7-40
PARTISAN REVIEW
keeping with the practice of living. A house is a volume in which
people live polydimensionally It is the sum of every possible move–
ment its inhabitants can make within it; and these movements in
tum are imbued with the flux of instinct.
Hence it is fallacious to begin with a floor plan. We must strive
to capture a
general sense
of dwelling, and configurate accordingly.
This is difficult but not impossible. It is difficult, if only because the
space of the house is polydimensional, and as such real, while the
design cannot but be two-dimensional (it is imprisoned on paper so
to speak ) . But
if
the design is intrinsically two-dimensional, that is
all the more reason why we must not see two-dimensionally, or feel
two-dimensionally
a
priori.
Primitive, prehistoric man drew no ground plans for his house.
He drew no architectural design whatsoever. Not even with his
finger in the sand or mud. He built
directly.
He formed space directly
into a house. And from the very first peg (or block ) he already lived
in it. By the time the last stone or the last leaf was laid in place,
the house had already been experienced, tested. In short, the inhab–
itants gradually put on the house; as one might put on garments until
covered.
The mechanization of dwelling construction proceeded roughly;
as follows :
a) Primitive man builds directly-without design- for himself
and his family.
b) The semi-civilized man builds directly- still without plans–
but he builds also for other families.
c) "Civilized" man builds for others, people of means, and
submits sketches to help sell his products. He becomes a specialist,
a master builder for himself and others; he designs and also builds;
d) The machine man only designs, he no longer builds but leaves
the building to other specialists; he no longer builds for himself but
only for others; this is the architect of today.
e) Possible future development: The architect no longer designs
the house himself. It is collectively planned (by a group of special–
ists in construction, mechanized equipment and decoration ) , collec–
tively built-and administered.
This social standardization has given rise to a standardization
