“Architecture against death,” is one of the missions of the Bioscleave House in East Hampton, an innovative, interactive, compact living space that is the antidote to the soulless Hamptons McMansions. As artist-architect-poet designer Madeleine Gins says, “In this house you aren’t buying space, you’re buying time.”
The Bioscleave House in East Hampton.
Akin to an adult Gymboree, the circular living space centered on the kitchen has rolling hill floors with modular bumps, challenging balance and giving feet a daily acupressure work out, good for the immune system. Open bedrooms and bathrooms with translucent walls spoke out from the central area. Forget creature comforts, each element is designed to stretch your imagination whether it is the chiaroscuro of 45 different paint colors, optical illusions of depth perception, or the very light switch itself which requires creative thinking to turn off/on (hint: it’s not a clap.)
Aside from a very tactile sensory experience, there is poetry in motion with principles such as “boundary swaying procedure,” “identity loosening procedure,” and “mistake on purpose procedure.” Don’t worry, the house comes with an instruction book. It’s all part of Gins’ and her partner Arakawa’s multi-disciplined study of architecture and its affect on the body. Hey, if crossword puzzles can keep nuns young, then this living space can keep you on your mental and physical toes.
The Bioscleave House's kitchen.
Designing houses to reverse the aging process has been a successful experiment in Japan, and when an East Hampton resident saw an example, he decided to commission the world renowned team Arakawa & Gins to create one in The Springs, in East Hampton. It’s listed for sale with Ursula Reimann of Sotheby’s in East Hampton for $5.5 million.
While it might attract a personal pioneer or possibly Ted Williams pre-cryonics, the most likely buyer would be an institution such as the Guggenheim which would use the site for biotopological research. But one word of warning to any buyer, apparently it’s a real bitch to vacuum.
Add your comments...