Experience of house as an illusion of stability

Abstract

The intention of this thesis is to explore architecture and experience. The term 'experience' is used to denote those events which have taken place in our past that have helped to shape each of us individually, as well as experiences which occur in conjunction with architecture that help us to relate to our past experiences. An attempt will be made to take a conventional housing type in Japan and transform it for a new purpose while maintaining the qualitative experiences offered by the conventional prototype. This study will begin with the exploration of the idea of 'home.' Since the primary vehicle for exploration in this thesis will be to design a project in Japan, the question arises of whether the concept of 'home' is cross-cultural or is unique among cultures. It can be argued that a "house constitutes a body of images that give mankind proofs or illusions of stability," and that this concept is a basic need of human existence. We try to create a sense of stability in an unstable world. Can architecture create an image of stability? Can this be done in a way that will fulfill expectations and create this image of stability by heightening awareness of this stability through occasional inversions in these expectations? Just what will it take. in terms of form or sequences. 10 create this illusion? This leads to the second part of this thesis which will involve the experiences that can lead to this image of stability. Integral to this idea of stability is the idea of threshold. "To thresh in its earliest form meant to 'tread or trample.' A threshold then is literally a piece of timber or stone below the bottom of a door that we 'tread' over when we enter a space. 'Threshold has several figurative meanings as well: an entrance or beginning, the border or limit of a region, and the starting point of any undertaking or journey". Threshold in the figurative sense becomes crucial in this project in creating a sense of stability for the inhabitants while creating a sense of forbiddenness for others.