The impact of solitary living
(A study of barriers that exist in social context)
(A study of barriers that exist in social context)
Abstract
Since the dawn of human era, and ever since nomads started settling down, they have been living in groups. These groups flourished as civilizations. Civilizations brought society and culture. Mutual help became consistent. Settlements became a complex network of different aspects. Villages, towns, cities and metropolises were born. Each society generated different professions. When seen in a broader perspective this was nothing but mutual help. Skills were exchanged. For the civilization to flourish every profession was necessary. Our social structure has been developing ever since, and culture is getting more complex. In the present scenario a, house on a hillock far away from town, with a small patch of land, a farmer and his family trying to sustain away from a community intrigues and raises a lot of questions in mind. Solitude living seems provoking. These families are disconnected at least from day to day activities that happen within a community.
In order to understand the impact of solitary living a relationship must be established between society and an individual. Like any other animal our behavior is very territorial. Barriers are created as per our needs and wants. These barriers might be physical, mental, emotional etc. While different barriers are slowly occurring and disappearing, social barrier seems to be last barrier that man has put upon himself to save him from himself.
Introduction
Society is a complex network. Human beings have always wanted to build their relationship with their surroundings. Interaction has been one of our basic needs, but at times we need our own space. This has resulted in us being territorial, like any other animal. But we go beyond it and start owning these spaces. Privacy becomes a priority, emotions create moods. Psychology plays an important role in the way spaces are designed in a settlement. What is built and what is used depends on the end users. The relationship between human beings and everything else can be established if a human habitat is studied in detail. Our society is getting more and more complicated with a lot of information to decipher a lot of factors come into the big picture when one starts to ponder upon this issue. Even spaces have evolved the same way, and what we see know is the reminiscent of all the factors being considered from a long time, some justifications may be valid and some invalid, and this prominent in traditional architecture. As this relationship between human beings is becoming vast, it needs some regulation and thus at every point we try to regulate everything possible within our limits. The same way we try to isolate ourselves whenever required and yet try to keep ourselves connected via various methods.
“Terms public and private seem in adequate” (Hertzberger, Herman, Lessons for students in architecture, 1993.)
Since the dawn of human era, and ever since nomads started settling down, they have been living in groups. These groups flourished as civilizations. Civilizations brought society and culture. Mutual help became consistent. Settlements became a complex network of different aspects. Villages, towns, cities and metropolises were born. Each society generated different professions. When seen in a broader perspective this was nothing but mutual help. Skills were exchanged. For the civilization to flourish every profession was necessary. Our social structure has been developing ever since, and culture is getting more complex. In the present scenario a, house on a hillock far away from town, with a small patch of land, a farmer and his family trying to sustain away from a community intrigues and raises a lot of questions in mind. Solitude living seems provoking. These families are disconnected at least from day to day activities that happen within a community.
In order to understand the impact of solitary living a relationship must be established between society and an individual. Like any other animal our behavior is very territorial. Barriers are created as per our needs and wants. These barriers might be physical, mental, emotional etc. While different barriers are slowly occurring and disappearing, social barrier seems to be last barrier that man has put upon himself to save him from himself.
Introduction
Society is a complex network. Human beings have always wanted to build their relationship with their surroundings. Interaction has been one of our basic needs, but at times we need our own space. This has resulted in us being territorial, like any other animal. But we go beyond it and start owning these spaces. Privacy becomes a priority, emotions create moods. Psychology plays an important role in the way spaces are designed in a settlement. What is built and what is used depends on the end users. The relationship between human beings and everything else can be established if a human habitat is studied in detail. Our society is getting more and more complicated with a lot of information to decipher a lot of factors come into the big picture when one starts to ponder upon this issue. Even spaces have evolved the same way, and what we see know is the reminiscent of all the factors being considered from a long time, some justifications may be valid and some invalid, and this prominent in traditional architecture. As this relationship between human beings is becoming vast, it needs some regulation and thus at every point we try to regulate everything possible within our limits. The same way we try to isolate ourselves whenever required and yet try to keep ourselves connected via various methods.
“Terms public and private seem in adequate” (Hertzberger, Herman, Lessons for students in architecture, 1993.)
While animals define their territory, human beings not only define their space but also personalize it. The need for man to isolate himself has been as important as his need for him to socialize. This is expressed in different degrees of comfort, specific to a context. Like how one doesn’t make friends with strangers, they don’t even stay in solitary, but ironically every friend, was a stranger before. For example, consider a bungalow built in an urban area. The first barrier one encounters is a compound wall, meant to keep stray animals away, but the same space is used by the pet animal of the house with full freedom, especially if it has a garden. This interest of giving preference to what belongs to oneself, in other words, what is private is also well expressed in traditional houses of Bhujhodi village in Bhuj, Gujrat, India. This particular house in Bhojhodi has a high wall that surrounds, what looks like a courtyard, and different building blocks spread with in the sites boundary (picture 1). First block becomes a house; the second block becomes a shop; the third becomes a meeting space where guests in large numbers can be accommodated (picture 2); fourth becomes a store; fifth becomes guest rooms and cattle shed (picture 3). Sixth becomes wet areas that accommodate bathrooms, clothes washing and drying areas. A tree in the center sometimes serves as a place to tie animals (picture 3). Even though these functions are spread through out the site, it is woven together as a house by its high wall. As this eight feet high wall is trying to keep the street away from the inside it is also trying to connect to the same by having seats towards the outside (pictures 4&5). Here even though a physical barrier exists in between a private space ‘the house’ and the public space ‘the road’
Picture 1: A high compound wall surrounds the site, and other blocks are spread inside this boundary (Credits: self)
Picture 2: Space meant for meeting, has no walls but an extended plinth to accommodate more guests. (Credits: self)
Picture 3: A tree in the centre is surrounded by guest rooms and cattle shed on the left, wet areas in the front and
a meeting space to its right. (Credits: self)
a meeting space to its right. (Credits: self)
Picture 4: (left) seats outside the high wall.(Credits: self)
Picture 5: (right) main entry from the street. (Credits: self)
the line that separates the two fades away due to the fact that this wall is trying to reach out to the street by having those seats. Further each block seems to have defined set of barriers. The house is used only by the members of the family and some close guests at times, this is the most private block of all, and the house is designed such that the outer most areas which are semi open are meant for visitors who come by. On one side it has a verandah covered only by a roof and on the other side it is flanked by an open kitchen, or an extended kitchen, which has all the utilities. The actual cooking area is just a small room next to the verandah. Even though kitchen is considered to be private, especially in urban areas of India, in this village it is placed at the semi public level. This intrigues and questions the arrangement of spaces as per privacy. Further inside lays the living, store, and the main bedroom where granary and the safe deposit box are kept. A guest or a visitor is isolated as per the degree of relationship he shares with the family. A guest closer to the family will be let right inside the house without hesitation, where as a guest slightly distant will be preferably kept away from the bed room. At the same time a student who has come to visit the house to study it will be taken right inside on a guided tour by the owner himself. Human beings always like to extend their space a little bit more; the space in front of the house is always personalized and extended out to the street as if to say that we belong here. This extension is expressed differently in different scenarios. In this house the extension in front of the open verandah is demarcated in terms of a different floor finish, where the boundary is finished with cow dung (picture6). The shop, located next to the house is meant for people who specifically come looking for handloom. One room fits all the displays. The space in front of it has an extended plinth (as in case of the meeting area picture 2) and some built in seating (picture 7).This phenomena shows how barriers are set visually, physically and functionally as per the needs, some times to isolate and other times to integrate. Animals play an integral role in our lives. In rural areas of India they are treated with even more importance and respect. Cattle sheds are integrated into the houses; the same roof that provides shelter to the family members, also houses cattle. In this house the guest rooms and cattle sheds are placed together. A tree in front of the shed is sometimes used as a space to tie cattle that are ill. Isolation here is necessary to keep the other cattle of the herd healthy. All the wet areas like washing, drying, bathing areas and toilets are grouped together, but are placed far away from the house block. They are kept closer to the cattle shed which facilitate the animals to be washed easily. In this house even though human beings are the regular users of bathrooms and wash areas, animals are given preference. All the wet activities are grouped into one block and isolated towards one side. Human beings have a tendency to organize almost everything in hierarchy, even though this is driven by our basic logic, sometimes instinct driven thoughts dismisses the possibility of order, and order takes a different dimension according to our comforts, emotions and by the sense of belonging towards the society. Even though our claims are highly territorial, even though we tend to divide the
spaces, boundaries tend to disappear. The terms private and public, individual and collective, isolated and social, becomes as ambiguous as the words subjective and objective. The best cases of territorial blur occur in public buildings, where the main public space becomes nothing but an extension of a street, as in case of a railway station or a bus stand. Territorial blur can also be well explained when a sense of belonging occurs. A person who has lived in a town long enough will know all its neighborhoods very well, his territory extends to that town first. Each place will be related to with respect to its surroundings. Landmarks are established as per his emotions. His boundaries are first established with his house, then his street, next his neighborhood, and finally with his town and so on. Even though his immediate territory is restricted to his house he would still belong to the town. Sometimes it becomes hard to specify the difference between what needs to be Isolated for development.
Picture 6(right): boundary marked by a ifferent floor finish. (Credits: self)
Picture 7: informal seating done in rammed earth and finished with cow dung servers as a gathering space for the evenings. (Credits: self)
Picture 8 : Shikaras of temples of different communities located in close proximity to each other, seen at the far end (center) of the picture
Picture 9 : Recently constructed shiviath temple located in the neighborhood where people of different communities live together (credits : self)
Picture 10: a grave yard of Hindu community (their temple seen in far left end of the picture) situated right next to a Jain temple. (Credits: self)
spaces, boundaries tend to disappear. The terms private and public, individual and collective, isolated and social, becomes as ambiguous as the words subjective and objective. The best cases of territorial blur occur in public buildings, where the main public space becomes nothing but an extension of a street, as in case of a railway station or a bus stand. Territorial blur can also be well explained when a sense of belonging occurs. A person who has lived in a town long enough will know all its neighborhoods very well, his territory extends to that town first. Each place will be related to with respect to its surroundings. Landmarks are established as per his emotions. His boundaries are first established with his house, then his street, next his neighborhood, and finally with his town and so on. Even though his immediate territory is restricted to his house he would still belong to the town. Sometimes it becomes hard to specify the difference between what needs to be Isolated for development.Picture 6(right): boundary marked by a ifferent floor finish. (Credits: self)
Picture 7: informal seating done in rammed earth and finished with cow dung servers as a gathering space for the evenings. (Credits: self)
Picture 8 : Shikaras of temples of different communities located in close proximity to each other, seen at the far end (center) of the picture
Picture 9 : Recently constructed shiviath temple located in the neighborhood where people of different communities live together (credits : self)
Picture 10: a grave yard of Hindu community (their temple seen in far left end of the picture) situated right next to a Jain temple. (Credits: self)