The difference between product design and architecture is in human scale and that has to do with political power.
There is something subduing in the creation of structures we humans inhabit or use in any way, something about those structures condioning our moves and behaviors. Architecture and (even more) urbanism have that powerful quality.
Architects project their structures to influence in the way we feel and behave. They manage flows of people, they regulate our exposition to daylight to condition our feelings or they make us feel free and empowered through space and height. They make structures that manipulate us.
Architecture and urbanism could be the use of power though means of space. That could explain why politicians have always flirted with architecture, and dictators love to have scale models of their dreamt cities.
Designers instead, have never been that interesting for the powerful (with some interesting exceptions). Their work is usually not that influencing. Designers make things that tend to be smaller than humans. Their structures may condition but don’t force us to do anything. It’s not the space which conditions the individual but the individual who manipulates the object.
Gary Hustwit, who directed the great film Helvetica and the not-so-great-for-me Objectified, is about to close his movie trilogy with Urbanized. In his own words:
The third documentary in this trilogy is about the design of cities. Urbanized looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design, featuring some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.
We want to build the best list of design (interaction, information, industrial, product design and architecture) movies and documentaries of all times. Here’s the deal: write down in the comment section the name of a film or doc that’s somehow design related and, in return, we’ll give you a code to watch any movie in Filmin‘s (Spain’s best streaming service for indie film) catalog for free.
We also have a promo code for a premium account at Filmin (any movie, any time anywhere) which we’ll give to the person who makes the best list (it’s ok to repeat some movie suggested by someone else). Easy peasy japanesey. A neat gift for little effort.
Alissa Walker from Fast Company on architects’ websites:
The most un-usable architecture firm Web sites are often exactly like the buildings those architects design: Created to make a statement, rather than focus on everyday livability. Perhaps they have to solve one problem before they can tackle the other.
The article is rather shallow, but worth skimping to check out some info-architectural disasters.
This is a house with no exterior windows, only skylights. It’s percieved as a closed space from the outside but if you see it from the inside it gives a great sense of openness:
It kept me thinking about isolation, percieved isolation and openness. Do their inhabitants feel free? Do outside people see it as a jail or, even worse, as a bunker? How it would be to have children inside? How seing only the sky would affect your mood if you lived there? Would that be a good solution to ugly sorroundings?
The house can be found in Obama, a Japanese town. It was designed by Suppose, a Japanese design and architecture firm which has other interesting and provoking works.
I am not sure wether this is art, architecture or both (artchitecture?). I just found it amazing and provoking at many levels.
“How it would be, if a house was dreaming”
The conception of this project consistently derives from its underlying architecture – the theoretic conception and visual pattern of the Hamburg Kunsthalle. The Basic idea of narration was to dissolve and break through the strict architecture of O. M. Ungers “Galerie der Gegenwart”. Resultant permeabilty of the solid facade uncovers different interpretations of conception, geometry and aesthetics expressed through graphics and movement. A situation of reflexivity evolves – describing the constitution and spacious perception of this location by means of the building itself.
