small.diagram

The way that books fall open in human hands is a quality that makes books so inviting and apparently natural to use. Books naturally fall open, remaining bound tightly along the spine with the pages falling loose at the edges. Like an open book, Kazuyo Seima’s Small House opens up as you move vertically through the house. Therefore to diagram such a house, it seemed appropriate to orientate the spine of the book as if it was being held within a person’s hand.

To create a diagram of the Small house, I looked at the relationship of housing to the outside relative to each level of the house and the way that light was infiltrated into the rooms. The basement level of the house submerged into the ground had little light infiltration and was primarily an introverted space with a focus on privacy. In the book diagram the space carved out to represent the basement bedroom can only be seen though one small slit. The first floor consists of the entrance to the house and although this level is above ground, light and views are restricted due to the proximity of the neighboring houses. In diagram, a couple of slits are used to represent the limited openness of the floor. On the third floor the house is much more open allowing light to flood in though the glass windows, however, the space is still an interior space. In the book diagram the second floor is completely perforated by the slits, but it is still apparent that it is an enclosed space. The third floor of the house opens up completely as it opens up onto a terrace, blurring the line between interior and exterior spaces. In the book diagram, the cover is completely removed at this point and the 3^rd floor space becomes completely exposed.