Children of Dwell
There’s no disputing that the architecture/design magazine, Dwell, is a vanguard in the war of modernism versus the world. Page after page of spacious, shimmering structures sprinkled lightly by expensive modern furnishings seek to persuade us that Modernism is more than a style; it is a lifestyle.
Dwell’s motto, “at home in the modern world” promises us that in time, even our drafty minimalist houses of steel and glass will come to feel like home—even a place to raise some kids perhaps?
And so I find myself wondering, what has become of the children of Dwell?
Imagining a child at home in the homes of Dwell, one must simply laugh, as the image of the modern parent materializes in our minds, imploring “Please! Don’t touch anything!”.
Perhaps it would be best if the modern child grew to adulthood inside of a glowing white sphere, magically emerging, fully-formed, as Philip Johnsons and Van der Rohes.
Ever so rare is the depiction of childhood in the pages of Dwell. I admit, even instances of adult humans shown among their minimal interior masterpieces are uncommon; psychologically it is easier to imagine ourselves in a space without the distraction of another. Children, naturally, are another matter entirely!
They’re messy, noisy, and ever so demanding, so the common thinking goes. Frankly, one is hard pressed to think of any more of a monkey-wrench that could possibly be thrown into the gears of a ‘machine for living’.
In my ideal, a home emanates history, comfort and privacy. A home is engaging and dynamic. It reflects the activity and spirit of the families which dwell there. The haute modernism enshrined in Dwell, as opposed to the vulgar modernism of the ticky-tacky American suburb, is static, austere and fundamentally opposed to this ideal.
To be entirely forthcoming, I admit I am not an expert on the needs of children. It just all seems rather odd to see the rare child of Dwell sitting blank-eyed in the middle of a million dollar interior. Who knows?–Perhaps the modern child /can/ thrive on the contemporary brushed-aluminum tundra. I simply find it difficult to put to rest the sneaking suspicion that the modern world has a home for everyone except the diminutive minority that fills their daily quota of geodesic domes on the jungle gym.
Contributed by Gabriel Snyder, writer of Built Baltimore.
Photos from Dwell Magazine, various years.
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