Thursday, April 17, 2008

I Want: Dangerous House Keeps You Young


The Lifespan Extending Villa is a house designed by artists Madeline Gins (!) and Arakawa. It was built in the East Hamptons, and cost about $2 million to complete. It looks like a giant playground, and I want it. The idea is that constantly being on guard against falling serves as a secret fountain of youth.

In addition to the floor, which threatens to send the un-sure-footed hurtling into the sunken kitchen at the center of the house, the design features walls painted, somewhat disorientingly, in about 40 colors; multiple levels meant to induce the sensation of being in two spaces at once; windows at varying heights; oddly angled light switches and outlets; and an open flow of traffic, unhindered by interior doors or their adjunct, privacy.

All of it is meant to keep the occupants on guard. Comfort, the thinking goes, is a precursor to death; the house is meant to lead its users into a perpetually "tentative" relationship with their surroundings, and thereby keep them young.

Man that is so awesome. I've always wanted to live in a treehouse with rope swings and cargo nets and all that good shit, so this is definitely a step in the right direction. Besides, the house makes you live longer. You just trip over a floor nipple, beat your face into something hard, and presto, you're freaking Methuselah. Simple as that.

Hit the jump for several more pictures of the wackiness, including one of James trying to escape the giant peach.

See more examples here

4 comments:

Johnny Sweatpants said...

Iwantitiwantitiwantitiwantitiwantit!!!!!

JPX said...

Me too!

Octopunk said...

Cool. You guys get the house and I'll come visit. When it's time for a dinner party, you can come over to mine. That way there won't be houseguests doing faceplants onto my hot stove.

Julie said...

Our apartment is painted lots of colors and full of boxes. It's the same thing.

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