Part of the Rippongi Art Triangle, a twelve minute walk from the Mori Art Museum, is The National Art Center in Tokyo.
The big exhibit was “Living Modernity” which featured models of houses built by 20th century architects that were the fantasies which, when built, changed the ideal structure of the home environment. Functional, linear, and taking advantage of big glass, it’s still mostly housing that only the rich can afford. There were some examples of Le Corbusier apartments, but the home they have in the exhibit overlooks a lake in Switzerland.
The central conceit to the show is sort of like the Elon Musk trickle-down approach to consumption, i.e., first promote the most expensive example of your product, and after there’s a Veblen-like status envy of the conspicuously the displayed item, then the public will adapt. Functional homes were more spacious, cleaner, and easier to cook in, but first they had to appear as the “dream house.”
That being said, as I strolled among the models of luxury dwellings I couldn’t help feeling things like, did they really need a living room that large?
A study with a library that big?
A forest that large to engulf their home?
I’ve been in mini-mansion size houses, but as I’ve taken advantage of the infinity pool, or jacuzzi, I’ve thought, “What’s it take to maintain this place? How many workers?” Suddenly relaxed home living seems like running a business.
With the model homes were examples of modern furniture. There was a chair that was like the Danish modern “Barwa” chair my parents had in the living room of our Chicago apartment.
Comfortable, sure, but all I remember is how difficult it was to get in and out of!