The Problem With The Practical

Abstract

In the past everyday actions were linked closer to nature. For example to dry your clothes you would require a sunny day; now we can use dryers anytime we like. These home appliances provide convenience but sever the connection we have to our exterior environment. Therefore in order to create pleasure out of the everyday we need to reconnect practical activities to nature.

This thesis tests the potential of the practical and pleasurable through considering architecture as a device. The thesis functions as a testing ground, utilizing small scale architecture to test pleasures in the undertaking of everyday actions. The site for these design tests is Ngapotiki on the South Wairarapa Coast of Wellington.

The site is very remote therefore practical aspects such as resource collection will be part of the everyday experience. Resource collection, transportation and function will be examined through the use of new innovative mechanisms; these devices will manipulate constructional and archetypal elements to harness the natural elements on the site of: fire, water and wind. The reconsideration of these practical elements is designed to enhance encounters between users and the surrounding environment.

"Our house was resistant to such ideologies. Services challenged ideals of low maintenance and opted for a high degree of strenuous user involvement. The ladder to the upper floor, far too short, had missing rungs, and in one place, a piece of sharp cold iron. Vertical movement, especially at night, took place as a series of jolts and slipped footings. No room for complacency, every movement of occupation was ecriture feminine - a writing from and on, the body (Rendell, 1999, p. 106)."

Through architecture that problematises occupation, everyday actions become new exciting memories of dwelling in nature.