Setting aside the question of whether I can and will finally build a house, it is fun to design and plan. And the fun starts with the …ugh… philosophical underpinnings of what a house is, or should be. If you are going to spend any serious amount of money, it is worth making it special. I really like the house where I live now and it works well, but it is nothing special.

In particular, it has no intellectual component whatsoever. It does not stimulate my mind or express any idea other than its run-of-the-mill suburban existence. It is a really nice factory house. And I do not think I want to spend my money on constructing another one like it. I could buy one of the houses around here for R750K. There are some available.

Instead, I think the ideal house (for me) should be more stimulating. It should engage its occupants and its environment in a conversation. That sounds very highfalutin, but I have convinced myself at least that it makes sense. I want a house that is not purely functional but that makes me feel a certain way and makes me think about certain things. I have been looking at a lot of contemporary Japanese designs and I like the contrasts the architects bring out between light and shadow, open and closed spaces, clean lines and complex patterns formed by the “interaction” of those lines.

Modernism is still a strong force in architecture as far as I can tell. Perhaps it has persevered longer than in art because many pieces of art are hidden away in a gallery, whereas a lot of buildings are public spaces and always on display. You either have to own a work of art or go to a gallery to see it; buildings pass you by naturally as you drive to work or walk around in a city. In some sense, architecture is a more perfect art: an artwork is often an object with which the viewer may or may not interact, whereas a building forms part of the environment that shapes the viewer.

I like and agree with some of the philosophy of modernism:

Modernism can be highly rational or can appear to be schizophrenic. There is usually a raison d’être behind seemingly nonsensical geometries, albeit tortured at times. Its most severe self-critique is exhibited by the Deconstructionists, who border on avowed anarchy. Modernism is a reaction to a world that cannot have ideals, or whose philosophies, ethics, morals, and religion have failed. Modernism is highly individual. — Antoine Predock

Not that I agree with everything about Modernism. I do not want something that is purely functional and I am prepared to sacrifice the conventional when it is called for, but nor do I care much for the whimsy just for whimsy’s sake. There must be a name for what I believe, but I do not know enough but the discipline. Perhaps “Rationalism”?

So, what I want is a house that evokes serenity, which calls for a certain degree of minimalism. I want a certain kind of logic, and not to be driven crazy by irrational choices. I want something (or somewhere at least) that will challenge me with ideas about light and space. And I also want the house to push me just a little out of my comfort zone.

And definitely I do not want to sacrifice for three years, spend a lot of money and then be disappointed. I wonder if there is some connection between building a house and getting a tattoo?