“But it’s so minimalist”‘ you might say. So is prison, and we all know how many people are just clamoring to live there (judging by the US prison population, you might think they are). Yeah, it’s interesting. Yeah, it’s edgy. Yeah, it makes for some pretty striking photographs. But, architecture is about more than just making a statement. It’s about more than creating striking images fit for glossy, sexy photographs. It’s about creating an enriching space for human habitation. The space pictured is cold, sterile, void. Nothing about that says “come live here. Come enjoy this space.” At it’s core, the space is fundamentally intended to be occupied. It’s an apartment within an apartment building: a space for living. If it’s intended as a commentary on how sterile housing can be, it’s a good one. The problem is, it seems to promote that coldness as an acceptable environment by recreating it in a renovation that was most importantly an opportunity to improve the quality of an existing space.

If I lived in this “space” the only thing I would be inspired to do would be to move…or head to the roof: the only acceptable space in the entire building, ironically located outside (judging by these photos).

Lee Klein,
Fine Artist
http://leeklein.wordpress.com