Introduction

WE DECIDED THAT we would write about houses. We don’t prefer houses over other building types, but we do have considerable shared experience in this field – both as users and designers – and thought that it was probably the best vehicle to use in a serious attempt to gather our thoughts at this stage in our careers. The dwelling is humanity’s most frequent and fundamental act of building and, by extension, in some respects the architect’s most influential area of activity. The history of mankind, as well as the history of architecture, could arguably be traced by studying how it has fashioned its nests and burrows through the ages. The dwellings referenced here from our own work were designed directly for clients intending to live in them, in which sense designing houses is quite different from designing housing. The philosopher Martin Heidegger claimed ‘dwelling to be a peaceful accommodation between individuals and the world’, ¹ suggesting that the legacy of human dwelling might be the most lasting and civilising action we humans undertake. It is also probably true to say that of all building types, the dwelling house has the oldest lineage in the architectural spectrum. The ambiguity in our chosen title, ‘Dwelling with Architecture’, is no accident however. As practitioners and teachers, as users and designers, we are concerned not only with the architecture of the dwelling but dwell every day with the more general issues of architecture. Lest the reader feel misled, we should state at the outset that this book is not only about houses. As our chosen ‘vehicle’ for discussion they form its backbone but the issues that are explored enroute range more widely.