[From a comment by Pascal]
Children love to pretend they're in unfamiliar territory, just for the pleasure of getting lost.
Indeed. Even today, I am very interested in "lost spaces" that nobody looks at, for instance spaces under industrial stairs or bridges near highways and so on.
I've fantasized about building a house with lots of odd nooks and crannies and odd corridors and stairs and bridges and roooms and split levels and whatnot.
Admittedly I'll probably never build it, since it would be very expensive, the space would be poorly used, and I suspect the novelty would wear off.
Once, I had a kitten that got lost under my bed. I must confess, it was a real jungle of boxes down there. Had to dive in and rescue the poor thing. Took me a good 10 minutes and a lot of sneezes. My brothers were in stitches.
My sister once had a kitten and a double bed elevated 8 inches over polished hardwood floor. The kitten would get on his back on the floor and reach up to the bottom of the mattress, and pull himself over the floor, criss-crossing about under the bed, very fast. If you lay on the bed with your head hanging down, looking at it upside-down, it looked like the kitten was speed-walking on tippie-toes, it was the funniest thing ever. Talk about being in stitches, I tell you.
The Austrian artist and architect Friedenreich Hundertwasser once said that the rule of the straight line in the interiors of modern buildings was a sure sign they were meant for machines, not for men. He did build or rebuild a number of houses with uneven floors and trees embedded into the structure, among many interesting features. One such house in Vienna is now a council flat — which proved to be quite a good idea, I can't imagine the unsightly price it would have risen to had the appartments been sold to individuals.
ReplyDeleteI like his work but I have to disagree with him on one point: I'm sure future machines will just love the nooks and crannies as much as we do ;-)
Your house with nooks and crannies has been built. Winchester Mystery house in San Jose, California. Built by the widow of the Winchester firearms founder, who thought she was haunted by the ghosts of those killed by her husband's firearms. It has stairways that go nowhere, doors that open onto walls, many many oddities. Apparently, she thought it would confuse the ghosts. You need a guide to find your way safely through the house.
ReplyDeleteThere are also candle light tours of the Winchester Mystery House on Halloween.
ReplyDeleteIf you are not interested in the rambling house, then their collection of Tiffany glass may pique your curiosity, or the firearms museum in the front lawn.
The neighbourhood has grown up in the last few years, instead of a cinedome and strip all opposite, it's all grown up with tall buildings.
A little closer to home, there are all sorts of houses in Britain with "priest holes" There is one just off the A5 (or is it the A41) I think it's Bosworth house or some such. These are all from the reformation period or the Cromwellian Civil war.
There are many towns in Britain that fit the description if "spaces" I was surprised Stockport seems most bizarre in it's layout, it seems to have overlapping layers. Otherwise head to Devon and Cornwall for those pokey little coastal villages.
"If you build it, they will come."
ReplyDeleteKids would probably love visiting your special House of the Lost (ghost-free version), or even spending the night. While you would charge their parents for it. That'd probably balance the cost.
Anyway, it's not like you have to fear getting an eccentric's reputation, is it? :-)
Reminds me of Walt Disney in his early years. Many people said he was daft, had no sense of realities, a childish mind, etc...
Children and many animals definitely know how to have hilarious raw fun, and kittens are no exception.
I once had to keep a friend's very active kitten for a few weeks. I had a small studio with tapestry in the entryway. The little devil loved to claw its way up the wall and scale it to the ceiling!
And I'd rather not tell you how my previous cat played rugby with a chicken head he had nabbed from the kitchen. Let's just say the walls still remember it... (After all, original rugby balls were made with an inflated pig bladder.)
Bruce,
Are you sure you're not describing us Hogwarts Castle there? :-)
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Mischief accomplished!"
Pascal,
ReplyDeleteNice analogy. Under construction for 38 years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Could be.
A good background/history can be found in wikipedia's article "Winchester Mystery House."