01-02-2011, 06:51 AM
I really enjoyed the link to Roger Dean's work. I wholeheartedly agree that buildings should be designed to feel comfortable. All to often design comes down to economics and people end up living in boxes made of sticks and drywall. It may be a place to sleep but it's hard to call it a home. Or take a look at commercial buildings in Hilo. Most new commercial buildings are steel framed and clad and have zero character. Contrast that with the older stores downtown or the Iron Works building. We used to care about the world we created.
If you haven't seen it, get a copy of A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294000362&sr=8-1 . He has written a series of books about architecture that are all about making our world more comfortable. He worked with a team of designers worldwide. Whenever one of the team entered a building that had a special feel then they would get together and analyze why it worked. The result is this remarkable book that puts all of this work together into a guide to good design and construction. The book is broken down into 253 mini chapters. Each chapter begins with a premise such as this: #159 Light on Two Sides of Every Room "When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty" After they begin with a premise such as this the author will then go into a more detailed explanation, frequently including relevant studies to reinforce their ideas. Then the conclusion to the chapter comes with the solution such as "Locate each room so that it has an outdoor space outside it on at least two sides, and then place windows in these outdoor walls so that natural light falls into every room from more than one direction."
Very simple stuff. and it doesn't necessarily mean more expensive. It's just conscious design. I love this book and have been referring to it for years. I have seen it on a number of shelves in architects offices. Some have told me that it's their bible.
#191 The Shape of Indoor Space is a chapter that speaks to Roger Dean's endorsement of organic architecture. In this chapter the author agrees that rigid crystalline squares and rectangles make no special sense in human terms. He then goes on to warn about going overboard with organic shapes that look more like wombs or caves and are just as irrational. A lengthy explanation then follows about blending the two ideas.
I'm building my outdoor kitchen right now. I've taken some ideas from A Pattern Language and I hope this place feels like the friendly, safe, sociable space that I imagine it will. It's going to blend ferrocement and wood. There are curves but it's mostly rectangular. I want to create a building that, as Christopher Alexander describes it, when you walk in you first reaction is to fell welcome and say "ahhhh".
If you haven't seen it, get a copy of A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294000362&sr=8-1 . He has written a series of books about architecture that are all about making our world more comfortable. He worked with a team of designers worldwide. Whenever one of the team entered a building that had a special feel then they would get together and analyze why it worked. The result is this remarkable book that puts all of this work together into a guide to good design and construction. The book is broken down into 253 mini chapters. Each chapter begins with a premise such as this: #159 Light on Two Sides of Every Room "When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty" After they begin with a premise such as this the author will then go into a more detailed explanation, frequently including relevant studies to reinforce their ideas. Then the conclusion to the chapter comes with the solution such as "Locate each room so that it has an outdoor space outside it on at least two sides, and then place windows in these outdoor walls so that natural light falls into every room from more than one direction."
Very simple stuff. and it doesn't necessarily mean more expensive. It's just conscious design. I love this book and have been referring to it for years. I have seen it on a number of shelves in architects offices. Some have told me that it's their bible.
#191 The Shape of Indoor Space is a chapter that speaks to Roger Dean's endorsement of organic architecture. In this chapter the author agrees that rigid crystalline squares and rectangles make no special sense in human terms. He then goes on to warn about going overboard with organic shapes that look more like wombs or caves and are just as irrational. A lengthy explanation then follows about blending the two ideas.
I'm building my outdoor kitchen right now. I've taken some ideas from A Pattern Language and I hope this place feels like the friendly, safe, sociable space that I imagine it will. It's going to blend ferrocement and wood. There are curves but it's mostly rectangular. I want to create a building that, as Christopher Alexander describes it, when you walk in you first reaction is to fell welcome and say "ahhhh".