Human beings have two conflicting desires: to be sheltered and to be free. Too much enclosure feels like prison. Too little feels like exposure and anxiety.
Frederick explains: Enclosure is defined by 3 things - Overhead plane (roof), Vertical planes (walls), and Base plane (ground). If you have all three, you feel fully enclosed, safe, like a room. If you have only base and one wall, you feel partially enclosed, like a courtyard. If you have only base, you feel exposed, like a desert.
Great architecture manipulates this feeling. A cafe wants low enclosure: low ceiling, open sides, so you feel social. A bedroom wants high enclosure: lower ceiling, full walls, so you feel safe to sleep. A mosque sahn wants medium enclosure: walls around but sky open, so you feel both safe and connected to heaven.
The mistake: Modern open plan destroys all enclosure. Huge open living + dining + kitchen with 3.5m ceiling everywhere. Result: People feel anxious, noisy, can't focus. Because humans need different enclosure levels for different activities.
Solution: Even in open plan, create implied enclosure with rug (base plane), pendant light (overhead), shelf (vertical). Your brain reads enclosure even if no walls.
For technical coordination: False ceiling height is enclosure control. 2.4m ceiling over sofa creates intimacy. 3.2m over dining creates formality. Same space, different ceiling heights = different feelings. That's why good shop drawings vary ceiling levels instead of making flat ceiling.
Post idea: Diagram of 6 levels of enclosure from fully closed to fully open with sketches. Very educational and shareable.
Comments
Post a Comment