DESIGN OF RESIDENCE

I chose to design a residential space for a philosopher because of my interest in the subject. One work I’ve been rereading recently is Descartes’s First Meditations, and I took an interest in his first chapter where he defined the metaphysics of dualism. Although in his work, the mind and body are defined as independent of one another it does not answer why the mind is limited by the body nor where the mind lies. From this questioning, I developed my own take on the mind and body and their separation of one another. The separation of the mind should not only lie in the nonphysical, but also in the physical. On a basic level, it can be observed that the mind’s potential is only that which the body can produce and the body is only capable of producing that which the mind can develop. This does not mean the mind is dependent on the body, but rather they both have separate qualities that are essential to the self. This is the non-physical aspect of their distinction. The physical separation between the mind and the body is the brain and everything that grows separate of it. The brain, which houses the mind, serves as the machine that produces matters such as consciousness, beliefs, doubts, and clarity. The body here serves as the function that can enact these thoughts if need be. Now that the mind and body’s separation is defined, I sought to focus on the development of the forms, material and lighting through the nonphysical lens whereas the development of circulation and programmatic structure was through a physical lens due to the nature of their design. Ultimately, I aimed to push my concept past physical separation and create a more deliberate residential design.