Residential Programming

Recently, I listened to “You Say to Brick” by Wendy Lesser, describing the life of Louis Kahn, the American architect and professor, who gained recognition for his work in the United States and throughout the world. What was not known to me before this book was his personal approach to architecture, namely, his writings and teaching style that focused on the creation of architecture as an expression, which is also a fundamental human characteristic. Kahn’s collection of writings are provocative and offer insightful passages about the nature of design and the creation of architecture, specifically.

Acknowledging the gravitational pull of Kahn’s writings, leads me to inquire about the nature of residential programming. At this first level of realization, the home program is really quite simply, since it is comprised of a series of rooms like a kitchen, bedroom, etc. At this fundamental understanding, coupled with the room size, a floor plan can be designed using only the function as a measure of relationships between spaces. This approach is entirely valid and accounts for a banausic layout driven by functionality alone. It is logical, then, the next step extrudes the plan into three dimensions, a roof is added, and a house is created. Practically speaking, this process is likely used at various levels throughout the construction industry, as plethora of websites offer house plans for sale, and with millions built, the subtler aspects of great design are sublimated to the gross functionality of the plan and style.

Using Jungian active imagination, I imagine Kahn’s more insightful approach, that of, “what is a bedroom space, and what does it what to be?” When I reflected on his likely inquiry, I found a shocking realization; the function of a room can be aligned with function, yes, but also with its relationship to the human being. The association of the bathroom, for example, is a space for the body. It is a sensual space for the daily rituals involving body. The acknowledgement of function, layered with the room’s spiritual purpose, i.e. the body, begins to shift, in my understanding of the room’s signifier. The room suddenly becomes a celebration, a heightened awareness of the quotidian ritual of the body, which elevates certain fundamental truths. Sometimes, a shower is just a shower, especially if it is in a windowless room and lacking ventilation. Sometimes, the shower becomes a personal retreat, a place of immense emotional renewal, especially when filled with natural light, a view into nature, luxurious water flow, and natural ventilation. I recall a brief visit along the Gulf of Mexico, where I stayed in an adobe hut with a lofty grass roof. Most memorable, however, was the outdoor shower, open to the sky and tiled with colorful mosaics. But, above these tactile appointments, was my shear emotional enjoyment of the coupling of nature and bathing. Both the body and my spirit were drenched, and both quenched, by this alchemical cocktail of water, nature, and the body. In the Terrace House, I purposefully placed the main bathing tub in a spatial alcove with glazing on two sides, taking full advantage of the site’s more intimate characteristics, while heightening the bather’s experience of nature.

I now realize residential programming is beyond functionality, but also includes a internal recognition of a room’s relationship to the person, in the sense of Mind, Body, and Spirit. These three, or perhaps just it is just two, Mind and Body being primary, and the Spirit is omnipresent in both, can further identify a room’s characteristics. Kahn’s idea of served and serving spaces are functionally classified. Here, the transcendence of function is imbued with Spirit of purpose. Not to digress into esoteric hyperbole, but to simply align my consciousness with a greater sensitivity to the fundamental purpose of the room. I am looking forward to applying this insight, and anticipate design work that resonates with the Mind, Body, and Spirit of its users. Mr. Kahn, your work continues into the future, ever vigilant, in helping the student understand the immense intuitive power of your teachings.