a conversation about space - physical and virtual - how it shapes our interactions and how our interactions shape it
17 Feb
To the risk of putting myself on the wrong side of the architectural profession (to which I also belong), I’ll say that home isn’t about walls (brick and mortars, prefab…) and openings. It is about people’s (ritualized or memorable) interaction with architectural elements. You would recognize a place as a home, less because of the fact that an architectural element has a particular attribute, for example a window placed in a particular space, but because one has a particular interaction with it, for example looking out of a window waiting for a particular person to come by. Sure, you could talk about that particular space’s affordance, a space provoking a behavior or the fact that a house was made according to a particular/personal program (hence a tight involvement with the making process and materiality). But think about Eileen Gray’s E-1027 house and Le Corbusier’s obsession to possess it. Home making articulates around the possession and dispossession of space. I’ve been researching home making when one spends shorter periods in different spaces (what is home when on the move?). One feels the need to adapt swiftly to spaces or denies it. The artist Do Hu Suh, places LA-Seoul home in abstract spaces, a way to create a comfort zone. It is a lighter building to transport than a home. The making process (sewn by old Korean ladies) along with the shape (the replica of a traditional Korean house) is a representation of home. The act of placing it in a foreign (less comfortable) space is home making. When assessing belongings, one assesses home, which in fact isn’t about a shell, but the evolving collection of things and recollections. Rambling. Moving… How much space does home take.
3 Responses for "Is home a spatial matter?"
Relevant to your question is the work of architects who see themselves not as designing buildings, but see their work as concerned with institutions and practices.
I met a fascinating and inspiring architect yesterday, Inderpaul Johar, who co-founded a practice in London called 00. He told me about their work which is often urging clients that they need to think about designing/creating/enabling sustainable communities for and with whom value is co-created through buildings and other resources. As I understood his work, it was about designing institutions as much as physical locations, and learning from historical examples how such forms and practices stabilise. We are looking forward to work together in some way.
Here’s him doing a quick explanation
http://www.thersa.org/fellowship/meet-a-fellow/fellows/inderpaul-johar
I completely agree about this non-”physical” definition of home, or where the material objects define home through the memories, practices, and emotions associated to it (the little madeleine once again seems a relevant reference for this reflection on home).
I already mentioned Pico Iyer but I think this question about home is so central to his work that I had to refer to him again.
I love the work by Do-Ho Suh. In fact, we had looked at his use of fabrics while exploring different materials with Aileen… and now we’re coming to him but because of the question he explores.
Another artist work that your comment made me think of is Claudia Conduto’s work on what is home” http://whatishomecconduto.blogspot.com/
also an interesting reflection from Bettina Wind inspired by Claudia’s question: http://convidada.blogspot.com/
Lucy,
thanks for the link to Inderpaul Johar’s video. Fascinating! As you might guess I really like what he said about socio-technical practices, the importance to take into account the context, the behaviors, the practices in order to be able to create change… and of course I couldn’t agree more with what he said about the collaboration and the lack of clear output!
a really interesting person. I’m sure you can come up with an exciting project. If you need another collaborator, let me know!
al
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