01. Introduction
Introduction ‘Living Space’
The definition of livingspace has different meanings and is researched by various disciplines – anthropology, architecture- and arthistory, geography and literature. How do you define ‘livingspace’? Which boundaries annotate the separation between ‘private’ and ‘public’ space?
As a result of the Industrial revolution and the segregation of human activity into separate spheres of work and home, the phenomenon of livingspace arises. As Walter Bejamin once remarked: ‘The 19th century like no other century, was addicted to dwelling. It conceived the residence as a receptacle for the person, and it encased him with all his appurtenances so deeply in the dwellings interior that one might be reminded of the inside of a compass case, where the instrument with all its accessoires lies embedded in deep, usually violet folds of ‘velvet’ (Benjamin 1999: 220) Since then, livingspace as served as a place for social change from the ‘Utopia’ of Thomas More to socialist revolutionists, Feminists, Modernist architects and designers; they all worked on the ideal human habitation.
But what does the term ‘home’ mean in the 21st century? Besides the plurity of lifestyles, identities and spaces and the rise of new technologies, new forms of individuation with their attendant social relations, reconfigured families, households and communities arise. As safe as the utopian ‘home’ was considered in the 19th century, it is now subject to the incursions of surveillance, radio waves and the world wide web. The boundaries between ‘private’ and ‘public’ are shifting and the question is if we still could talk about two separated areas.
Politically, the domestic sphere nowadays is subject to current political and social battles faced by nation states and their communities. On the other hand the living space has been an important arena of political action – the seed of many revolution was planted there – it is the place where our political and social ideas are formed, discussed and reconsidered. And, on top of that, the home is our most important financial investment.
From: Home Cultures (Volume 1 / Issue 1 Berg Publishers, 2004)
Question
- Could you speak about a ‘livingspace’ in terms of a ’second skin’ of its inhabitants?
And does this second skin represent (in any form) the ‘private identity’ of its inhabitants?