Welcome back to MWF @ 8... Since we have last spoken, I leased a new house in East Nashville! The not-so-great part is I'm still without WiFi. Just so we're clear, AT&T is an embarrassing establishment that has caused me genuine health problems the past two weeks. I hate that you can't win with internet providers and they have us completely boxed in. Anyways, good to be back. Here is what's up today:
Introducing "Societal Hypnosis." Architecture is under the microscope
We examine past trends in building design and what's changed.
We discuss the possibilities of redesigning homes with today's resources.
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Alright, welcome to the world of design👇
Societal Hypnosis: Architecture Re-Imagined
Hypnosis has always been a wild phenomenon to me. If you've seen or been the subject of it, it's mind-blowing how, at the snap of a finger, one human is under the control of another. The goal of the hypnotist is to create an "open state of mind" on the subject. The pathway for the hypnotist to get there is endless. It's a good Youtube time killer.
Depending on how this post goes, I might start a series of posts called societal hypnosis. Basically, we're going to take a societal norm and form an alternative. Something so fundamental to us we have never stopped to think if it could be different.
Nate Bargatze is an incredibly funny comedian. In one of his stand-up bits, he imagines he's a time traveler stuck in the 1920s. Bargatze tries to prove he's from the future to a man using an old telephone, and he tells him one-day phones will be mobile. The hypothetical man would ask Nate how that could be possible. The punchline of Bargatze's joke is he would not be able to explain how anything works today. No one would believe he's from the future.
It's a hilarious bit, but it's so true. I know cell phones get a signal from a tower and then there is something with satellites. You and I would probably be in the same boat as Nate. With that in mind, we're not going to dissect complex systems. Today, we hypnotize ourselves of modern housing design and search for potential new advancements.
Decentralizing Design
It's unbelievable how addicting Zillow is. For me, minus Twitter, it's the only app that I can spend 30 minutes on and feel like I spent 5. Naturally, the house I'm leasing was found on Zillow. There are several property listing platforms, but Zillow is the Google of home buying/renting.
The enchantment of Zillow comes from the transparency it provides. Not only can I see prospective houses, but I can look at houses around the world. Ariel Noel writes a tremendous newsletter called I Know a Spot. The purpose of it is to highlight the design of available homes on Zillow. She usually spotlights a few multi-million dollar houses and articulates the beautiful designs.
In the past, you could only drive past a house in Malibu or a Victorian in Brooklyn and wonder what it was like on the inside. Now, you can see every square inch. The expensive, immaculate designs of the U.S. coasts can now be found anywhere.
Architecture
The Zillow-infused housing market is still new. Even the time of scouring newspaper listings and making a day of viewings pale in comparison to the history of experiencing architecture. Pre-mass communication, architectural trends would last centuries-long. Mostly because that's how long it took for these buildings to be constructed, but it also relates to how long ideas would take to spread.
There is an internet mob of traditionalists that whine and cry about how hideous modern design is. They post immaculate architecture from a previous century with a snapshot of the same place today, like this:
Obviously, traditional design is the preference here and in most cases. We're not going to get into it, but somebody let traditionalists know there is no more slave labor to force years of work for no pay only for a few elites to use the building (4 prepositions, so what?). Now, governments have to spend your tax dollars on facilities that everyone can use while contracting cheap labor. We can do better than a concrete slab, but we're not building pyramids. Again, we're not going to get into it.
The thing that strikes me with traditionalist design is the obsession with appearance. It's never about the substance of what the building is for. The subway cars in Russia and New Jersey are the exact same. No one is hopping out of a Russian subway talking about how nice of a ride it was. Although, the metros in Russia happen to be designed infinitely better.
At the end of the day, you're still crammed into a subway standing next to some sweaty dude. But, the design!
The point being, we keep changing designs, but what about the substance of buildings? Does it make sense to design a building with a welcome desk anymore? Or does it make more sense to have a technology station to situate your phone with WiFi and other tech amenities? Does it make sense to clutter all of your retail space with inventory? Or does it make sense to maximize it with experiences?
Hold on to your seats for this shocking development, but Apple has mastered this. The design of its stores and the products is the best there is. Yes, the line is stupidly long, but that's because people arrive and stay. The longer you stay, the more likely you'll buy something. It's almost like they are always doing something right.
Don't get me wrong, appearance is 50% of the battle. A keynote speaker could be giving the best presentation of their life, but the audience can't stop noticing their fly is open. Then, substance is the other 50%. Like how Margot Robbie would struggle to make a discussion on quantum computing interesting. We've mastered building design, but we've yet to master the potential substance of these buildings.
Your House
Let's transition to the appearance and substance of your house. The short story of housing concepts begins with heat. Before centralized AC/heating units, the house had to be planned around the fireplace/kitchen. Or, where can I get warm? Even the kitchen was purposefully designed away from the rest of the house in case of a fire. Now, you can be comfortable anywhere.
Thus, we evolved to entertainment. We plant the centerpiece of the house around catching the game or the next show on Netflix. The reason why I think there is a change coming is because we have been stuck in this phase for a while. My parents and I discussed this a while back... How many serious differences are there in a home from 1960 to now? Three glaring ones that came up are:
Cell Phone
Computer
Roomba
Here is a living room from 1960 compared to 2020:
Hmm, so we've replaced color with greyscale. And... that's it? I might be missing something, but your TV has a better picture; your audio has Bluetooth; your kitchen appliances heat/cool your food; your washer and dryer get your clothes clean.
People design houses to make them current and appealing. Interior design is a $14 billion market. Again, the appearance will always be there as people will continually look to buy newer trendier things. The market for enhancing your home will grow linearly in the future. We're long past needing to turn the question of appeal into a question of betterment.
Designing a Home Today Hypnotized from the Past
Alright, this is where we can do some societal hypnosis. Erase all of the housing design metrics that we only know. How would we design a home today?
WiFi
The first thing is first that should come first before even thinking about something else first. WiFi. As the potential power of computing grows, the layout of any home should revolve around WiFi. Gone are the days of obsessing as to where your TV goes. I haven't bothered plugging in my TV at my new house yet (granted, I don't have WiFi). I and everyone else spend all of my content consumption time on my phone. WiFi trumps everything in your home and being without it for two weeks makes this crystal clear.
Outside
Next is an outdoor space. In the past, you would have been the town idiot if you build an elaborate deck/patio/terrace/etc. Everyone worked in the open air, so there was no need to spend more time outside. Now, we spend so much time inside that having a functional outdoor space has become essential. Modern apartments/condos/townhomes are equipped with large balconies or rooftop spaces for a reason.
More and more, we seem to be building more outdoor space than indoor.
Instagram Accommodations (TikTok now?)
One of the coolest features that society ever normalized was a guest bedroom. If I had to explain to you what a guest bedroom was for the first time, you would think it was ridiculous. The thought of taking the whole room of your house and leaving it unoccupied 300 days of the year is moronic. Then you think about how cool it is to save family/friends money when they are in town. Well, it was a good ride because the "Instagram Accommodations" will kill the guest bedroom.
The Instagram Accommodations include workstations, dog rooms, fitness, etc. Seriously, it will be more common to find a dog room than a guest bedroom very soon. Work from home has made an office/workstation setup mandatory. And, who are we kidding? The Peloton will be in the living room.
Car
This was one of the trickiest parts about finding a house in the city. More often than not I noticed that parking was not adequately provided. In a mid-sized city like Nashville, we're to the point where space is shrinking, but there is no efficient public transportation. Cars are still the only source of transportation that makes sense.
This will change. Suburbs will keep garages, but city dwellers will forget cars as public transportation evolves. Combine this with a light work travel schedule, and the thought of designing a space for your car in a city will fade away.
The Rest
So far, we have said WiFi, outdoor space, Instagram Accommodations, and no cars. That seems fairly spot on with how we're living in cities. But what about the other 100s - 1000s of square feet? How do we make these spaces more functional?
This is difficult to imagine because of how long we've been in the same layout. Other rooms are slowly seeing the same fate as the guest bedroom. Kitchens are getting substantially less use because of food delivery or meal prep. The living room is just a place to sit and look at your phone. The dining room is long gone. Then, as I've learned in the many apartments I've lived in, your bedroom can end up being the catchall.
Americans will never stop buying homes (read more on that here), so the evolution of your home is inevitable. I'm confused as to why this hasn't happened yet. Home tech is the most basic market I can think of, yet we're so caught up in appearance. Here are some of the possibilities I thought of looking around my house this morning -
Can an area rug be more than a design? What if they had the capability to insulate sound so footsteps are quieted?
Can your oven/stove order food for you based on pre-determined recipes? (yes)
Can your lights control themselves based on the amount you want to pay for utilities? Or how much natural light is available?
Can your windows be used to harness solar energy?
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