Space: A Pillar on Which Good Architecture Stands
One of our pillars to creating great architecture is space. To understand this concept one must understand boundaries – you cannot have space without edges. Without boundary and edges, space is really unperceivable. By understanding edges we can establish our relationship to them and can begin to comprehend a fathomable definition.
The one thing that seems to be most important to us as humans is our ability to establish relationships. Namely, between ourselves and the things around us. Space is worthless if you can’t relate yourself to it. Like time, space is relative to the observer. Perception then, is the thing which is in fact created. When it when it comes to space, perception is reality.
Peter Blake Gallery
The Peter Blake Gallery was a study in creating an environment that was as much of a “non-space” as possible.
The idea of the gallery was to create a series of rooms where the art would be perceived as the primary object. At the same time, the gallery is supposed to act as a set of spatial experiences tailored to the human scale.
Peter Blake wanted his gallery to be a vehicle for examining art. The size, proportion and boundaries of his space were set in place specifically so that the art could be emphasized and not polluted by the architecture.
Pinecrest
What’s important about the Pinecrest Great Room is that it’s really three spaces in one that are doing three fundamentally different things within one set of boundaries.
The edges of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor contain the primary space. It is the subdivisions within it, however, that begin to define the individual spaces.
Those subdivisions are created with furnishings, lighting, textures and materials, which are able to give an observer freedom to experience the entire space. At the same time, it also offer clues that indicate how the space is supposed to be used.
All of which comes together to create one logical great room space that feels very comfortable to be in no matter which subspace you find yourself.
What Makes a Great Room So Great?
Any well performing Great Room is one where each of the individual uses (living, dining and kitchen) are completely self-functioning. Furthermore, a true Great Room requires these spaces to depend and co-exist on the other spaces within the room.
The individual areas are able to thrive on their own. However, when placed in context with their neighboring spaces, it, in its totality, becomes more important. And therefore, it creates a much more beautiful composition that is the great room.
Rather than a collection of three individual areas, you have three rooms in one. Each of these rooms is independent and self-sufficient to itself. Yet, they are completely dependent upon the other rooms adjacent to to be a part of the compositional home.
Space is an interesting phenomenon in that it’s like a chameleon. If the space in a home could equally be a terrific art gallery, then the designers and builders, did their jobs correctly.
