Friday, March 6, 2009

Mcmansions and the Poetics of Space

I am getting pretty excited about my final research project for my Utopias class.
I am still trying to narrow my focus a little more, but I have decided I want to examine domestic architecture (house structure/design/size) in modern intentional communities and the way the shape of the physical built environment can affect someone's non-physical reality (social, spiritual, etc.)

I have always been fascinated by place. How does one achieve or detect a true sense of place?
What is home? What is community? How are they related?
Why has the average American house doubled in size in the last 40 years? What do people DO with that much space? Has this trend helped or hindered in fostering a true sense of home and community? What kind of social effects does the physical architecture of a building have?
How do co-housing and other modern intentional communities attempt to remedy this perceived problem? Specifically, how do they achieve this through the built environment? Are they succeeding?

These are a few of the questions I am asking myself.
Or in picture form:



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Also, I just ordered this book:

3 comments:

Marie said...

Brooke, I just love this. I am fascinated. You will have to educate me on this sometime soon.

kelly said...

i would love to read that when you are all done! that sounds fascinating! can you throw in there why do houses in hawaii have to cost so much for so little???!!!

kelsey said...

sounds like a fun paper. I had this idea a while ago to do / get someone who can actually take pictures to do a photo series or something of houses in Mililani. I remember thinking something about uncovering the suburban aesthetic. And then I didn't do it. Maybe I will later, and then we can conference.