The holes in the three different volumes of House N is what creates the gradation of spatial qualities in the building, without the openings in the walls and the roofs the gradation would only be between inside and even more inside. The openings also shape the interior space of the building. They are designed with regards to the context, for the view and according to the sun. But they also serve as openings for social and visible connections inside the house. They create perceived space or connections between the defined spaces within the boxes. The aim of the architect was to create a domain of many different smaller spaces, or in-between spaces, with an open program or undefined purpose. Fujimoto states two different kinds of typologies in contrast to each other, the cave and the nest. The nest is an environment which meets a very specific purpose with a functional solution whereas the cave is open for interpretation, with less architectural boundaries (or more possibilities), and full of inspiration. The cave is the preferred typology according to Fujimoto because of architectures inability to perform flexibly. The static nature of architecture demands that it doesn’t define all space in a building in order for it to be used in different ways and perceived in different ways. Architecture should only consist of the basic framework for the inhabitants to explore and use as they please.6
Figure 6: House N, interior view Photo: Iwan Baan
Mies van der Rohe’s Brick country house is another project which tries to question conventional architectural boundaries of the dwelling, but in other ways than Fujimoto’s House N. The Brick country house is an unbuilt project from 1923, influenced by the De Stijl painting style.7 In contrary to House N, van der Rohes dwelling tries to claim space from the surrounding by letting long walls shoot out from the building into the landscape. These walls are not enclosing any space but are instead trying define the space around them as part of the dwelling. “In the ground floor of this house [brick country house], I have abandoned the usual concept of enclosed rooms and striven for a series of spatial effects rather than a row of individual rooms. The wall looses its enclosing character and serves only to articulate the house organism.” - Mies van der Rohe 8
6
“SOU FUJIMOTO INTERVIEW”, [online video], 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Igyi65DRv8, (accessed 15 September 2014)
7
J-L. Cohen, Mies van der Rohe, Quebec, Taylor & Francis, 1996, pp. 34-40, Available from: Google books, (accessed 28 September
2014). 8
F.Neumeyer, The artless word, Boston, MIT Press, 1991, pp. 250, Available from: Google books, (accessed 28 September 2014).
Figure 6: Brick country house, Plan Drawing: Mies van der Rohe 7