DAY 55_HOW OUR HOMES REFLECT OUR USE OF SPACE

8 October 2010

After analyzing how much time is dedicated to various activities in my life in the last post, I wanted to see how my use of time translates to the built environment of my house:

The diagram below shows how the use of space in my house relates to how much time I am spending in these spaces.  My use of space has changed during the course of this project just as the time dedicated to certain activities has.  I spend more time doing dishes, tending to plants , dealing with waste and cooking, and less time washing, and relaxing in my living room :).  um, wow.  Homes in a post-oil age would help to accommodate these changes in lifestyle by dedicating more, and better quality space to activities which we spend a lot of time doing. 

Figure 1 shows the spaces in my house which are dedicated to various activities

Figure 2 uses my pie graphs of time spent doing various activities (from last post) and translates them onto the plan of the house

Figure 3 reorganizes and re sizes the spaces in my house to be more reflective of how I use my time (and what emphasis should be placed on certain rooms). 

The size and quality of spaces in my house does not necessarily reflect the amount of time I spend there.  For example, my kitchen is a fairly large space, but not a great quality space. Many kitchens are designed for function and are quite small compared to the living room.  If you had a tiny kitchen and spent 7% of your life cooking (as I do now) you would be happier with a larger, light-filled kitchen (as many living rooms are).  By making the kitchen a better quality environment you are able to enjoy the spaces of your house which you spend a majority of your time in. 

The majority of the time I spend in my house is sleep, working and cooking.  My sleeping space does not need to be as large as it is now even though I spend a lot of time in it because, well, I'm unconscious :)  This 'frees up' space for a bigger kitchen and work space.  The living room space is typically the space people hang out in, however, when I have people over to cook (which is a lot) EVERYONE hangs out in the kitchen.  That's where the action is and everyone is pitching in to help.  By integrating the living space with the kitchen it allows the kitchen to become a large, quality space and still provides room for those people who are just hanging out. 

Adjacency's are also important.  Although this is a quick sketch, the logic behind where to put spaces in relation to each other is an important part of helping to facilitate the activities of the house.  For example, all the 'water use' spaces are located next to each other (washing dishes, bathroom, shower).  My experience using water from a rain barrel has made me realize that all of the uses of this water should be close together (less hauling).  This means the kitchen needs to be next to the water spaces as well as the bedroom. 

Both the kitchen and growing spaces should be near the compost.  Food goes in on one side and can be accessed for use in soil on the other. 

As mentioned the kitchen is adjacent to the living space, and the grow table runs along the kitchen, living and working spaces.  The grow table could be a very pleasant environment, filled with living things, but also has a functional use.  Food can be harvested literally IN the kitchen, but the growing plants can be enjoyed throughout the living spaces.