Talking House

Abstract

Talking House consists of a series of three buildings, each conceived as an experimental apparatus to study the phenomenon of proximity. It is a design-driven research conducted within the field of architecture. Talking House builds on my experience as a craftsman, architect, and teaching architect. The building process and the “buildings” themselves as a medium for research take centre stage:

Buildings provide a limitation and framing through material, structure, size, orientation, lighting, etc. Talking House explores these boundaries to study spatial behaviour by borrowing methods from the field of proxemics (Edward T. Hall).

What is proximity? How can it be described and constructed from an architectonic perspective? How to build a situation that allows for proximity between two strangers?

By reconsidering these topics and looking at them as actual practices, Talking House hopes to actively contribute to the discourse of design-driven research in the field of architecture

Keywords: Proximity, Experimental Architecture, Building-as-research