Designing a Home as a Narrative
Introduction
Welcome to this week's blog and video where we delve into our approach to home design: thinking of it as a narrative. A home, to us, is not just a set of rooms but a dynamic flow of interconnected spaces. We believe in this narrative approach because it gives a genuine understanding of how a home is used and lived in.
The narrative is just one approach of several that we use in the design of a home. For example, tools like floor plans, program diagrams, and construction drawings allow us to analyze and determine the more pragmatic or technical aspects of a home. However, even when we are working on these other things, we are considering how our decisions contribute to the story and experience of a home.
1. Scenes vs Sets
Architecture and interior design have many parallels to filmmaking. One of them is understanding each room or space as a film set that hosts a myriad of different scenes.
Rather than focusing solely on the physical elements like walls, materials, and objects, our approach revolves around the actions or scenes transpiring within these spaces. It’s about the people and how the space affects them. A kitchen is not just a room with a sink, range, and refrigerator, and a bedroom is more than just a room with a bed; these rooms are stages for activities. The bedroom is not just a space for sleeping; it's a place for intimate conversations, reflection, and recharging. Within this set, different scenes unfold—sleeping, reading, cuddling, or watching movies.
“Our design philosophy draws inspiration from the structure of a storyboard strip”
Our design philosophy draws inspiration from the structure of a storyboard strip, envisioning how our clients will inhabit their homes. Each frame encapsulates an action or activity, providing a personalized and authentic perspective as we approach the project. This outlook, delving beyond superficial concerns of colors and materials, serves as a rich source of inspiration to craft spaces harmonizing with the dynamic narratives of the lives embedded within them. Such understanding allows us to shape spaces that resonate with the uniqueness of each person's routine.
2. Sequences & Procession
In this approach to design, we view each room as a scene within a chapter, contributing to the overarching narrative of a home. The essence of a well-designed home lies in the relationship between its spaces.
While living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms often take the spotlight, we emphasize the significance of frequently overlooked "secondary" spaces such as stairways, foyers, and hallways. We often visit homes for listing or renovation, these areas frequently emerge as the main culprits behind the underwhelming feel of many residences. Our focus on transitions aligns with the fact that your experience of a home is not a series of discrete snapshots but a continuous procession. An apt analogy is the quality of a vacation, where the journey and everything in between—not just the destinations—determines the overall experience.
“The journey and everything in between—not just the destinations—determines the overall experience”
In our office, we conceive sequences of experiences with 3D modeling. Crafting a detailed digital model of the house, we navigate through it at a 5’-5” eye level and realistic view perspective. For clients of varying heights, we customize the eye level to simulate their experience. As we navigate corners, we intuitively sense what unfolds and what becomes visible. Our objective isn't to make every space the main scene; rather, it's about infusing each space with purposeful intention and comprehending how they collectively relate to one another.
The Hallway
No space in a house should exist just because “it needs to”. This is often the case with hallways which typically serve only as conduits to rooms stacked on either side. Experiencing this is akin to watching a movie that feels choppy; transitions between scenes lack purpose or meaning. Every space, including hallways, like every scene in a movie, should contribute something to the larger narrative. If not, it either doesn't belong or has been underdesigned.
“Every space, like a scene in a movie, should contribute something to the larger narrative.”
The Garage Entry
Another frequently overlooked procession is the journey from the street to the front door, particularly notable in the US. Many individuals park their cars in the garage and enter their home through the garage door. But what is the experience like? Picture yourself getting out of your car, shutting the door, locking your car. What light is on? Probably the garage door light above you—not exactly glamorous, right? It's an item that is simply ‘there’ because it's required. What do you encounter? Tools, a broom, a washer and dryer, perhaps some dirty rags. Not exactly an enticing entry. You walk up a few rough concrete steps, open a banal door, and then you are transported to another dimension. However, the transition into the home is virtually nonexistent. Stepping over the threshold, you find yourself in a kitchen or a neglected back hallway. It feels like the back entrance of a building. Even though the garage door entrance is arguably just as important as the main entry, used every day, yet rarely considered in home design. Why? Because the home experience was not thought about as a narrative.
3. Key Moments
Every home should have key moments that frame views and create focal points to steer the visual journey and instill a sense of anticipation. In crafting these moments, leveraging traditional elevation drawings becomes paramount. The elevation, or side view, is the canvas for constructing a tangible moment.
It’s essential to note that most architecture and interior design media and publications spotlight only the significant moments in a home. This is particularly common with interior design publications which very often depict a completely fictional composition of furniture and objects that were arranged for the photograph and do not exist in the actual home. This practice can be misleading as it often neglects the transitional experiences and overall design.
“Key moments frame views and create focal points to instill a sense of anticipation. ”
4. Coherency
Each residence should articulate a distinct artistic expression, a goal accomplished through the maintenance of coherence and consistency throughout the entire project. Typically, this is realized by employing a unified palette of materials, textures, and colors. Nonetheless, alternative methods can be equally impactful.
Consider the work of a director like Wes Anderson. While his films undeniably embrace a specific color palette to establish coherence, they also rely on pacing, movement, transitions, and scene-framing as integral components of narrative construction. Analogously, these principles can be applied to the realms of architecture and interior design. Geometries and even movement can serve as effective means to establish thematic elements within a home. Although utilizing a restrained palette is a widely accepted and efficient approach, we believe it shouldn't be the default choice.
“Although utilizing a restrained palette is a widely accepted approach, we believe it shouldn’t be the default choice.”
5. Dynamism
Much like films or music, we believe that houses should embody a certain degree of dynamism—experiencing moments of compression and expansion reflective of life itself. This dynamism is what sustains the long-term interest, engagement, and meaning of a dwelling.
A notable design tool, popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright, involves introducing an intentional shift in ceiling height during the transition from one space to another. Initially, as you enter the space, there's a deliberate lowering of the ceiling to a height, such as seven feet, which might seem unconventional by today's standards. However, this low ceiling serves as a transitional zone, a moment of compression. Shortly after, as you move into the next space just a few feet away, there's a sudden expansion to the actual ceiling height, which might only be 10 feet. This relationship between compression and expansion transforms the perception of the 10-foot ceiling, making it feel significantly different.
This approach draws a parallel with the composition of a song, where there are ebbs and flows, pauses, breaks, and crescendos. It's about creating sequences that engage inhabitants, much like the dynamic elements within a well-composed piece of music.
“There are ebbs and flows, pauses, breaks, and crescendo”
6. Emotion
In creating a convincing narrative and home, we consider the emotional impact a design will have on the client and anyone else experiencing the home. This aspect of design goes beyond a mere preference, and more nuanced responses such as anticipation, happiness, sadness, relaxation, and more.
Because we work on projects in many different places, we have to consider the culture of a particular region, city, or neighborhood and the sensibilities of our individual clients.
Interestingly, it has been our observation that the emotional dimension of design often takes a back seat in the profession and education of architecture. We find that architects are frequently engrossed in the myriad technical aspects, from floor plans and analytical details to programming and building science, or they become immersed in lines, intersections, and the importance of datums, and in the process, These are all undeniably vital components of the craft. However, this practical focus can sometimes lead to a myopic, overly pragmatic perspective, and the experiential aspect of architecture can be overshadowed.
“We consider the culture of a particular region and the sensibilities of our individual clients”
Conclusion
For us, approaching design as a narrative is not merely an aesthetic choice but a philosophy that elevates the meaning and purpose of a home. It's an acknowledgment that architecture is not just about constructing spaces but about crafting experiences and emotions that resonate with the inhabitants. It's about fostering a relationship between people and spaces, transforming houses into the very stories that shape our lives.