а (non)architectural dream-home

thanks to the invitation of some amicable young fellows – INDESIGN – we are starting a rubric with the modest name “dream-home” (we are going to be getting on your nerves with it for at least two months, so make sure you load up on popcorn and mineral water – we don’t want anybody to experience salt deficiency or dehydration!)

here comes the first “architectural” dream-home

you would probably expect the dream-home of an architect to be concrete, a completed project with plans and perspectives, materials and details; each of us has designed one of these in their minds… I dream-planned my first one when I was still studying and then I stopped paying attention to these after the fifth one; that is why I will not show you pictures or pretty visualizations and other specifics that you can find online in abundance (quite disappointing, right?!)! I will tell you something else; it is the thing that is the essence of these dreams and I will try to discover the reason for it…

1. man (including architects, despite what some colleagues tend to think :D) is a child of nature, therefore, an animal and its most natural habitat is in the open surrounded by nature; this is where the most logical conclusion comes from: my dream-home always tries to achieve the best match to the conditions of this environment, sunlight being the most important one of them…
conclusion number 1 – the closed space of my dream-home ensures that my family and I get the ideal quantity of sunlight in the context of the natural surroundings that the house is situated amongst; of course this would depend on the climatic zone, temperature conditions, etc. which is why I say “ideal”, meaning controllable as well; but even put that way, this still means Big windows; I think there was research concerning the direct correlation between the quantity of sunlight people are exposed to and their unconscious and subjective perception of happiness.

2. man is also a predatory animal (oh, come ooon, there would be no civilization otherwise) – it is essential for predators that they can see far, clear and “in stereo”
conclusion number 2 – my dream-home provides me with the unobstructed view, a traceable horizon and the complete set of visual cues about my surrounding (ooops, the windows just got BigGER); it is situated either on a spot higher than the surrounded terrain or a slope looking towards an open plain, or it is at the edge of the see, or the higher floors of a tall building and the farther off I can see, the better… have you ever thought about what you are afraid of the most? for me it is the unknown; as if the possibility of being able to see far off does not regard only the literal dimensions of our everyday happiness but also the figurative ones…

3. man, however a predatory animal, is also a mammal – therefore, a person looks after offspring in a certain period of his or her lifetime and it is innate that he or she looks for security, creating a shelter of calmness and safety for the helpless youngsters (don’t laugh, it is right there, in our genes, especially when it comes to women)
conclusion number 3 – my dream-home “has my back” – mine always does, literarily :); this is directly related to conclusion number 2 since this is the way visual information (from the Big windows) is focused on only a portion of the 360 degree horizon while the rest of it is solid, thick, a secure protective barrier; I actually think that people look for things that “have their back” in everything around them: their families, their friends, the team of people they work with and it is that feeling of somebody or something “having our back” that is a very important part of the way we define ourselves and our perception of happiness.

4. from what I have covered so far, it turns out that my dream-home is carried on an immense dirigible which is why we get to another important conclusion based on the first point (or maybe it isn’t ?!?!): the sense of freedom; it is strange that it comes in forth but as strange as this may be (or maybe it isn’t????), it cannot actually exist without the previous three (it is just my personal opinion, so fight it, if you dare…!)
conclusion number 4 – my dream-home does not limit me in any way, on the contrary – in every given moment I can open these Big windows and step into the bosom of Mother Nature; what is more: it is enough that I just have a look in order to feel that I have already made that step forward, no restrains… this feeling, freedom is actually the ability to have the right to choose and without this realized sensation in any given moment, everything that is human about us would get distorted… but if it is there, it is a guarantee that our souls would be peaceful.

5. last point and that’s it; freedom of choice is a peculiar category because it is worth nothing without the information necessary to make the choice, hence the concept of “informed decision”; however, information is not that you get served on a silver platter, you have to work for it, put real effort into it in order to make sure that you have both feet on the ground and whenever you make a choice you would know what the consequences are. still, we, as humans, find it quite tempting to let ourselves go with the flow taking things for granted along the way, losing our connection to the mother ship…which is why the gnu carelessly separates from the herd to quench its thirst in the Nile’s tranquil waters and it soon finds itself inside the open jaws of the crocodiles… having taken security for granted.
conclusion number 5, the final one – my home constantly reminds me of who I am – there are a meter tall snow-drifts touching the Big windows in the winter time while it is warm inside and you can see the fire play; the wind blows the autumn leaves in the windows and if I decide to open them, I will hear it sing but it is quiet inside; the waters of spring in the risen river transform the small water shoot into a raging waterfall of foamy splashes as the pool is about to overflow but inside it is dry; the summer sun burns the grass in the lawn into a ashy shade of yellow but inside it is cool… and every day this makes me smile because I see it and I realize that there is no chance I could start taking it for granted…

I can tell you about a lot more details: the way the house takes care of itself, cleans itself, makes me coffee in the morning after the first rays of the sun have awakened me… but none of these details would make any sense without the 5 foundations – light, view, security, freedom and the right of an informed decision; haha, after all, the details are part of the architect’s job…