Week 7: Home as a means to negotiate: self, others and public culture

While reading Cooper’s ”House as a symbol of self”, I kept thinking about the Old Merchants House.

“The presence or absence of certain objects are good if not perfect clues to status and attitudes. It is the living room rather than any other room in the house which provides these clues because the living in the area where “performances” for guests are most often given, and hence the “setting” of it must be appropriate to the performance. Thus we expect that more than any other part of the home, the living room reflects the individual’s conscious and unconscious attempts to express a social identity. “(135)

The living room in the Old Merchant’s house is a typical example such a display, compared to the rest of the house, especially their downstairs area, the decor and layout of the living room is much more glamourous. In this case, it is not much of an unconscious expression of social identity, but rather an intentional display of their socioeconomic status. However, it is quite true that many people stage and furnish their homes to remind themselves of who they are, as well as to impress potential visitors. Anything people get to see, even homes,  are a part of people’s image and identity.

“With increasing economic and psychic stability (and in some cases, these are linked), a person may no longer regard his house as a fortress-to-be-defended, but as an attractive, individual expression of self and family with picture windows so that neighbors can admire the inside.” (134)

Rich & Poor

It was really interesting to read about 1800 city planning and housing development. the chapter portrayed the 19th century New York City as a place where everything seemed to be dispensable and replacable, technology, buildings, culture, neigborhoods and so on.

While the rich were striving to show status and power by oppupying wider and taller spaces that are technically up to date. a high percentage of city residents are without proper dwelling or private bathrooms. Looking at the buildings mentioned in the book and knowing the housing situation at that time, building developers really had little or no interest or itention to solve mass housing issues. The famous buildings mentioned are typically of an European style, only built in a more granduer extent to entertain the very rich crowd.

Week4 response

I was really enjoyed reading Dauton’s piece. His theory on spatial reorientation and its effects on  people really made me think. When talking about housing, I normally wouldn’t relate of factors such as land availability, capital flow, energy supply, public order and so on. The reading made me realize how various factors help to form and define our public and private spaces, as well as our social behaviors.

I picked out two quotes that I personally think sums up his concept:

“Attention should be given to the way in which the residents utilized their accommodation and how this related to changes in other parts of the urban environment and to the social history of the working class. “

“Houses or not merely built in greater or lesser numbers, of rising or falling standards, but generated complex social relations.”

Week 3 Response

When describing his on study room, Rybczynski describes home a “ievidence of human occupation”(Home a Short history of an Idea, Rybczynski). In his research, it seemed like Rybczynski’s was emphasizing on the idea of home being a result of its occupant’s lifestyles, social relations, and interactions within that defined space. He gives example of the idea of comfort, which did not exist in the middle ages, being a particular lifestyle that led to very distinct housing architectures.

This makes me think of  as technology advances and people’s lifestyles change, so do their homes. Take TV and Internet for instance, instead of physically interacting with people, updating each other on events, and experiencing the world outside, we sometimes spend majority of our time watching a screen, typing, or clicking. Family interactions that use to take place in the common room have reduced to greetings and dinner. Not even TV watching is a common experience anymore as many households own several TV sets.

Rybczynski’s research of the idea of home, also ties back to last week’s reading about home being an organism responsive to changes of the outside world, the interaction and structure of a home/household is a direct result of people’s lifestyles and social relations.

Week2 Reading Response

When speaking of home, Douglas discusses an alliance, an organized structure, Heidegger emphasizes on man’s interaction with a space, and Hooks seems to associate home with power relations and political struggle. It is obvious that “home” bares different meanings. However, whether it is a person, a smell, or a place, there are memories and a sense of farmiliarity involved.

I am particularly intrigued by Banham’s theory of home being invaded by modern technology. Banham critisizes the modern housing standard that is equipped with air condition and other electric utilities, has given generations of people, the idea of home being inside a physically well structured box. This makes me think of how some city people have become fragile towards nature, and why I dislike camping so much…