The Small House Book by Jay Shafer Read Free Book Online Page A

objects is virtually the same from culture
    to culture may say something about the nature of our less corporal desires.
    It seems necessary that we see ourselves as part of an undivided universe.
    Through science, religion, and art, we strive to make this connection. On an
    intuitive level, home reminds us that the self and its environment are inextri-
    cable. Archetypes like the pierced gable are not contrived, but rather turn up
    naturally wherever necessity is allowed to dictate form and its content.
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    Mac Callum House in Mendocino ,CA
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    It just so happens that the most practical shapes are also the most symbolic-
    ally loaded. Those forms best-suited to our physical needs have come to
    hold special meaning for us. The standard gabled roof not only represents
    our most primal idea of shelter, but also embodies the most universal of all
    abstract concepts, that of All-as-One. This theme has been the foundation for
    virtually every religion and government in history, and there may very well be
    an illustration of it in your purse or wallet at this very moment.
    The image of the pyramid on the back of the U.S. dollar represents the four
    sides of the universe (All) culminating at their apex as the eye of God (One).
    The phrase “E Pluribus Unum” (from many, one) appears elsewhere on the
    bill along with no less than three other references to the archetype.
    The common gable with a window at its center is vernacular architecture’s
    one-eyed pyramid. The duality of its two sides converging at their singular
    peak represents divinity, and is again underscored by a single central win-
    dow. All of this rests on four walls, which are universally symbolic of the
    cosmos.
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    Tumbleweed Tiny House Company’s Epu with the wheels removed.
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    Form and Number
    The meaning of numbers and shapes
    is as universal as the use of the shapes
    themselves. Those that turn up in nature
    most often, like circles, squares, 1, 1.6, 2,
    3, 4, 12 and 28 tend to be the most sym-
    bolically loaded.
    ONE
    One is a single point without dimension,
    typically represented by the circle created
    when a line is drawn around the point with
    a compass. One symbolizes the divine
    through its singularity.
    TWO
    Two adds dimension through the addition
    of a second point. It is commonly depicted
    by the Vesica Piscis shape that occurs
    when two circles overlap. It represents
    duality and creativity.
    Three brings balance back to two. It is
    THREE
    represented by the triangle and symbol-
    izes variations on the Trinity.
    Four, as embodied by the square, typi-
    cally represents the world we live in, with
    its four cardinal directions.
    FOUR
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    Organizing Principles
    The success of a work of art hinges, more than anything else, on the strength
    of its composition. Here the term “composition” is used to mean “a whole
    comprised of parts.” A strong composition is one in which all its parts work to
    strengthen the whole. This is as true of a piece of music as it is of a painting
    or the design of a small house.
    The last chapter described subtractive design as the means to distilling a
    house to its essential components. This chapter will focus primarily on how
    the remaining parts are to be organized into a comprehensive whole. Seven
    principles: simplicity, honesty, proportion, scale, alignment, hierarchy and
    procession will be presented as essential considerations to meeting this end.
    Simplicity
    It is ironic that simplicity is by far the most difficult of the seven principles to
    achieve. Simplification is a complicated process. It demands that every pro-
    portion and axis be painstakingly honed and that every remaining detail be
    absolutely essential. The more simplified a design becomes; the more any
    imperfection is going to stand out. Everything in a plain design must make
    sense, because every little thing means so much. The result of this arduous
    effort will look like something a child could come up with. The most refined