The Un-Private House
Exhibition at the UCLA Hammer Museum
October 4, 2000 - January 7, 2001

"The Un-Private House" examines 25 recent homes by a roster of
international architects whose designs reflect the transformation of the
private house in response to changing cultural conditions and recent
architectural innovations. This major exhibition was organized by
Terence Riley, Chief Curator, Department of Architecture and Design at
the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.

Among the social phenomena-and subsequent architectural responses-
that the exhibition examines are changing demographic patterns,
shifting definitions of privacy in light of the proliferation of various types
of media, and new concepts of work and leisure.

The radical transformation of the family since World War II - rising
numbers of couples without children, people living alone, and families
with children from previous marriages - has resulted in new domestic
requirements that differ from those of the nuclear family. For example,
many families or individuals without children have adopted concepts of
loft-style living. Among the residences that share the open-floor plan of
the loft are Winka Dubbledam's Millbrook Residence in New York and
Michael Maltzan's Hergott Shepard Residence in Beverly Hills, both built
for couples without children; and the Shorthand House, designed by
Francois de Menil for a retired woman. Addressing another trend, 64
Wakefield in Atlanta, designed by Scogin Elam and Bray Architects and
Farjadi Farjadi's BV house consider the needs of parents with children
from previous marriages. In each case, a separate space for the children
was constructed adjacent to the main house to afford the children, as
well as the parents, a sense of autonomy and privacy within the newly
constructed family circle.

The rapid growth of new media also has been a catalyst for architectural
innovations. Today's home is a permeable structure, receiving and
transmitting images, sound, text, and data. To cite just two examples:
in Herzog and de Meuron's Kramlich House and Video Collection, the
interior walls of the living space function as screens onto which the
owner's collection of video art is projected, creating a virtual gallery
space. Both the interior and exterior surfaces of Hariri & Hariri's Digital
House are conceived as "smart" glass skins that perform various
functions to assist or enhance daily living. Images and information
providing advice on food preparation appear over the kitchen counter
while digital guests appear in the living room for a virtual visit.

The effects of media on daily life have caused the concept of privacy to
evolve in new directions. Interactive technologies allow us to be
physically alone and yet still be connected to people through the
Internet, for example. Even in a physical sense, the shifting boundary
between public and private is evident in such projects as Rem Koolhaas'
House in Bourdeaux. A moving platform in the center of the house may
be raised or lowered to create different spatial arrangements creating a
sense of fluidity between the public and private floors of the house.
MVRDV's design for a row house in a dense area of Amsterdam inserts a
semi-public path between the house and its neighbor, exposing its
interior behind a sheet of glass. Also situated in a heavily populated are,
Shigeru Ban's Curtain Wall House in Tokyo has an exterior made of
glass panels and large fabric curtains, both of which may be adjusted to
achieve various layers of transparency.

Rather than being an escape from work, today's home often merges
workspace with living space, as exemplified by Frank Lupo and Daniel
Rowen's Lipscutz/Jones Apartment in Manhattan. With the globalization
of business, the owners, both traders on Wall Street no longer have
fixed work hours. Digital screens visible throughout the loft display
financial information about international currency markets. An additional
seven screens are situated throughout the home, allowing the
inhabitants instant access to the changing markets.

"The Un-Private House" includes 25 models, along with computer
generated and digitally enhanced photographs and drawings. Architects
included in the exhibition are: Shigeru Ban; Michael Bell; Preston Scott
Cohen; Xaveer de Geyter Architectenbureau; Francois de Menil; Neil
Denari; Diller + Scofidio; Winka Dubbeldam, Archi-Tectonics; Farjadi
Farjadi Architects; Guthrie + Buresh Architects; Thomas Hanrahan and
Victoria Meyers; Hariri & Hariri; Herzog & de Meuron; Steven Holl
Architects; Kolatan/MacDonald Studio; Frank Lupo/Daniel Rowen;
MVRDV; Michael Maltzan Architecture; Office for Metropolitan
Architecture; Joel Sanders; Scogin Elam and Bray Architects;
SANAA/Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa & Associates; Clorindo Testa;
Bernard Tschumi; UN Studio/Van Berkel & Bos; and Simon Ungers with
Thomas Kinslow.

The UCLA Hammer Museum's presentation of "The Un-Private House" is
sponsored by J.P. Morgan. This exhibition was organized by The
Museum of Modern Art and was made possible by The Lily Auchincloss
Fund for Contemporary Architecture.

---

Return to The Un-Private House