Challenging home sweet home

[Deana]

Interesting stumbleupon:


"What we most love about all things Japanese is that they vary so radically from intelligent design to the completely wacky. The most recent work from New York based designers Arakawa and Gin is a wonderful example of the latter.

The creative duo have unveiled a small and most unusual apartment block based in Mitaka, Tokyo. Reversible Destiny Lofts are eye-catching brightly painted lofts that look like a McDonald's play ground through the eyes of someone on LSD. The architecture looks like the aftermath of a size 3 earthquake, a little shaken and lopsided. There is a method behind the designers madness however.
Arakawa believes that comfort makes you grow old quick, and that residents, in particular elderly ones, need to be kept on their toes by having their interiors physically challenge them. Lopsided floors force the resident to maintain a good sense of balance , strangely located light switches insist we feel around for the light, whilst small veranda doors will ask you to crawl and bend to enter.

How much does this physical challenge cost? Priced at US$750,000 each, the houses are three times more expensive than other apartments in the same neighborhood. It looks funky and the concept is challenging, however we can't help but wanting to stick the designer in there when he is 93 years old and see how he copes." by Lisa Evans

http://www.thecoolhunter.net/architecture/JAPANESE-APARTMENT-BLOCK---TOKYO/

[fourx]

"" Lopsided floors force the resident to maintain a good sense of balance , strangely located light switches insist we feel around for the light, whilst small veranda doors will ask you to crawl and bend to enter.  "" Non -Japanese experience the same effect far more cheaply with enough beer onboard. ..[smiley=beer.gif]

[desdawg]

If it's Mattel its swell. I expect deep spiritual meaning from the Japanese culture based on a short stay in Okinawa back in the day. Not Looney Tunes. And especially not for $750K.

[MountainDon]

Lopsided floors force the resident to maintain a good sense of balance , strangely located light switches insist we feel around for the light...

I used to live in a place like that many moons ago. An old 4 story warehouse building; massive wood pillars and after some 100 years, sagging floors. It was dirt cheap and came with a freight elevator I could fit the Volvo racer in and take it up to the "penthouse" space I rented. Not too many folks have a car in their "living room".

[glenn kangiser]

That sounds cool.  I made a door big enough to get my Bobcat into the lower section of the Underground complex but then I got a lot bigger Bobcat.  Would go yet but tight.

[MountainDon]

After the regular business hours (the building had real businesses operating there) and on weekends I could commandeer one of the freight elevators, run  it to the upper limit, climb through the ceiling hatch then climb on top of the cab, climb a ladder and get onto the roof. I had a BBQ grill up there. It made for a mighty fine place for a fair weather party, tho' the guests had to be somewhat agile. Nice skyline view of the city.  

The scary part of the building was the basement where an ancient boiler supplied steam heat for the building. It was a real dungeon.