When Philip Johnson was wont to hark back to his Greek heritage, he would refer to architecture as “the art we used to call the mother of the arts”. Early this Sunday morning I was dreaming in the passenger seat of Willa’s Daewoo when bam! this particular progeny whacked me in the eye. So why is this unfinished masterpiece a must-see?
Once you’ve recovered your breath, you may realise that the most compelling aspect of this dwelling at 20 Scrivener St, Lyneham is its narrative quality. Buildings have stories to tell. This one can be interpreted as an 21st century metaphor: it’s the mini-orbed ship of design foundered on the rock of featurism. Hooraa!
Readers please offer a score for the Design Aesthetics Index…
2 responses so far ↓
1 max allen // Dec 17, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Minus 6. It would get a minus 9 except for the fact that it was clearly designed for the convenience of the housekeeper: anything spilled on the floor drains right out the back.
2 Dennis // May 8, 2009 at 6:10 am
Narrative architecture gradually reveals themes like a novel, telling an interesting story to create a dialogue. This doesn’t. Proportion and journey within this geometry there is not.
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