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An architect once told me that low ceilings are desirable in certain parts of homes because they give a very comforting, secure presence. High ceilings do feel
by Cloudy 12y ago
An architect once told me that low ceilings are desirable in certain parts of homes because they give a very comforting, secure presence.
High ceilings do feel better for group and work spaces, room to breath.
[0] an actual anecdote that happened to me.
- picks_at_nits 12y agoFrank Lloyd Wright used low ceilings in entranceways so that the house would “open up” as you walked into it.
- mahmud 12y agoSo, like an igloo?
- bluthru 12y agoAlso as a smart way to dissuade people from loitering around an entrance in a public building.
- design-of-homes 12y ago"...so that the house would “open up” as you walked into it." This is a well-known effect that architects have employed for centuries. In fact, you probably encounter it in many places without even thinking about it: - when walking into a cinema auditorium, you walk through a low-ceiling entrance or corridor and then the auditorium space opens up in front of you. This effect is even more dramatic in some old theatres and opera houses - the historic concept of contrasting spaces has been used in many different ways by changing the type of space or the size/scale of a space. For example, the narrow streets of a medieval town that suddenly and dramatically open up to a large market square. The Swiss architect Le Corbusier designed a block of flats (apartments) called the Unité d'habitation (housing unit) in Marseille in France. It was completed in the 1950s and had a huge influence on the design of post-war housing across Europe (it generated much controversy too). The duplex flats have a narrow width of just 3.66 metres. As you enter the flat, the first ceiling height is 2.26 metres (which Le Corbusier described as "intimate"). This leads into the double-height space of the living room (i.e. the second ceiling height). The windows in this double-height space are 15 square metres. Light floods in to the apartment in winter and summer and, according to Le Corbusier, can penetrate to a depth of 20 metres. The flats are fitted with stairs without risers to accentuate the sense of space. Here are some pictures of an apartment: https://www.flickr.com/photos/88017382@N00/8562877755/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/88017382@N00/8562877755/ http://www.house42.com/2010/10/14/unite-dhabitation-duplex-apartment-firminy/ http://www.house42.com/2010/10/14/unite-dhabitation-duplex-a...
- abandonliberty 12y agoPedant moment. You want the verb form, breathe. "Breath" is a noun that means "the air taken into or expelled from the lungs."
- seanalltogether 12y agoWhile reading the article I was wondering what the affects of a low ceiling would have on sleeping habits.