Defining Sublime in Design
A sublime design is a subjective term as in one person's view it can be perfect, while another person can completely dislike it. Many designs can have good intentions but bad execution resulting in imperfections. There are many basic guidelines for a design to be sublime, but it is much easier said then done. A persons personal beliefs, past experiences, culture, or even their current mood can dictate how they feel about a certain design. There are also designs that are aesthetically perfect but function poorly resulting in a on sublime design. I will talk about a design that I believe are good designs but weren't executed properly.
Tiniest Apartment in Japan
I'm sure many of you have watched a video or 2 on tiny homes. This apartment complex is one of the most unique tiny homes. Tokyo, Japan is one of the most crowded cities in the world which has caused the designers to have to be extremely innovative when forced to create housing. This particular design is a triangular, yellow bricked apartment complex located in downtown Tokyo. Without knowing what the building was used it, it looks like a beautiful piece of architecture. Until you go to the side of the building and realize the corner of the building isn't even longer than the average person's wingspan.
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| Tokyo Lens/YouTube |
As shown, the end of the building is barely past the man's shoulders. I bet you are wondering how or why someone would live in these apartments. According to the youtuber, the rent for this apartment was only $267 USD, which everyone can agree is extremely cheap. But is this place actually livable?
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| Outside View of Building Tokyo Lens/Youtube |
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| Inside View of Apartment Tokyo Lens/Youtube |
Summary
The idea of this apartment building is unique and looks aesthetically pleasing. But I believe the function part of the design is extremely lacking. Living in a place like this would be extremely uncomfortable and cause increased stimuli. If this place became available in your town or city, would you choose to live here?
References
Elkimavičiūtė, V. (2023, October 13). People are flabbergasted after seeing how claustrophobic “Japan’s tiniest apartment” is. Bored Panda. https://www.boredpanda.com/japans-worst-tiny-apartment/
YouTube. (2023, October 8). Inside Japan’s worst tiny apartment. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4oQDnHlrR0
Hey Ant! You chose a very interesting example to discuss this topic. I believe the tiny home trend only worked for a small number of people and created more vacation homes than anything. Your initial paragraph in which you discuss individual perspective affecting user's opinions is absolutely true and something I didn't zoom in enough to realize in my post.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is a perfect example for discussing sublime vs not sublime design. I remember watching this video recently and thinking about how individuals between cultures may interperet their spaces. For us here in the US, I feel like most would find this not sublime, but for people in Tokyo, they find it sublime because of it's functionality (an it, it has all the minimum necessary components they need). This really ties into your statement about how a sublime design is purely subjective.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about the tiny house from Tokyo section! This was very interesting and smart to include because it really grabbed my attention. Great job with your post very attention grabbing.
ReplyDeleteI loved the example you used for this topic. I have never seen a tiny house this small before. I totally agree with you that this tiny home is not sublime! I loved how you defined sublime and how to see it in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI like you emphasized ones preference dictating good design. When designing, I often only take into account my opinion and experience. It is important when designing spaces for others that one takes into account what your client will like, which is something I'm trying to improve on.
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