Info-to-Build-On House Shaping by Raoul Hennin Febuary 15, 2006 "First we shape our buildings, and then they shape us." - Winston Churchill

I recently quoted Winston Churchill to my parents. We stood in their newly renovated kitchen, admiring the placement of sinks and 2 dishwashers, cherry and glass cabinetry, and granite counters. Neither parent was impressed with my offering, "I would certainly hope that's not true." Did they really disagree with Winston Churchill? This was a mystery that got me thinking hard about how buildings shape us and how well we shape buildings.

Churchill took an interdisciplinary approach to government. He believed that architecture influenced the political process, that the traditional architecture of government may not serve democracy all that well. His warning, offered at a critical moment of reconstruction, helped "shape" the new British Houses of Parliament to serve the work of democratic debate.

Just as Churchill had reshaped the Houses of Parliament, my parents reshaped their kitchen to better suit their purpose. My parents were ready to enjoy the new shape of their kitchen, to experience the pampering amenities that would now shape their daily routines. The goal in each case was to shape in order to avoid being shaped.

Like Churchill, each of us posesses a unique, particular knowledge of how we want to use buildings. The challenge we face is how to apply this knowledge at critical moments. Construction is a physical, logistical process; unfortunately, design is not always so linear, and uses of a building change through time. Only by living in a finished house are we able to truly assess its merits. From the first day in our new house, we begin to be "shaped" by our new building, and to perceive opportunities to reshape it.

Having lived in our house for 11+ years, my wife and I, now with son and daughter, have begun to feel shaped by our house. And we have, therefore, begun to excercise our ability to re-shape the house. Rooms and spaces that worked fine for a newly married, relatively care-free young couple do not work in quite the same way for a family of four. Some of the reshaping is as simple as moving a chair to another corner. But, in general, reshaping a building is an interdisciplinary challenge that calls on personal experience, conceptual design, structural analysis, logistical planning, and physical work on complex systems.

As Churchill's warning bounced around in my mind, I suddenly embarked on a light renovation of our bedroom, ripping out two walls and moving closets in order to make more space in our bedroom. After a week of puzzling over the room and our daily routines, purchasing and installing bureaus, plastering and painting, we realized that we had created a new destination in our home. Suddenly we had a special retreat to read, watch a movie, or brush hair because the room was shaped to these new purposes. This experience has given us a hungry, critical eye; beware other rooms.

Shelter Institute students develop a complete set of interdisciplinary design/build skills to shape buildings. Plumbing, electrical, and structural considerations are not obstacles, rather opportunities to add special features for flexible future use. An owner builder, or general contractor armed with this knowledge can build houses that really fit now, and adapt easily in the future. Sign up for a class and start shaping buildings before they shape you!