im doing a project on an individual house and "living" so i would be very interested in hearing peoples opinions on the house/habitat(not the shop)/living space whatever you want to call it! what is it? what defines it for you? what lifestyle/environmental/climatic/cultural factors are the most important?

i went looking at a flat recently near o'connell street (great view of the spike) and it turned out to be a single room with a 15 foot ceiling, split in two by an 8 foot partition wall. on one side of this wall was a "bedroom" and on the other was a living room, which also contained a single bed behind the sofa. needless to say i didnt take it. this is the exact opposite of what a livng space should be

I bet they were asking too for over a grand a month rent.
Lord be with the days of appartment living, where rooms were spacious with double doors and high ceilings and great views of the city too . Sadly not here. Maybe the USA and Europe.
Architecture misers, developers and landlords is predominantly the norm here. Left overs from the troglodyte age.

does anyone think that highly conceptual houses, individually designed for very specific client requirements/preferences are actually restrictive? or are they just cool?
especially koolhaas' , mobius house ;
anyone know any examples worth looking at,

and did you get an apartment yet SW101?

no

but i'd rather kip on the floor of my smelly college than pay a grand to live in a squallid kip. thanks for the concern.

and what with the proposed reintroduction of fees it looks like i wont have a choice. i love you don berti. you and your hard-ass lackies make it all better

There's the issue of the inside: what feels comfortable and what's outside your door (neighbors, grocer, third spaces).

I'd prefer a modestly-sized open plan, warehouse-style, just a big 'ol space to fill with whatever. Number and size of windows being critical (doesn't have to be a view, just sunlight). Not into the custom designed, "this-door-handle-was-formed-to-fit my-hand" kind of home.

Outside, I'd want nearby places to shop, get a cup of coffee, etc. Which is why I cling to the house I live in now - instead of moving into the enormous, new subdivisions like my friends.

I prefer community over Super Walmart developments.

I do go got the coustom built house, I could not live in a 3bed semi in the suburbia. A house for the vast majority is the biggest investment in your life, why not have it built, re engineered you your standards. I think the trend decline of bespoke housing has caused our visual environment to become bland and boring. only varying model of silver car or different coloured uPVC Facia and a number to tell one house from another. I would gladly settle for a smaller house designed to meet my needs rather than a bigger house in a development "designed" (because they are only different by facade) 30-40 years ago and thrown up in a week with inferior finishing. Having said that "Living" is where we feel comfortable, where we want to come home too, where we express ourselves in the wallpaper, th eaoint the ornaments the rugs, the placement of the coffee table, a House its contents and the way they are arranged is a true expression of who we are. Even if we know it or not.