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Rethinking Architecture: From the Inside Out
"Light and flow are the lifeblood of the home."
Light and flow dictate the energy of a home, giving it a comfortable feel, a grand first impression, or conveying a
sense of safety. The ease of moving through spaces is something that people immediately feel, and it's something
people can see and interact with. In eras gone by, homes were built to reinforce the relationship homeowners had
with guests in their homes. Victorian homes especially were socially designed to the relationship that homeowners
had with their visitors—a formal parlor was the appropriate place to greet guests, while the more personal rooms
further into the interior were reserved for close friends and family members. In the modern era, people live wide
open. Cooking is an artwork, and when people open their doors to guests, they're invited into the heart of the
home. However, the desire for delineated spaces remains in the collective conscious, so open space planning
requires the use of transitional elements in the flooring, ceiling, and pediments that separate different sections
of the home by function. Sensitive transitions from one room to another are necessary to make those emotional
transitions between rooms that people crave. The first layer of a design must focus on spatial flow. Then, layer on
the site. Allow the light to come into the design. Make space for the energy to flow in the form of light, people
moving through the space, and even air flow. These elements give an open floor plan an intangible vitality.
