The silent brief part III: home as an extension of the body.

A building is more than brick and mortar. I believe, a hut, a house, a flat becomes a home when inhabited. In this context I see a home as an extension of the body, a container where we navigate our journey on earth.

A home shelters us from earth’s conditions, it enables us to attend to our sociological rites and rhythms and biological needs.

A home’s individuality is the reflection of the complex combination of activities and the personalities of its inhabitants. It hosts social interactions, gatherings, shared experiences, celebrations, and is the backdrop to grief and love.

Defining a family home is complex, this is also why our mission as architects and contractors is so fascinating.

How can we, as architects, allow more space to what could be the most important part of our job? By this, I mean the considerations of the family as a whole and as individuals, their collective and individual interests and past and future experiences.

Preparing a clients’ brief is more than collating a list of spatial and functional requirements, it is opening up our intuitive receptors to a soul’s past, present and future universes.

Anaïs Bléhaut, Director, daab design

Photography by Henry Woide