Introduction

German philosopher Martin Heidegger described dwelling as the way in which humans spend their time “wandering” between birth and death, on earth and under the sky. More recently, the influential American architect Charles Moore wrote:

One of the basic human requirements is the need to dwell, and one of the central human acts is the act of inhabiting, of connecting ourselves, however temporarily, with a place on the planet that belongs to us, and to which we belong. ¹

Architects often refer back to the mythic “first dwelling” when designing a house. This first dwelling provided “protection against inclement weather, wild beasts and human enemies,” according to architect and historian Banister Fletcher. ² Novelist Junichiro Tanizaki, in his book In Praise of Shadows, also argues that the first shelter for Easterners was a “parasol” roof that provided a place to “throw a shadow on the earth.” ³ He explains that Westerners first provided a roof for shelter from rain and weather while Easterners were most interested in keeping the sun out of buildings. Regardless of what we are sheltering ourselves from, we are able to be more relaxed and experience the act of dwelling when we feel physically and psychologically secure. Enclosing structures have the “capacity to transform us from anxious victims to secure observers.” ⁴ Providing a specific sense of shelter and protection is a clear goal in the twenty buildings included in this volume. Some are porous and provide the minimal shelter required. Others are open only in specific ways. Many form a thick protective skin around the inhabitants.