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Today’s Dwelling Culture
as Result of Inherited Principles, Customs and Needs
by Igor Kalcic
Introduction: Dwelling culture
Dwelling culture as a part of
common culture is only a framework for scientific research,
a method to analyze the elements that compile it, a useful and
successful method to study identity of housing architecture.
Globalization and internationalization
Time we live in is not so simple as it was in the past. The
World shows strong interest in approach to the process of globalization
and internationalization. Cybernetic society, as a result of
world trends and efforts, is going to wipe out the borders between
countries, nationalities, cultures and identities. The pessimistic
scenario offers that there will not be any nationality, national
architecture, national culture and national identity. The optimistic
solution is that it is not reasonable and popular to believe
that it is going to happen very soon. Are we prepared to become
member of international society? The answer is much more complicated
as we are prepared to admit.
Architectural, cultural, national
identity
In order to define different identities
we have to find first the definition of “identity”,
which has at least two completely different meanings. They are:
- Relative identity, which means the broadest, general, or
shared, unifying character, that two objects are completely
the same, equal (sameness, universality, generality). Relative
identity is therefore some kind of method to read environmental
structures like: city, village, house, church, mountain, river,
street, square …
- Absolute identity, which means the narrow, individual, distinguishing
character, that every observed object is the same, equal only
to himself (individuality, uniqueness and always different from
the others). Absolute identity is therefore a method to point
out exactly determined, unique environmental structure like:
Big Ben in London, Eiffel Tower in Paris, Pizza San Marco in
Venice, Empire State Building in New York …
Big
Ben in London
The
house
The
city
Absolute identity and relative identity are the only way to
look for and define the characteristics of national identity
in architecture in methodological and system approach. Both
identities are indispensable in housing research when regional,
urbanistic and architectural view in connection with typology
of housing architecture is under inspection. National identity
in architecture is therefore sameness, universality, generality
on one side and individuality, uniqueness and always different
from all the others on the other side, belonging to certain
nation or nationality. National identity is above all these
meanings very important and indispensable for small nations,
without long national history, nations that fought for freedom,
national rights, mother language, national culture and other
national attributes.
Method of work
The
question of dwelling culture is the question of way of life,
consumerism and fashion, status symbols, the question of individuality
and community, common and individual values, the question of
needs and wishes, art and kitsch, the question of intensity
of outside influences …
Analyses of these elements with the method of comparison can
find and define some special features, which constitute dwelling
culture in Slovenia (at the beginning of new century and millennium),
which can define, at last stage, national identity of housing
architecture in Slovenia.
Relative
identity in Slovenia: The city
Absolute
identity: City of Ljubljana with the Castle
About Dwelling Culture in Slovenia:
Individuality and community, individual and common values
Observation of representative samples of dwellers on mentioned
elements of behavior and way of life began long time ago with
several researches on different themes of housing science from
early 80th. Summary of these researches show that majority of
participants place individuality and individual values far ahead
of the other two more social categories. There are many reasons
for these facts but the most important is that individuality
is the nature of most people in Slovenia. One should not take
care of things that are in common ownership with an explanation:
“It's not mine, you know”. The result is lack of
maintenance, improper use of public spaces and surfaces, cars
parked on green surfaces etc. And another feature, which confirms
previous statement, is that most people are happy when their
neighbors, acquaintances or even friends have misfortune. This
individuality has some other visible manifestations in so called
self – built mass housing and country built environment
and landscape in connection with mentioned housing. This visible
manifestations of individuality can be traced and found out
at many scopes of interest and activity about “building
new home”. Some of them like: the choice of building type,
the choice of layout, the choice of architectural elements,
are already determined by standard pre prepared layouts made
by architects. What is left to the self-built house owner is
choice of materials and colors as supplement to the original
design, the choice and use of all kinds of decoration and garden
arrangement with the use of all kinds of cheap substitutes …
everything in the sense and purpose to be different from the
others (individuality by all means).
There is another aspect about self-built mass housing. It was
planned and designed in architectural studios, with no ambition
for good architecture but designed professionally and without
knowing future dwellers, designed for stereotype people, which
do not exist. The designs were changed drastically at the execution
on above-mentioned reasons.
Today's situation is more optimistic. After some twenty, thirty
years (span of one generation), the living standards increased
to much higher level, the trees around the houses grow up, the
sense for common interest is appearing, unmaintenanced space
is disappearing, quality of open space between buildings is
raising, green scene becomes organic tissue of built environment.
It is the question of roots and other reasons that people identify
themselves with their homes and afterwards change their relation
to their dwelling and living environment.
The individuality has another feature, which has nothing to
do with mass housing. Some very few future house owners hire
architects to design for them, author's house, with professional,
artistic individuality and unique appearance. This practice
is increasing these last ten years and we can already show some
interesting examples of such unique architecture also in the
field of housing. Author's architecture in its high artistic
and aesthetic issue represents very small part of national architecture
but not unimportant as it is an example, a model for generations
of new house builders (in another self-built variation of course).
Good models for future mass housing are welcomed up to the point
where pure imitation is forbidden, mimesis as creative way of
imitation allowed and advisable.
Examples of self-built and author's
housing architecture
House Acman, arch. Nande Korpnik
Self-built house, based on standard pre prepared layouts, which
was changed and extended drastically
Author's architecture, house Acman in Grize (Slovenia), architect
Nande Korpnik, is significant example of high artistic and aesthetic
design with strong charge of individuality and absolute identity.
Design of the house is based dimensionally and proportionally
on double hayrack besides, where the language of traditional
architecture has been transformed and interpreted in new, modern,
high-tech language.
Self-built house practice, based on standard pre prepared layouts,
is a typical example of so-called changes, not only at choice
of supplements and decoration, but also at choice of building
type, choice of dimensions of layout, extensions and changes
in overall appearance of “new” house. Dwelling unit
is above the earth level so there is no direct contact with
garden area. Bad substitution for this connection is large terrace.
Volume of the unit is inconsistent and out of scale for family
house.
Typical example of self-built mass housing unit based on standard
pre prepared layout:
Implementation of standard pre prepared layout
Left:
Ground floor plan Right: Section and elevation
Front
elevation
The house from above is encyclopedia of mistakes and malfunctions,
so characteristic for self–built mass housing: nonsymmetrical
roof; dwelling on two levels with only four stairs level difference;
dwelling level is above earth level, no direct contact with
garden; garage is under earth level; small and completely useless
balconies; terrace is above earth level; improper use and misuse
of materials; all kinds of decoration to emphasize individuality
and identity; use of “additives” as a target to
compete with friends and neighbors, to show-off .
Prefabricated house is just another example of mass housing
(in developed countries, not yet in Slovenia) with some disadvantages:
it is not self-built and it is too expensive with quick investment
procedure. New offers enable even author's prepared layouts
and implementation based on these layouts (individuality against
mass housing).
Prefabricated
house RIKO
Next
phase of building
Final
appearance of the house (RIKO HISE, Slovenia)
Holiday house (weekend house)
Slovenian dwelling culture cannot be presented appropriately
without mentioning vacation house (also: holiday house, weekend
house, holiday bungalow, or “weekend”, second home
for old days etc.). Vacation house is Slovenian feature of spending
leisure time, weekends and holidays, especially because it is
so numerous. We can trace vacation houses in other European
countries but everywhere in much smaller extent. This has its
reasons as it happens on certain circumstances as a result of:
-dissatisfaction with dwelling qualities in primary housing
environment (flat, house, neighborhood, city, climate etc.)
-looking
for ideals (quite often false) in returning to nature, rural
and healthy life, decontaminated air, authentic environment
and other qualities that cannot be reached in “first home”.
Vacation houses are planned and executed in most cases near
the sea, at riverbanks, in the forest, in the mountains, with
one word, on the best Slovenian locations. Great part of this
stock was left outside Slovenia after separation from Yugoslavia,
mostly in Croatia (Istria, Dalmatia, islands). Vacation house
can completely turn over way of life of people involved. Weekend
after weekend tiring car driving in kilometers rows, there and
back again. But the fact is that whole story about mass housing
can be easily repeated on vacation lots, less acute of course.
Here too green scenery with trees overgrew built environment
to soften the picture of vacation settlements. Single houses
are usually built on regional and traditional principles with
the use of available traditional building materials. Whole misfortune
begins with implementation and use of decoration and additional
elements of identification, which are no more from traditional
and local repertoire. They can be transported from home environment
or imported from other foreign countries as fashion supplements,
surrogates, kitsch but also as new materials of all kind, insulations,
paint for wood, steel, brick, concrete etc. We still remember
very dark Scandinavian Sadolin pigmented protection lazure for
timber used on masonry in Istria, on Slovenian vacation houses.
In Istria they traditionally used oil paint, yellow, green or
blue color to resist sunbeams and this misuse of proper paint
profoundly changed the appearance of such houses.
Vacation
house in Istria
Same
house from other angle
This is Slovenian vacation house in Istria (Croatia). The only
visible mistake is very dark paint of masonry and proportioning
of some windows.
Settlement of vacation houses
Single
house in the settlement, with majority in Slovenian ownership
(Istria, Croatia), Slovenian owner (Istria, Croatia)
Standard investigation shows that most of the architectural
elements were used properly and in accordance with traditional
rules and under strict laws of urbanistic institutions and architectural
authorities of Istria. Closer inspection cannot satisfy expert
views about Istrian architecture. There are vaults on each building,
everywhere, all kinds of them, different spans and shapes, executed
in different material (concrete or stone cladding) but vault
was never traditional, authentic architectural element of Istrian
architecture. Has it come from Slovenia? The fact is that it
first appeared on Slovenian vacation houses in Istria (who else
built vacation houses in Istria in early period except people
from Slovenia?). Has it come some other way?
Closer look at the houses also shows the use of very dark pigment
paint on timber and masonry, which is not usually accomplished
in Istria or Dalmatia.
Some
of the ancient shepherds one cell houses at Velika planina were
transformed into vacation houses of low technical standard (no
water and electricity supply) but with high standard of natural
environment and landscape.
Some other important features
of Slovenian dwelling culture
Exact analyses and precise observation can find some other
features that seem to be not so important. But further study
offers another and different interpretation about importance
of these discovered features of Slovenian dwelling culture.
As first I have to mention that Slovenian people are “collectors
of things”. Collecting things is a habit; even more collecting
all kinds of stuff is an obsession that grows with age. It is
not collecting stamps or old coins. It is collecting old and
unusable clothes, old furniture, old and unusable bicycles,
even old cars. These collectors have explanation for their passion:
“You never know when you shall have to use it”.
This feature has effect on design or implementation of the house.
Because of such collectors is Slovenian home full of cases,
wardrobes and large cellars. Some houses have separated deposition
rooms for all kind of junk. Layouts of Slovenian houses have
changed to accomplish these new and strange passions.
Another strange feature is so called “peasant's mentality”.
Fear of winter is connected to hunger or reason for collecting
food for period when earth is resting. Collecting food is also
care connected to the past when food was not available from
large storehouses and cooled warehouses as it is today. Or food
was available in limited quantities. People were often hungry
in the past. They are today too and they have to buy food when
it is cheaper. Some people still collect food, fruit, potatoes,
and meat for wintertime. This provision needs again a lot of
place within the housing unit but this place can never compete
with conditions in modern ideally cooled storehouses. This kind
of collecting is another influence on planning and designing
housing layouts.
If we take into consideration that Slovenian and all other
nations houses are in the process of constant change with the
factor of time then we have to admit that such changes are to
be welcomed as they fulfill and satisfy the real need, wishes
and expectations of dwellers. Unless they are result of shortage
of feeling for real values, looking only for outer appearance
in the sense of competition with the others, looking only for
status symbols instead of looking for real quality and art.
I am afraid that the last but also very important feature of
Slovenian dwelling culture is slogan: “Less to be and
more to have”.
Prefabricated house Jelovica
Prefabricated
house Jelovica
Authors housing architecture with strong charge of individuality
and creativity, House Mihevc, executed 1969, Portoroz (Slovenia).
House Mihevc, arch. Edo Mihevc
Arch.
Edo Mihevc, Ground floor
Conclusions
Dwelling culture is a part of general culture. It is composed
of different elements like: way of life, habits, ideals, individual
and general values, wishes and preferences, outside influences,
even status symbols, some inherited local and traditional features,
use of new materials, new technologies and technical standards,
new equipment, some personal characteristics ...etc.
Some elements of Slovenian dwelling culture were exposed; some
of them are still hidden but shall be exposed in future. The
exposed ones helped to define Slovenian dwelling culture, which
has some special features that distinguish it from dwelling
cultures of other nations. If exists Slovenian dwelling culture
exists identity of its housing architecture too. In order to
show it we have to perform direct comparison between similar
architectures, Slovenian architecture on one side and architecture
of some other nation on the other.
References
1. Bezan,M., Brezar,V. (1984) Dwelling culture in state directed
mass housing last twenty years in Slovenia, Faculty of Architecture,
Ljubljana,
2. Brezar,V. (1999) IAHS, Ephemerality of housing architecture
in future (The future of Slovenian housing fund), 27. IAHS world
housing congress, San Francisco, USA
3. Brezar,V. (2000) IAHS, Banal as element of mass housing culture,
28. IAHS world housing congress, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
4. Kalcic,I., Perossa, M. (1982) Housing, University of Ljubljana,
Faculty of Architecture, Ljubljana
5. Kalcic,I. (1992) National identity in postwar housing in
Slovenia, Faculty of Architecture, Ljubljana
6. Kalcic,I. (1998) ENHR, Rehabilitation of multiflat housing
in different types of ownership, 9. Congress of European network
for housing research, Housing in transition, Portoroz, Slovenia
7. Kalcic,I. (2000) IAHS, From local culture and tradition to
good modern housing design, 28. IAHS world housing congress,
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
8. Schultz,C.N. (1985), The concept of dwelling, Electa-Rizzoli,
New York, USA
9. Sejima,K. (1999) Another environment, The Berlage Institute
Report, Amsterdam
Abstracted from: Conference
on Vernacular Architecture
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