Donald Judd, Untitled (6 units; 83-1 Ballantine), 1993
Donald Judd, Untitled, Copper, Ten Units, 1969
Cardboard model of 'column of domesticity'
12 years ago
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Interior Landscapes
The following are quotes that I found interesting and thought provoking from the book Interior Landscapes.
"... is based on the realization that the designer, or the householder, who wants to think about how a home ought to be made is faced by a particular difficulty today: on the one hand, the multiplicity of models; on the other, the absence of any sort of absolute model in the field of housing." pg. 7
"Ever since the well-known "Weimar Week" at the Bauhaus in 1923, dealing with the problem of the house, and the exhibitions of prototypes for living cells staged by Milan Triennale in ParcoSempione in the thirties, exhibitions on the home have almost always presented the public with a vision of models that could in ideal fashion "become the starting-point for mass production". We say 'ideal' because in reality this did not happen, demonstrating just how difficult it is to treat the home as an industrial product like the motor-car." pg. 7
"... is based on the realization that the designer, or the householder, who wants to think about how a home ought to be made is faced by a particular difficulty today: on the one hand, the multiplicity of models; on the other, the absence of any sort of absolute model in the field of housing." pg. 7
"Ever since the well-known "Weimar Week" at the Bauhaus in 1923, dealing with the problem of the house, and the exhibitions of prototypes for living cells staged by Milan Triennale in ParcoSempione in the thirties, exhibitions on the home have almost always presented the public with a vision of models that could in ideal fashion "become the starting-point for mass production". We say 'ideal' because in reality this did not happen, demonstrating just how difficult it is to treat the home as an industrial product like the motor-car." pg. 7
The house of mankind - Mario Bellini
Walter Benjamin noted that "the original form of any mode of dwelling is that of living, not in a house, but in a shell. This bears the mark of inhabitant. The dwelling turns into a shell." pg. 9
Benjamin - "the 20th century with its porosity, its transparency and it bias towards light and open air put an end to dwelling in the old sense of the word." pg. 21
"Today, exhibitions on the home no longer offer futuristic or speculative metaphors, but the realization - already accomplished - of life in space: private telecommunications, robots and transformation of the two-rooms-and-a-kitchen into an orbital satellite." pg. 15
C.E. Gadda - "the house of today, the reformed house, the transformed house is impotent to preserve and defend its residents and their nerves from the outrageous strain ('of modern life')." pg. 16
Benjamin - "the 20th century with its porosity, its transparency and it bias towards light and open air put an end to dwelling in the old sense of the word." pg. 21
"Today, exhibitions on the home no longer offer futuristic or speculative metaphors, but the realization - already accomplished - of life in space: private telecommunications, robots and transformation of the two-rooms-and-a-kitchen into an orbital satellite." pg. 15
C.E. Gadda - "the house of today, the reformed house, the transformed house is impotent to preserve and defend its residents and their nerves from the outrageous strain ('of modern life')." pg. 16
Interior Landscapes - Georges Teyssot
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Invisible City - John Gilderbloom
It all starts with the home, the quality of one's place.
"It may be easier to argue that investment in social services and education will help such families reach a critical turning point. But housing is a critical, indispensable part of the equation; where people live is immensely important; to ignore the quality of their shelter is to undercut every other possible investment we make in them, for the federal low-income tax credit to local recreational programs." x
The ideal community has a range of housing types and prices available to everyone. Neal Peirce comments on this in his foreword stating:
"But just consider the alternative - the status quo, the fraying of community, the serious American housing dilemma that we've allowed to develop and fester. Reforming it will be challenging and expensive. But inaction, lack of imagination in finding (and funding) new approaches, may prove the most disastrous course of all." xi
To be labeled a great city, it should have the "ability to ensure basic necessities, freedom and creativity". (pg 6) Basic necessities include housing, jobs, schools, health care and transportation. (pg. 2) The spatial location of the necessities also adds to the attractiveness of the city or neighbourhood.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Design Agenda
From Front to Back: a design agenda for urban housing by Sally Lewis
The following design agenda was used as a checklist to study different projects and to highlight the more successful design features.
The following design agenda was used as a checklist to study different projects and to highlight the more successful design features.
- Making connections - paths for various types of movement to facilities and amenities
- Providing green areas and corridors
- Treating the street as a place - a friendly neighbourhood
- Layout the built form - active 'fronts' on street for identity and legibility
- Absorbing diversity - using different residential building types
- Defining public and private space
- Creating a relationship between buildings and spaces
- Arranging the building mass - proportion/location to the street and surrounding spaces
- Optimizing solar potential and good aspect - building orientation, relation to other buildings
- Managing and integrating parking
- Providing frequent and convenient access - entrances from the street
- Mixing uses/building in flexibility - future adaptability
- Providing spaces around the home - possible extension of the home
- Meeting the ground - thresholds and interfaces - level changes used as boundary controls
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Stratifying
Peter Wuthrich - Literary Stratification II 1993 pg. 289
Stratification of the interiors of my house.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Household and "Living" Art
Karsten Bott - One of Each (archival exploration of everyday life) - pg. 83, Shopping Carts 1992 - pg. 230
Images from Deep Storage : collecting, storing, and archiving in art.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Downtown St.Catharines
I went walking the streets on Sunday, November 1st for a couple of hours taking photographs. 
There are a lot of parking lots, just gravel. The only street lined with buildings continuously is the main drag, St. Paul Street. St. Paul has been the main street since the 1800's. The intersection of St. Paul and Ontario Street was the most important intersection back in the 1800's. Now there are some parking lots and a few buildings. 
Besides taking potential site photos, I also took photos of some existing houses, most being single detached housing with some semi-detached.
There are a lot of parking lots, just gravel. The only street lined with buildings continuously is the main drag, St. Paul Street. St. Paul has been the main street since the 1800's. The intersection of St. Paul and Ontario Street was the most important intersection back in the 1800's. Now there are some parking lots and a few buildings. 
Besides taking potential site photos, I also took photos of some existing houses, most being single detached housing with some semi-detached. 
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Infill
The 'act of infilling' is a phenomenon based on reactions from evolving societies. Pushes from government policies "on the reuse of urban land in preference to building on previously undeveloped land on urban fringes."
"Other factors include international obligations to reduce carbon emissions which have impacted on the materials and technologies used to build new houses, as well as on location and lifestyle preferences; shrinking household sizes and ageing populations mean there is greater demand for single unit accommodation in and around city centres. Another pressure is that growing numbers of us are gravitating towards city centres, lured by work opportunities and access to amenities and entertainment." pg. 1
Town House
- Krischpartner
Urban Infill 01 and 02
"The revival of deprived areas and increased urban density are two of the many positive knock-on effects of infill housing. In many cases, empty site and derelict buildings are found in less salubrious areas; perhaps places with lower socio-economic demographics, high unemployment or a reputation for crime." pg. 13
"Other factors include international obligations to reduce carbon emissions which have impacted on the materials and technologies used to build new houses, as well as on location and lifestyle preferences; shrinking household sizes and ageing populations mean there is greater demand for single unit accommodation in and around city centres. Another pressure is that growing numbers of us are gravitating towards city centres, lured by work opportunities and access to amenities and entertainment." pg. 1
Town House- Krischpartner
Urban Infill 01 and 02- Johnsen Schmaling Architects
"The revival of deprived areas and increased urban density are two of the many positive knock-on effects of infill housing. In many cases, empty site and derelict buildings are found in less salubrious areas; perhaps places with lower socio-economic demographics, high unemployment or a reputation for crime." pg. 13
Mornement, Adam and Annabel Biles. 2009. Infill: New Houses for Urban Sites. London, UK: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
Monday, October 26, 2009
BUILT OBJECT
interchangeable horizontal surface. vertical surface used for protection - walls, fences, etc. and horizontal surfaces for practical uses - sitting, dining, sleeping, cooking etc. during social uses these surfaces act as the spatial boundaries.
how to introduce the element of sound? does sound becomes the way to tell what the flat surface is representing instead of the normal visual? how does materiality play a role?
how to introduce the element of sound? does sound becomes the way to tell what the flat surface is representing instead of the normal visual? how does materiality play a role?
A History of Domestic Space: Privacy and the Canadian Home
Small houses (one or two room) used to be a typical rural and urban home in the eighteenth century and onwards. Throughout the nineteenth century, small urban houses "came to be regarded as a social problem - linked with poverty and its many attendant ills." (pg. 15)
The rooms of small houses had multiple functions according to the needs of the family. When houses got larger, the interiors were divided into more rooms which were then designated for specific purposes. The number of rooms in a house was a status symbol. Room designations such as the kitchen, bathroom, parlour etc, evolved over the centuries with the social and cultural changes in the people. The room placements have shifted for privacy and social reasons. Keeping up with the trend and the perceptions of others were important for the arrangement of the household.
Before zoning, the city centre offered "mingling of new and old, wealth with poverty, commerce and manufacturing, bureaucracy and domesticity..." (pg. 112) High land and construction costs, increased zoning, exacting building codes, personal tastes and incomes have all played a role in the evolving housing ideals even though the american dream is still present. (pg. 132) The above mentioned influences are particularly changing the look of the urban fabric from a housing standpoint.
When setbacks were created, the space between the street and the house formed the front yard or lawn, a transitional space from the public realm to the private. The well-to-do's first added this level of privacy. Everyone else slowly followed. "Well-clipped lawns bespeak domesticity, good housekeeping, and a healthy family life inside the home." (pg. 148) This visual conformity made its way to some housing developments such as height restrictions or use of ornaments.
Eventually, people started turning their backs on the front yard, neighbourly sociability and the community in favour of their own private backyard space. Even densely populated housing, without front or back yard to oneself, has an increased sense of privacy. (pg. 158)
"Over time the telephone, the radio, and television, and lately the fax and the Internet, have brought the community into the heart of the home, bypassing the front door in the process." (pg. 159)
"In various ways we now can enjoy the society of others while remaining at home by ourselves." (pg. 159)
I feel this last statement is the start of yet another social problem. A partial solution to the small house "social problem" would be to leave the house and go elsewhere for some time. Whereas today you just change rooms or technologies for something new to do. Where is the happy medium between social and private time or space?
The rooms of small houses had multiple functions according to the needs of the family. When houses got larger, the interiors were divided into more rooms which were then designated for specific purposes. The number of rooms in a house was a status symbol. Room designations such as the kitchen, bathroom, parlour etc, evolved over the centuries with the social and cultural changes in the people. The room placements have shifted for privacy and social reasons. Keeping up with the trend and the perceptions of others were important for the arrangement of the household.
Before zoning, the city centre offered "mingling of new and old, wealth with poverty, commerce and manufacturing, bureaucracy and domesticity..." (pg. 112) High land and construction costs, increased zoning, exacting building codes, personal tastes and incomes have all played a role in the evolving housing ideals even though the american dream is still present. (pg. 132) The above mentioned influences are particularly changing the look of the urban fabric from a housing standpoint.
When setbacks were created, the space between the street and the house formed the front yard or lawn, a transitional space from the public realm to the private. The well-to-do's first added this level of privacy. Everyone else slowly followed. "Well-clipped lawns bespeak domesticity, good housekeeping, and a healthy family life inside the home." (pg. 148) This visual conformity made its way to some housing developments such as height restrictions or use of ornaments.
Eventually, people started turning their backs on the front yard, neighbourly sociability and the community in favour of their own private backyard space. Even densely populated housing, without front or back yard to oneself, has an increased sense of privacy. (pg. 158)
"Over time the telephone, the radio, and television, and lately the fax and the Internet, have brought the community into the heart of the home, bypassing the front door in the process." (pg. 159)
"In various ways we now can enjoy the society of others while remaining at home by ourselves." (pg. 159)
I feel this last statement is the start of yet another social problem. A partial solution to the small house "social problem" would be to leave the house and go elsewhere for some time. Whereas today you just change rooms or technologies for something new to do. Where is the happy medium between social and private time or space?
Friday, October 23, 2009
images of things that excite me!
House Tower- Atelier Bow-Wow
House A- Ryue Nishizawa
Postmen's Flats
- Phillippe Gazeau
Postmen's Flats- Phillippe Gazeau
Apartments on a long and narrow lot Wednesday, October 21, 2009
What is 'home'?
Definition of home:
- a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family or household
- the dwelling place or retreat of an animal
Definition of dwell:
- to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside
- to live or continue in a given condition or state
" the dwelling is the warm and pleasant refuge in which we feel protected..." (Mostaedi, pg 7)
The 'home' is a place for rest, relaxation and nourishment. Those are essential for healthy living. 'Home' is also a place for comfort and safety. One could go as far to say the home is "a sanctuary in which to take refuge from chaos."
Individualism is a calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows and withdraw into the circle of family and friends; with this little society formed to his taste, he gladly leaves the greater society to look after itself.
- a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family or household
- the dwelling place or retreat of an animal
Definition of dwell:
- to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside
- to live or continue in a given condition or state
" the dwelling is the warm and pleasant refuge in which we feel protected..." (Mostaedi, pg 7)
The 'home' is a place for rest, relaxation and nourishment. Those are essential for healthy living. 'Home' is also a place for comfort and safety. One could go as far to say the home is "a sanctuary in which to take refuge from chaos."
Individualism is a calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows and withdraw into the circle of family and friends; with this little society formed to his taste, he gladly leaves the greater society to look after itself.
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835
An efficient house plan would allow for the essentials but not allow the occupant(s) to over indulge in solitude with excessive space. Socializing and being a part of a community is also important to a healthy lifestyle. There are activities and other places/spaces that exist outside of the home and the office. Public buildings and public spaces are designed for the people. If the home offers less, people will be inclined more to leave them once in a while.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Capsules
Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo, Japan 1972 designed by Kisho Kurokawa
The Capsule Tower was a mixed-use building with offices and experimental "housing" units. It could hold 140 capsules. The original demographic target was single businessmen. Each capsule contains a bed, a desk, a full bathroom and storage. Individualism was expressed through basic plan variations, interior finishes and colours.
This building has been slated for demolition.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Barton Fink, 1991
Last night I watched Barton Fink directed by the Coen Brothers. The story takes place in 1941. Barton Fink moves to Hollywood to become a hotshot playwright. He did not want to be in a classy hotel or suite and opted for Hotel Earle. The hotel clerk asks Fink upon checking in "are you a residence or a transient?". The hotel stationary states "Hotel Earle A day or A Lifetime". Fink remains in the hotel for the whole film, makes a friend with his neighbour, and becomes accustomed to the ways of living there.
There were many shots of the long, never-ending corridor. Some were eerie and some were mesmerizing.
On the idea that hotel and home are inter-changeable, I have found a quote from a book dated 1941. At Your Service: The Way of Life in a Hotel by Ludwig Bemelmans.
There were many shots of the long, never-ending corridor. Some were eerie and some were mesmerizing.
On the idea that hotel and home are inter-changeable, I have found a quote from a book dated 1941. At Your Service: The Way of Life in a Hotel by Ludwig Bemelmans.
At its best a hotel is just that - "a temporary home". To say that he "feels at home there" is the highest compliment a guest can pay a hotel. The furnishing of shelter, rest, and good food is still the basic service rendered by the hotel since its earliest form.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Place,Space, Identity and Home
From the The Concept of Dwelling:
Collective dwelling, thus, is not a mere coming together, but a being in the world somewhere as somebody. It is the somewhere, the place, which makes life visible. It fixes or keeps life, in the sense of a record or image which remains, explains and invites. Therefore we are conditioned by the place; we gain our identity when we choose among the images it offers, and may for instance say: "I am a Roman." pg. 51
Collective dwelling, thus, is not a mere coming together, but a being in the world somewhere as somebody. It is the somewhere, the place, which makes life visible. It fixes or keeps life, in the sense of a record or image which remains, explains and invites. Therefore we are conditioned by the place; we gain our identity when we choose among the images it offers, and may for instance say: "I am a Roman." pg. 51
In the film Barfly, directed by Barbet Schroeder in 1987, the main character Henry is identified by place. He is the 'barfly'. He is content with this reputation and way of life. He earns money when he needs it, living spontaneously, while maintaining a loose routine. Henry was offered the "fine life" when he got a short story published but declined the offer because he preferred the life he had, the life he knew with certainty.
I found this quote suitable "the alienated modern urban dweller tended to 'undergo' his town and find 'self expression more in keeping with his nomadic life [driven from place to place by the cycle of development/decay/redevelopment] in his motorcar'." Pawley, pg 96.
The individuals search for identity goes to the next scale; the dwelling or home. People want to personalize their home/property which best suits and describes them. The home is a status symbol. Pawley writes:
As for durables, the home should be designed to display 'cars, caravans or motorboats', a manifest impossibility in high density and high-rise projects where in any case opportunities for personalization of any kind are drastically reduced. pg. 97
I found this quote suitable "the alienated modern urban dweller tended to 'undergo' his town and find 'self expression more in keeping with his nomadic life [driven from place to place by the cycle of development/decay/redevelopment] in his motorcar'." Pawley, pg 96.
The individuals search for identity goes to the next scale; the dwelling or home. People want to personalize their home/property which best suits and describes them. The home is a status symbol. Pawley writes:
As for durables, the home should be designed to display 'cars, caravans or motorboats', a manifest impossibility in high density and high-rise projects where in any case opportunities for personalization of any kind are drastically reduced. pg. 97
This view is from a slightly older source, however, I believe the second part of the sentence about personalization still holds true to a great number of people today. How does one design affordable living arrangements in a multi-storey building, yet leave enough room for individuality?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Ossified Homes
Ossify - to become rigid or inflexible in habits, attitudes, opinions, etc.
Housing Types in North America:
Rural:
One Room House - average square 16'6"x16'6"
Stack House - extended one room up (double storey)
Saddlebag House - two rooms with chimney in the middle
Dogtrot House - two rooms separated by an open-air hallway
"I" Type House - two rooms with filled in hallway and extended up
Plantation - multi-roomed with open galleries
Urban:
Bandbox House - slightly smaller than one room extended up three storeys
Shotgun House - smaller single rooms extended horizontally
Semi-detached House - two houses with a shared party wall
Row Houses - more than two houses with shared walls
"...the basic configuration of the North American house has changed very little. In other words, we still live and sleep in square or rectangular rooms..." (Friedman, pg. 85)
The "acceptable" house has more square and rectangular rooms with the notion that "bigger is better". Average household today is 2,000 square feet compared to the 300 square feet of the one room house. To achieve these big houses, one has to escape the high density of the city and move to the suburbs.
*insert lyrics to ossified homes by The Lovely Feathers*
Housing Types in North America:
Rural:
One Room House - average square 16'6"x16'6"
Stack House - extended one room up (double storey)
Saddlebag House - two rooms with chimney in the middle
Dogtrot House - two rooms separated by an open-air hallway
"I" Type House - two rooms with filled in hallway and extended up
Plantation - multi-roomed with open galleries
Urban:
Bandbox House - slightly smaller than one room extended up three storeys
Shotgun House - smaller single rooms extended horizontally
Semi-detached House - two houses with a shared party wall
Row Houses - more than two houses with shared walls
"...the basic configuration of the North American house has changed very little. In other words, we still live and sleep in square or rectangular rooms..." (Friedman, pg. 85)
The "acceptable" house has more square and rectangular rooms with the notion that "bigger is better". Average household today is 2,000 square feet compared to the 300 square feet of the one room house. To achieve these big houses, one has to escape the high density of the city and move to the suburbs.
*insert lyrics to ossified homes by The Lovely Feathers*
Where do all the single people go?
"For a surprising number of people, the types of homes available out there do not match their needs. Many would-be homeowners have been priced out of the market, many cannot find homes that suit the way they live, and many have simply been left by the wayside in their pursuit of one of the most basic components of the North American Dream."
"It should come as no surprise that while large homes are still being built, many buys are searching for smaller, cheaper dwelling units more suited to their scaled-down requirements for space." (pg. 6)
"The vast majority of non-family householders are people who live on their own. Single dwellers have tripled their share of total households since the war: one in four of all homes now belongs to a lone occupant." (pg. 7)
"The planning and building of new homes and communities must provide the varied housing types that will accommodate the many preferences of an evolving population." (pg. 94)
"Whether downtown or in a suburb, the answer to the greatest demand in housing both socially and economically, may just be a well-designed but flexible compact home in a dense and varied environment." (pg. 149)
The creation of the automobile changed the design and space of the built environment. The relationship between building and street, street edge definition and human scale was lost. (pg. 153)
Friedman, Avi & Krawitz, David. Peeking Through the Keyhole: The Evolution of North American Homes.
"It should come as no surprise that while large homes are still being built, many buys are searching for smaller, cheaper dwelling units more suited to their scaled-down requirements for space." (pg. 6)
"The vast majority of non-family householders are people who live on their own. Single dwellers have tripled their share of total households since the war: one in four of all homes now belongs to a lone occupant." (pg. 7)
"The planning and building of new homes and communities must provide the varied housing types that will accommodate the many preferences of an evolving population." (pg. 94)
"Whether downtown or in a suburb, the answer to the greatest demand in housing both socially and economically, may just be a well-designed but flexible compact home in a dense and varied environment." (pg. 149)
The creation of the automobile changed the design and space of the built environment. The relationship between building and street, street edge definition and human scale was lost. (pg. 153)
Friedman, Avi & Krawitz, David. Peeking Through the Keyhole: The Evolution of North American Homes.
Brief History of Flophouses
Flophouses, single room occupancy (SRO), lodging houses, etc. existed in major cities urban centres. The theory behind SRO hotels is "that they are residential stations where vulnerable people who are "well" enough to live apart from institutional supervision can begin the process of reentry into community life." (Hamburger, Robert. All the Lonely People: Life in a Single Room Occupancy Hotel)
After WWII, everything changed. City housing codes changed, social and housing programs were created, and the industrialization of home building took off with the 'american dream'. Returning vets, who were once flop dwellers, were now housed by the government. Real estate speculation and building conversion drove a good number of men into the streets leaving just a few SRO hotels operating today.
"Part prison, part way station, part shelter, part psychiatric hospital, part shooting gallery, part old-age home, each hotel has distinctive character and clientel." (Isay, David. Flophouse: Life on the Bowery)
Images of Home
Rosanne Haggerty reinvents the flophouse as a clean, well-lighted place. metropolis article
Making a Flophouse a Home, and a Decent One at That nytimes article
After WWII, everything changed. City housing codes changed, social and housing programs were created, and the industrialization of home building took off with the 'american dream'. Returning vets, who were once flop dwellers, were now housed by the government. Real estate speculation and building conversion drove a good number of men into the streets leaving just a few SRO hotels operating today.
"Part prison, part way station, part shelter, part psychiatric hospital, part shooting gallery, part old-age home, each hotel has distinctive character and clientel." (Isay, David. Flophouse: Life on the Bowery)
Images of Home
Rosanne Haggerty reinvents the flophouse as a clean, well-lighted place. metropolis article
Making a Flophouse a Home, and a Decent One at That nytimes article
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