Alex Schweder and His Practice-Flatland ( Precedent Report ) Research Paper

Alex Schweder and His Practice-Flatland ( Precedent Report ) - Research Paper Example Unlike the ordinary buildings built with blocks, implementing closure and invisible life within the walls, Flatland vividly expresses how individuals create and shape their houses and the impact the structures have on them later. According to Gratza, Schweder describes flatland project among others as that intended to ‘take things that are more subtle, and make them large enough for people to see’ – namely how architecture draws implicit boundaries and constructs relationships between people† (2013, p.141). Flatland structure is fascinating in the sense of the space and material used to sustain life in the contrived living space constructed. What makes Flatland interesting is the performance essence brought out through the architecture. First, the materials used to make the four story building are merely wood and metal beams, and visible glass walls in an unusually textured space. The idea of flatland project was living under the constant gaze of the audience through the transparent walls performing all their daily routines in the confinement of less than 20 m2 total space, where six housemates at one point shared for an intended 20 days period (Felthousen, 2008). The thin sliced sculpture approximately 60 centimeters wide in the story expresses creativity in housing and how people’s behaviors are influenced by the set up to harmoniously live together. The image below depicts the installation view of Flatland where the housemates ran their lives in the confined spacing. Like in the society, housemates in the Flatland structure needed to share the limited resources (space, kitchen, toilet, bathroom and stairs). Hence, there is need for a particular order and rules to guide the people in their daily routines. Without such, people get into conflicts and collide with each other in their roles. In Flatland, there were three rules: once one left the structure, he or she was not