Dreamhouse Portfolio Field 10 Canvey Island Post Scarcity Architectures Tomi Owolabi Unit Fifteen Nic Clear, Mike Aling & Simon Withers University of Greenwich September 2013- January 2014
Site Location Field 10 Canvey Island Essex Design Diary pages 7-21
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The Singularity is Here “... a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep that human life will be irreversibly transformed... Within several decades information-based technologies will encompass all human knowledge and proficiency... the changes... will appear to rupture the fabric of human history� Ray Kurzweil Design Diary pages 7-14
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Creating a Personal Cathedral “Everyone will, so to speak, live in their own personal “cathedrals.” There will be rooms more conducive to dreams than any drug, and houses where one cannot help but love. Others will be irresistibly alluring to travellers.” Ivan Chtcheglov Design Diary pages 7-21
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Visions of a Dreamhouse “This new vision of time and space, which will be the theoretical basis of future constructions, is still imprecise and will remain so until experimentation with patterns of behavior has taken place in cities specifically established for this purpose, cities bringing together — in addition to the facilities necessary for basic comfort and security — buildings charged with evocative power, symbolic edifices representing desires, forces and events, past, present and to come. A rational extension of the old religious systems, of old tales, and above all of psychoanalysis, into architectural expression becomes more and more urgent as all the reasons for becoming impassioned disappear.” Ivan Chtcheglov
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What if the field was covered with identical glass boxes. They all had a complete kit of bedroom, bathroom, living space, kitchen and surrounded by a glass facade? The idea that ‘openness’ is comparative to dreams (where openness is uncontrollable by the conscious, ruled by the subconscious) to the ideas of psychoanalysis where ‘openness’ is enforced in a subtle way by the lying on the couch action which encourages the visitor to speak freely about personal things then also relating this to architecture where the materiality delicately enforces ‘openness’ (such as in the case of the glass houses by Mies van de Rohe). subtle representations where symbolism will actually give you a deeper meaning of the architectural spaces rather than actually just being able to read the spaces at the first glance. The symbolism of the space actually becomes the architecture rather than just the representation of the spaces. Referencing Dan Graham’s Kammerspeil Design Diary Pages 33-37, 45-46
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Staircase
Dining Room
Kitchen
Living Room
Closet and Storage
Bedroom
Bathroom
Hallway
Living Spaces in the Glass Box “ glass house… reflex of an extreme inwardness ...(the state of mind corresponding to the new phantasmagorias of the glass interior)…” [Dan Graham] “nature (the exterior) becomes an optical illusion… with value in no way superior to that of a painting” [Mies houses of 1930, Tafun and Dal Co] Design Diary pages 54-65
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dreamhouse staircase STAIRCASE Why climb up a staircase when you can float? The ornamented staircase shown is taken from Buckingham Palace, it gives the idea that you are the Regent of your dreams. You can limit how expressive and creative your dreamscapes are. It becomes a chance for you to express yourself in the deepest sense. Staircases are traditionally used for ascending and descending but this function is not necessary in a dream, you can just transition from one space to another. The balloon signifies the implied creativity and imagination. It is often very fragile and easily deflated. But it also has potential to move the user to another space just like dreams.
dreamhouse kitchen KITCHEN This image represents heat and the warmth emulated from a kitchen when cooking. The door reflects a number of cultural connotations; we like to shut the door when cooking as it allows the smells to be contained as well as allowing the cook to “present” the finished meal. The silver spoon is a reflection of dual nationality and the dual function of the “permanent mobile” homes as seen on Field 10 on Canvey Island.
Alternative Representation of Dreamhouse Spaces “The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.” Rene Magritte Design Diary pages 66-77
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dreamhouse hallway
HALLWAY The hallway becomes a row of vistas with an end destination. They tempt and interest you but which will you pick? What if there is a floating hallway and the doorway becomes a picture frame, the beginning of a new narrative. You are free to enter and begin your own story. BEDROOM Falling through the bedframe and clouds leads to the idea that sleep is a transition-ary state. It becomes a gateway to dreamhouse. Even though we are now accustomed to the (often political, social and economic) invisible boxes placed on us by society when we sleep we are free from these and it is expressed in our dreams.
dreamhouse bathroom
dreamhouse bedroom
Alternative Representation of Dreamhouse Spaces “If the dream is a translation of waking life, waking life is also a translation of the dream.� Rene Magritte Design Diary pages 66-77
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Psychological Physicality This device is used to create sculptural elements that are capable of sensing psychological state and combat that with a beautiful setting. “The houses of Le Corbusier define themselves neither by space nor by forms; ...The air becomes the constitutive factor! There is only a single, indivisible space. The seperations between interior and exterior fall.� Sigfried Giedon
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subconscious level virtual
lucid dreaming semi-augmented
dreamhouse schedule reality
dreamhouse Permanent Mobile Design reality
Home
Canvey Island Field 10 reality
Dreamhouse Levels Diagram Each level corresponds to the other and builds upon it. The site is level one, a level based solely in reality. The final level is 5 where the user interacts with all the spaces in their dreamhouse. The spaces merge and become a collective, this mirrors the functions of different rooms in a house. They all are separate but necessary together. They exist in a co-dependency and this creates a living environment.
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BATHROOM The dream bathroom reflects me as a person. I use the bathroom as a cleanser, which is demonstrated in the tap. The mirror with an abstract reflection leads to the idea that what I see in the mirror on a daily basis is volatile like the volcanic eruption that can be seen. Reflection does not necessarily show the surroundings even though that is what we are lead to believe. There is a lot more to spaces than what we can necessarily “see�.
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Dining Room Teeth represent the physical act of eating. The images leading to the tongue actually highlight the sources of food in Canvey Island in a Post Scarcity Society. People will begin to create food using the raw materials, what will this do to the food production industry and the way we participate in the activity of eating.
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Wardrobe This space is of special interest to me. I am proposing that people no longer need to keep a wardrobe full of clothing but rather manufacture clothing themselves. I think this fits into the idea of Individualism as shown in the Historical Background of Canvey Island. The mannequins represent a sense of unknown creation of clothing. You then become the mannequin in the Post Scarcity lifestyle. Everyone becomes a model of their deepest desires. The sewing machines represent the ‘luxury’ of creating an item of clothing. The different environments become a reflection of the persons desires and influences the clothing they create and live in.
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Gateway to Dreamhouse Living Spaces “It is as if one saw a screen with scattered colour-patches, and said:...the are intelligible; they only make sense when one completes them into a shape.Whereas I want to say: Here is the whole.� Ludwig Wittgenstein
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Sauna- Imagination Thinking pods allow for pondering the future and coming up with ideas “ The dream displeases me because one is entirely absorbed by it: the dream is monological; and the fantasy pleases me because it remains concomitant to the consciousness of reality (that of the place where I am); thus is created a double space, dislocated, spaced out...� Roger Caillois
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Landscaping As previously discussed the surroundings of a house can add to the dreamlike qualities of a space. It is interesting because it gives a sense of tranquillity. The glass ball represents the idea of choice and free will. It allows the visitor to set their own environment. The pool also represents an idea of tranquilly. The background image is actually a photograph of Thorney Bay.
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Chronogram for Final Film
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