If I were a house .....
Wed, 8 Oct 2008
Long time readers will remember a series of posts I did featuring rooms that spoke so much to me that I could see myself not only in them but as them. I had the same longing to "be" a place when I first saw this Creekside Guest House by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. The firm is well known and respected for their consideration of place and user, the meaning and sensibilities, the possibilities and sensitivity. Their portfolio is diverse as is expected from a large firm but it is this simple yet refined building which not only addresses but embraces its site that took my breath away. I love it. I want to live in it. Take the time to view their work particularly their residential, renovation and adaptive reuse projects. They are truly a gifted firm.
Reader Comments (17)
wow, you are about as one with nature in these spaces as you can get without popping up a tent. undisruptive to the environment around them. off to check out their site!
Love it, as avant garde said its as close as being outdoors as it gets.
Awesome space! I would love my permanent home to be like this one!
They blur the borders between nature and home. Beautiful.
Looks great, but I cannot help to wonder about the isolation (thinking of winter). Do they use floor heating?
Wow, love this space! But I am pretty sure I would be scared alone at night...
I would love to live in one of those ... cosy. Well, maybe heating is in fact one of the problem, as glas is not the best material to keep warmth ... but they probably thought about that. I jut LOVE it.
agreeing with platinum blonde! i really appreciate this space but couldn't see it as my home - it's too clean and not enough cosy. but gorgeous none the less.
Oh my God, visiting your blog is always a pleasure and a torture at the same time! Hahaha Love the spaces, but desperately want to live in them too! Yours is my favorite/most hated blog ever!
If I were a house, I'd love to be this one!! Your blogs are terrific, and always put an inspiring smile on my face. Thanks!
i love glass houses madly, yet could not live in one unless they had floor to ceiling sheers to pull at night--i hate being confronted by mirror-like black glass and being more seen than able to see out--unless there's a way to light them that minimizes this aspect?
speaking of transparent, or visionary houses-- i hate to detour this post, but i don't know where else to put this, and i'm dying to ask this circle of people about how they feel about the future of interior design, given the impending dire global economy (how according to some knowledgeable people, we are on the brink of US and possibly global economic collapse and dark times ahead, no matter who is elected US president).
orangered, things are so different right now in terms of economy and real estate....like here in Canada, things haven't changed much lately. Most people can afford to buy a home if they want to (ie. no down payment) and those with houses aren't at risk of losing them. Then there's the poor soles in Australia like Jo who can't afford the insane and inflated housing prices. Anyway, I don't think interior design will change much - except I think the idea of thrifting and repurposing furniture will just become more and more popular.
And I think by Jo calling this post "If I were a house" she really meant "If I were a house I'd be nekid"
the question of whether we might start liking road warrior chic, or what interior design students are thinking about their future careers pales in comparison to the larger picture of course, but i still wonder...it's been odd the past few years pursuing our fancies (especially if you were like me, intending, but failing to try and raise money for Afghanistani people).
By the way, since this has been indulgent, possibly sickly so, already, i regret it already and am probably making enemies, i just have to say, that speaking of glass houses and the campaign of McCain + Palin ("McPain") the fact that the Iraqi people do not get to vote in this election (or the whole world) is as preposterous as that campaign, and that for international readers, there are so many of US madly, intensely hoping for an Obama Biden victory, for the sake of the world and the future, that things might be a bit better and just for everyone everywhere.
Kim, thank you, and i'm glad Canada is not so crazy, thank God! And that you and some people are optimistic, i sure hope you're right!
(i was typing part two when you posted this reply.)
And i'm sorry for using your blog for this-- since it has international readership, i couldn't resist, but should probaly have put it on Apt Therapy...maybe i will, or look for what people probably have posted of similar questions.
Yes, definitely thrifting and re-purposing, freegans, freecycing, etc. will grow and grow, yes, YAY!
Here's to goodwill and cooperation...and fantastic reflective houses.
Wow these places are PERFECT! I would feel like I was dreaming if I lived in one of these homes. My best childhood memories are of playing in the woods near the swamp at my parent's house. Thank you for sharing!
Wow, they are a local architect firm near me. How great to see this!