Automobile designer Henrik Fisker said that ‘If design isn’t profitable then its art.’ This certainly would be true in the industrial design world but in the world of building design I would say
‘When design isn’t liveable, then its art.’
I have come to call architecture art-chitecture.
In Facebook conversations with colleagues at the IFSG photos are often posted of interesting homes and buildings around the world. Some are beautiful like this culture and art center being built in China.
Some make you wonder how anyone could live in them,
and some are just unexplainable.
These buildings are fantastic and are designed to stretch our notion of what a building can and should be. But an awful lot of them seem to be designed with little consideration to the people who have to live and work in them. When that happens, they become works of art.
Now there is nothing wrong with art. I like art. I’ve produced art. But for the most part, I don’t want to live in it.
Architects seemingly design from the outside in, but we live on the inside and when architects forget they are designing for people, disaster can happen.
Take this example, for example. Some buildings can actually make you crazy!
Even your local home builder is likely guilty, and it seems even more so when you look at more expensive properties. Builders seem to equate strange and ‘unique’ spaces with luxury. They are so desperate to stand out that they create designs that are difficult to live in.
Rooms with angled walls and ceilings are thought to be interesting, without considering that they may create emotional instability.
Modern staircases that look cool but subconsciously make moving through life feel dangerous and unsupported.
Spaces that bump out, jog in, and make us contort our energy flow just to get through them.
What seems to be missing is nice, simple, classic design. The kind of timeless buildings, either traditional or modern, that will be loved 100 years from now. Buildings with classic proportions, sacred geometry, quality materials and attention to detail. That is the kind of house that I would lay down my money for.
What about you?
DO YOU DREAM OF A HOME THAT SPEAKS TO YOUR BODY AND TO YOUR SOUL? Let’s Chat! Calgary Feng Shui Designer
