
Consider, if you were confined to 2-3 spaces, what would those spaces look like?
Although I love the sentiment and the ability to romanticize your own space, I see it as a failure of this week's topic and attitude towards thought on the subject of urban sprawl.
ReplyDeleteThe intention I believe was to put forth questions and answers into solving the problems talked about in the article caused by urban sprawl.
For me, that includes this isolation factor. What exactly about isolation should be included in design. We have talked at nauseum around the suburbs and their need for a rehabilitation. The isolation is so much more than geographic, it is delusional and caused by mental space as much as physical. This is where I would start.
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteThis idea would be great for a studio prompt. I think for me I'd want my three spaces to be a screened porch, the forest, and a bathroom. A house completely dissolved into nature, and completely unassuming, with a comfortable place to bathe and, you know, relieve myself.