FROM PAPER TO HOUSE: SMALL EXPERIMENTAL ARCHITECTURES
Lola O olini
Depa men o A chi ec u e and U ban S udies, Poli ecnico di Milano (ITALY)
In oduc ion
“A no ice is he pe son who app oaches, o he i s ime, a ce ain ype o ac i i y in ela ion o
which public opinion is o g ea impo ance.”1
As a lec u e in A chi ec u e o unde g adua e s uden s, I ha e o en e lec ed upon he meaning
o ‘eso dio’, he I alian wo d o ‘begin’, which means s a , debu bu also, acco ding o i s
e ymology ( he La in exo di i), “ o begin o wea e.”
In ou case, beginning o wea e he ab ic o expe ise and knowledge, on which he h eads o he
s uc u ed s i ches o expe ience will hen be emb oide ed.
In gene al, he beginning is “ he depa u e”, “ he beginning o o he hings”2 and, om he eaching
poin o iew, dealing wi h his speci ic phase ep esen s an in e es ing challenge.
We ha e he oppo uni y o in oducing s uden s o hei u u e p o ession, di ec ing hem owa ds
he opics ha in e es hem he mos and o e ing hem conc e e possibili ies o expe imen a ion.
These conside a ions led o he eaching and esea ch p ojec “One Man Li ing” which, i on he
one hand in oduces s uden s o he undamen al opic o a chi ec u e, ha o li ing (in i s meaning
o minimal dwelling) on he o he , i o e s hem he chance o expe imen i “p ac ically” h ough
c ea ing, in eal li e, a small space o one pe son o li e in.
The easons
The opic o li ing, as p oposed o he i s -yea s uden s, is aken in i s mos gene al meaning: he
inhabi ed space is no conside ed only as a domes ic place, bu as a space whe e man li es and
whe e he pe o ms speci ic ac ions, one o mul iple, alone o in e ac ing wi h o he s. This allows
ex ending he ield o in es iga ion and ansmi ing he p ojec ’s sense o non-unambigui y o he
p ojec .
I is a pa icula ly opical subjec and can include new u gencies and hema ic ideas, as i is closely
connec ed o he economic ci cums ances o he his o ical momen ; he con igu a ion o inhabi ed
space is he “mi o ” o he changes o places and beha iou . Today, o example, we design no
only o build om new, bu we eckon wi h exis ing spaces, his o ically conno ed and e hough o
accommoda e new unc ions mo eo e spaces a e designed paying g ea a en ion o
sus ainabili y, in e ening in eme gency si ua ions, using new ma e ials and so on.
The “ways o li ing” ha e changed: people mo e, people li e “ empo a ily”, amily geog aphies
change, new places, p e iously conside ed ma ginal o no e y a ac i e, a e colonized…
The p ojec o li ing, in sho , opens up o newe and newe issues which in ol e he whole social
sphe e and o e s ideas o u he s udy and in e ac ion wi h o he disciplines.
F om he eaching poin o iew, i is also a opic sui able o he debu o young a chi ec s, as i
can be di ec ly expe imen ed by hem: he house is he space we li e in, which can be measu ed in
eal li e, in which he hypo heses o wo k can be e i ied.
The a ea conce ned can be measu ed, he ma gins de ining i and he objec s i con ains can be
analysed, he space necessa y o man o enjoy i and o his mo emen s can be e i ied, bu ,
abo e all, he heme o small li ing space can s imula e he s uden s o seek, in an ‘o iginal’, way
p ojec solu ions ha a e no s e eo yped.
In 1959 Le Co busie asked a young s uden :
“How do you make a doo ? How big? Whe e do you pu i ? How do you make a window? Bu ,
inciden ally, wha is a window o ? Do you eally know why hey make windows? I so, you will be
able o explain o me why a window is a ched, squa e o ec angula . I wan easons o ha , and
would add: Think ha d: do we need any windows a all o-day?
In wha pa o a oom do you make a doo ?...
Pe haps you ha e se e al solu ions. You a e igh , he e a e se e al solu ions, and each one gi es
a sepa a e a chi ec u al sensa ion. You see- hese di e ences o solu ion a e he e y basis o
a chi ec u e. Acco ding o he way you en e a oom and acco ding o he posi ion o he doo in he
wall, you ge a pa icula imp ession, and he wall which you pie ce akes on pa icula
cha ac e is ics. You eel you ha e disco e ed a chi ec u e. […]
Now y sol ing one o he mos in ica e o all con empo a y p oblems: he minimum house.”3
In o de o be able o conc e ely c ea e he p ojec , we decided o in e p e he mo e gene al opic
om a pa icula poin o iew, ha o he “small scale”.
A minimal home is no synonymous wi h a lesse home no he esul o a design simpli ica ion. I
con ains a complex geog aphy o ac i i y and ela ions, o in e sec ed spaces and di e si ied
needs, o be able o be unde s ood as a “condense ” o opics and design oppo uni ies.
Abo e all, o a s uden in he i s ew yea s, i is o e ed as an oppo uni y o acqui e he p ojec -
de elopmen ins umen s necessa y o any kind o wo k, on wha e e scale; as an oppo uni y o
deal wi h a limi ed numbe o a iables, p ope o e e y a chi ec onic objec : unc ional, dis ibu i e,
s uc u al, ela ed o he ins alla ions, mo phological and psychological; las ly, as an oppo uni y o
in oduce he a iable o “ ime” as a design opic, hinking o lexible, e en empo a y a chi ec u es.
By small s eps, owa ds building
The design o he small space o li e in, which will hen be p oduced, is p eceded by some
p elimina y exe cises, bo h o he analy ical and o he empi ical-p ojec -de elopmen ype: a
his o ical esea ch on iconic small a chi ec u es and some ex- empo e p ac ical exe cises.
On he one hand, he e is he objec i e o cons uc ing a cul u al con ex o e e ence which
con ibu es o c ea ing ha epe oi e o knowledge and images which is an indispensable
ins umen o he nex expe iences o he p ojec .
On he o he , his is based on he con ic ion ha i is igh o b ing he s uden s immedia ely ace o
ace wi h hei u u e ac i i y, h ough some b ie design exe cises du ing which hey can gain
con idence wi h space, i s modula ions and he elemen s h ough which i can be modi ied (ligh ,
bounda ies, dimensions, ma e ials, colou s…). The analy ical and esea ch wo k p oposes he
s udy o some small mode n and con empo a y a chi ec u es, h ough an in es iga ion o he da a
and p oblems ha con ibu e o hei inal con igu a ion. F om a documen a y and in o ma i e
app oach o he wo k o i s designe and o he his o ical-cul u al con ex in which i is placed, he
a chi ec u e is edesigned and subjec ed o “disman ling”.
I s o ma i e elemen s a e in e p e ed: space (dimension, dis ibu ion, unc ion), s uc u e,
ho izon al and e ical bounda ies (walls, loo s, ceilings, connec ing elemen s), ligh (na u al and
a i icial), ma e ials and colou s, ixed and mobile equipmen ; o make a h ee-dimensional model
which es o es i in i s spa ial ela ions wi h he su ounding a ea.
The se o all he wo ks aims o ace a hypo he ical e olu ion o li ing and o build up an a las o
e e ences, use ul o subsequen design exe cises.
Fig 1,2. Analy ic exe cise
Pape Long House, Shige u Ban, 1995, Giappone.
Tu bulence House, S e en Holl, 2005, USA.
As a as he sho design exe cises a e conce ned, which we call ex- empo e due o hei
cha ac e o a b ie du a ion and ins inc i e app oach o he opic, hese a e some e lec ions
a ound he key wo d o he a chi ec u e p ojec . “Ex Tempo e” comes om he same La in
exp ession which indica es he s a o he ac ion in he p ecise momen o he p oposal.
They a e as exe cises, wi hou p io p epa a ion, which wan o ecei e a esh and spon aneous
esponse, wi hou condi ionings. They ask ques ions, o e ideas and a e an oppo uni y o
e lec ion and close app oach o unknown opics seen o he i s ime.
The a ious ex- empo e ac i i ies include:
“Folding A chi ec u e” in which he s uden s we e asked o design a h ee-dimensional space
s a ing om a whi e ca d in A3 o ma . Th ough con olling he olds, he cu s and he cu ing o
he ca d, hey cons uc ed he model o an a chi ec onic space ha is inhabi able, designed in
ela ion o he human igu e and which can be measu ed in ela ion o i . S uden s could choose he
scale and had o e i y he p opo ions.
Fig 3,4,5. Folding A chi ec u e
O he “Ligh ing box”, in which he e lec ion conce ned he key wo d “ligh ” and p oposed c ea ing
a space, once again designed in ela ion o he human igu e and measu able in ela ion o i , wi h
ligh going h ough i .
The s uden s ecei ed a small whi e ca dboa d box measu ing 20x10x10 cm. and we e asked o
design he ligh o i . I could be zeni hal, la e al, di used, e lec ed o spo .
They chose he o igin and me hods o di usion o he ligh , hey made holes o cu he box
ans o ming i in o an inhabi able space li acco ding o hei pu poses.
Fig 6. Ligh ing box
The e was also “Spaces in a box” whe e, s a ing om a small pa allelepiped ca dboa d box,
unde s ood as a egula s e eome ic space inhabi able by one pe son, hey designed i s
modi ica ions and al e a ions. They added walls, lowe ed ceilings, made di e ences o heigh ,
elimina ed pa allelisms and ga e new dimensions, in oduced colou and di e en ex u es. They
c ea ed hei “Space in a box” o one pe son, played ou on he senso y expe ience o a non-
con en ional space.
A e hese, o he exe cises o gain con idence wi h space and i s a ibu es, cons uing i
physically, e en hough in scale and beginning o use he a chi ec ’s ools.
F om pape o house: he inal p ojec
Speaking o he singula i y o a chi ec u e, E o e So ass said: “A chi ec u e is inhabi ed, while a
is looked a ; his is a undamen al di e ence. A chi ec u e is a physical and senso y expe ience
because you go inside i .” 4
We wan ou s uden s “ o go inside”, o p ac ise i , o go h ough i and no only ha … ha hey
p oduce i as well.
This way, a e he b ie p epa a o y exe cises, on pape and wi h pape , on an un eal scale, we
gi e hem he chance o do hei i s eal p ojec , o expe imen , in sho , he whole cycle o an
a chi ec u e.
The wo k is o ganized in di e en phases; he con ac is s uc u ed on he basis o a call o
en ies p oposed by a g oup o lec u e s. In o de o simula e eali y as closely as possible I
includes he de ini ion o a clien , he p esc ip ion o dimensional equisi es, o he use o a speci ic
s uc u al ma e ial, o limi ed economic esou ces and o d y building sys ems.
The s uden s a e in i ed o design a minimum space o one pe son (hence he i le “One man
li ing”) wi h di e en pu poses, as an eme gency uni , as he i s housing o immig an s and he
homeless, as homes o singles, as s udios o a is s, as shel e s, e c...
O e he yea s, a ious building ma e ials ha e been expe imen ed, which all ha e in common ha
hey a e inexpensi e, ecyclable, p oduced indus ially and can be d y assembled. In pa icula , he
ollowing ha e been used: ca dboa d, wood (USB panel), p e-pie ced aluminium p o iles (no mally
used in wa ehouse shel ing) and PVC ubes (no mally used in plumbing ins alla ions).
As in a eal a chi ec u e compe i ion, a ju y made up o ex e nal p o essionals (a chi ec s, lec u e s,
pho og aphe s, designe s…) selec s he “winne ” om he nume ous pa icipan s: he minimal
a chi ec u e, which as well as mee ing he equi emen s o he call o en ies, is able o exp ess i s
own design poe ics and he bes syn hesis o composi ion.
Fig 7,8. Ju y a wo k
All he p ojec s a e hen s udied and de eloped in de ail, h ough inal d awings; he winne is
ewa ded wi h he p ac ical ealiza ion as a eal, one o one scale, p o o ype. In his phase, all he
s uden s o he labo a o y, wi h he help o lec u e s and u o s, a e engaged in a week o
wo kshops.
The esul , displayed on he Campus, is he One Man Li ing exhibi ion, wi h he p ojec s o he
cu en yea and he cons uc ion o he selec ed p o o ype.
Fig 9,10. S uden s a wo k
Fig 11-15. Some o he ealized p o o ypes
Re e ences
1 G. De o o, G. C. Oli (edi o s), Il Diziona io della lingua i aliana, Flo ence/I aly: Ed. Le Monnie , 1995.
2 AA.VV., T eccani 2014. Diziona io della lingua i aliana, Flo ence/I aly, Ed. Giun i Scuola, 2013.
3 Le Co busie , Le Co busie alks wi h s uden s, New Yo k/USA, P ince on A chi ec u al P ess, 1999, pp.
86-87.
4 D. Du a, M. In i i, E. Milia, M. Pi ola (edi o s), Maes i del Design, Milan/I aly, B uno Mondado i edi o e,
2005.