The space I chose for this assignment is a part of the courtyard outside of my house. The pictures I took don’t quite capture the volume of this space, much less of its feel. This is an environment where nature meets planned human architecture. Two tall and very leafy amendua
trees form the dominant architectural elements of this space; they set the mood of this environment, giving it a cool, dark-green shade, and a multi-tiered ceiling. The plane of the ground level is uncluttered, light colored, and has rectilinear edges. There’s a balanced contrast between the organic ceiling’s darkness and random shapes, and the ground level’s clean, light-reflecting tile floor, that creates an blend of natural and planned design. The space is ample but gently surrounds the person in it from all but two sides. The access to the space that best introduces its atmosphere is through a wooden door from the house’s dining hall. The yard is enjoyable from inside the dining hall as well; leaving the door open invites the green space inside. A variety of orchids live on the trees’ trunks, and large fruit bats hide in the tree-canopy sleeping by day and eating amendua at night. There is a row of quite large plants of different types that line the wall and fill the sitting person's view with greenery. |
The Architecture of Space
The architecture of space affects the mood of those in it. Landscapes, cityscapes, interior spaces, gardens, living rooms, and classrooms, natural or man-made places, the physical features of our surrounding have the force to alter our mood and shape our experiences. This is a place of refuge for me. I sit here on weekends’ early mornings to drink my coffee and think, or just let my mind absorb the yard’s cool, green, calm. On most occasions once I’m in sync with the mood of this space being creative becomes easier. I know that other people enjoy this space as well; at times I invite my friends and sit with them around a table under the trees. Usually here everyone is fast to switch from the mood of the workday to a state where the mind becomes free to engage itself in the conversation of the moment; problems get left behind.
I enjoyed reading Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century: A Room of Their Own. It struck a chord with my experiences of living in European, North-, and South-American cities. I have seen examples of both organically constructed urban environments and those of planned design, and I remember having often lamented the shortcomings of the type of environment, organic or designed, that I actually lived in. I found that both approaches to development can produce positive and problematic outcomes. The best approach could be to set a flexible frame to a construct and let the inhabitants and users shape it beyond that. This is what the article seems to suggest as well in regards to the classrooms whose design features were adapted by the users to fit their own needs. A similar idea guides the design of walkways in some housing complexes in Germany. There, the buildings are built without paths across the complex; once the inhabitants’ most commonly used routes between structures mark out the walkways’ ideal map pavements are laid over them. This is both more user friendly and cost effective than marking out pathways from a blueprint. |
While living in the USA I often found myself despising many of the American cities’ the N-W, S-E grid design and their other carefully planned features; driving through an American suburban area can be unbearably numbing. Then, I wished for the organic mess of Mediterranean cities. Now, living in Brazil where much of the urban environments develop organically or at least aren’t consistently planned and can be an awful mess, I have received what I was wishing for, but found myself wanting some smartly designed, clean, and decongested public spaces. Human needs are hard to balance!