Yesterday we had an appointment for a photo shoot in Berlin with a well-known interior magazine. It was about our recently completed residential interior project (see photo). Since our youngest son, at 8 months old, is still very dependent on me and our kindergarten currently has shorter opening hours for our older son, we took both children with us.
Quite a stressful story. Two and a half hours drive with construction sites and traffic jams, then a full apartment, strange faces, Corona test in protective suits, lunch in the car and two and a half hours back.
Our boys did a great job. And at the same time we asked ourselves how this should actually work nowadays with the compatibility of family and work. At the latest during our ice cream break at the gas station, we noticed once again how incredibly expensive life has become and how much you have to struggle permanently in this hamster wheel just to provide basic supplies. How can it be possible to combine life and work in such a way that the balance is right? We are concerned with this question for at least as long and as intensely as the question of how “human” living is still possible today. We have moved away ourselves so much from ourselves and our needs in so many things that it often seems almost impossible to get back to them. Rather, one would have to first become aware of where we come from and what our human needs are. Even if we are very grateful for all of our wonderful projects that we are allowed to realize, we would often want more naturalness and authenticity for the final implementation. At the beginning the ideas and plans are big - but in the end there is usually not that much left of them.
Most of the time, the fear of customers outweighs the fact that things could age and even show a patina in the end and are therefore no longer worth anything. This very widespread view frightens and disappoints us every time anew. Where does the fear of the traces of life come from? Are things really worth less as they age? When they show lifelines? Shouldn't it actually be the other way around? Strangely enough, antiques are usually not cheap and the customer is also willing to spend a little more money on them. Mostly it stays with a single piece - maybe this is the attempt to satisfy the longing for the truthful, for the living. To feel some “life” where life should naturally take place. On the one hand we speak of a “modern nomad” who can and must live anywhere - because he works worldwide and is not tied to one place. However, we are currently noticing that this is a vision of the future that should possibly be imposed on us. Which is not ours at all and which does not suit us at all. The last year in particular has shown us again how important the space that surrounds us is and how much we need “a village”. In real and not in digital or as a modern and digital nomad.
For us architects and interior designers in particular, the task of creating and passing on life and liveliness through our designs is becoming ever greater and more important. The simple processing and manufacture of concrete and similar “cheap” building materials is tempting. But even easier and, above all, much more natural would be to use natural materials such as wood and clay. Whether burned into bricks or as a composite in a framework. In both cases, it's not just more sustainable building materials, but also materials that allow our outer skin to breathe. Yes, our living conditions have changed a lot and we no longer go out to the fields every day and do the work we need to survive. No, actually we already have everything. We work more for our luxury these days. You can also change it more often - especially when it comes to the car and clothing.
And yet we are strangely not happier and secretly look jealous of those who live a very simple life. Because it is just not compatible nowadays - work, family and life. Nostalgia is good - but you can't get lost in it and live in the past. That's right. But a look back doesn't hurt. Especially not when we live in an absolute abundance and out of sheer boredom and constant drizzle no longer know how we can even perceive our beautiful nature. It is simply no longer a natural part of us.
We would have to rethink not only when it comes to living - also when it comes to clothing and our food. It is not impossible. Maybe the change would be exhausting. But in the end you will be rewarded with something that is quite priceless. The quiet happiness.
There is so much more to say here, but we don't want to just stand there with our forefingers raised. We too are still looking for simple, quiet happiness. We are not 100% happy with the results of our projects either. We too would like to see a lot more warmth, a lot more "human" in the results of our work. Certainly, we cannot pick up every customer with our philosophy and many would perhaps not commission us at all - because our views may be too radical.
But here comes our attempt to strike a balance. We want to address customers to whom living and life mean just as much as they do to us. We don't want to have to accept any projects, just for the money. We would rather reduce our lifestyle further and work on the projects that are close to our hearts and with people, for whom it is also an affair of the heart to create a truly "human" home for themselves. Regardless of labels, brands, smart homes, Instagram and Co.
