What is the meaning of INDIVIDUAL in different cultures and how it shapes our understanding of HOME
Our homes are structures for both, individual and collective living
IF OUR HOMES WERE JUST ABOUT US, WE WOULD ALL BE LIVING IN A ONE-BEDROOM CONDO. THAT’S ALL ONE NEEDS: A NIGHTTIME SPACE, A DAYTIME SPACE, A PLACE TO PREPARE FOOD, AND A PLACE TO TAKE CARE OF HYGIENE. AND WE WOULD ALL LIVE BY OURSELVES.
The second a home accommodates two or more individuals, that simple normative, mini-collective we call family changes the home itself and makes it now a structure that needs to accommodate multiple individual habits. Lots of questions arise out of the simplest one: does each individual need their own daytime space? While NIGHT comes with fewer spatial restrictions, DAY is more demanding on a home. Being in each other’s face and not having “space” for yourself can pose serious long-term problems for a couple.