Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Another for the "actually I think this is awesome" file


And that, boys and girls, is why we never leave oatmeal unattended in the microwave.

(Found by Lucy.)

69 comments:

Jordan said...

The artist/architects designed their floor this way based on their theory that having good balance prevented aging. I recall they were very focused on living forever. I wonder if the sale of the house is a comment on their success in that endeavor!

Elia said...

I heard about these guys on NPR! Neat to see one, but I can think of a lot of other ways to spend $4mil.

Anonymous said...

wow. just wow.

I cant imagine living there...maybe playing there after a Happy Meal...

Jan Andrea said...

That is a whole lot of WTF.

Chris said...

I'm with Jan Andrea ...
At first I thought it was some sort of 3D computer design work gone horribly wrong (see early 3D computer games) but now ... well, that's just ... um ... yeah, WTF?!

RAS said...

I think, if I lived there, I'd constantly be paranoid about stumbling in the kitchen door, tripping over that bumpy floor, and flying over into that kitchen grotto or orchestra pit or whatever you want to call it (where the appliances are), and landing on the stove. NOT a good house if you are coordination-challenged.

Anonymous said...

looks like a house my kids can put together with legos

Shoshanah Marohn said...

All I can think is, "how would you clean that place?"

Alissa Grosso said...

Good point, Cellar Door! I actually like many aspects of this house, except for the oatmeal. I like the blocky architecture and all the funky colors, but then the bumpy floorish stuff just ruins everything.

Anonymous said...

Please, someone, tell me there was some way to close off the bathroom for some privacy there. Nothing like everyone who happens to be in the house being able to see your business when you're using the toilet or taking a bath.

Diagnose Rachel said...

4million for a house where you can see the bathtub/bathroom from the kitchen stove. WOW. when my babies were little and lived in the tub, this would be great. But, in this house, you can't see into the tub from the stove, so I wouldn't know when they had drowned.

Hmmm, seen plenty of sunken tubs. Never did see a sunken stove. I never could find the fridge. Which means it's small, or sunken. Either way it's usless!

Oh I wish I lived in NY so that I could pretend to be a buyer and walk thru the house!!!!

drjim said...

And I thought all the weirdos lived out here in California!

Diagnose Rachel said...

Oh wait Alissa! The bumpy floor is the best part. It's like accupressure for your feet while you try to move around the most used part of a house.

But,

I really hope that it some sort of foam tile AND NOT CARPET!!!!

Unknown said...

Is this real? It doesn't look real. I don't understand. I think I need to lie down now.

John said...

The agent's copy about how finally, we can live entirely inside of sculptures, is better than any of the photos.

Anonymous said...

Well I think a stripper would be quite happy living there with all those poles! How confusing is that place.

Anonymous said...

All those poles? Did someone find a sale on a girlie bar going out of business?
Roidy

Anonymous said...

Jan Andrea said it best. WTF?

Anonymous said...

The floor is apparently concrete *crestfallen look as hopes of bouncing around are dashed*. Apparently the architects' philosophy is that people die because the spaces they live in are too comfortable. The logical solution is thus to make a very uncomfortable house that leaves you feeling disoriented. Of course that does leave the question why would you want to live a longer very uncomfortable life? *sighs and settles back in nice cozy, comfy chair*

Melissa Kirk said...

A house for the sober, for sure. Can you imagine stumbling drunk around there, looking for something to puke in?

Heather said...

The outside of this house is so beautiful. I just can't understand why they would want to f'up the inside like that. Does this mean I don't "get" art?

Herding Grasshoppers said...

"Forty years of scientific and philosophical investigation..."

That's intellectual code for "forty years of psychedelic drugs".

Anonymous said...

Here is an article about that house.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/garden/03destiny.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Fpr only $3 million, I will sell you a house that is the lifetime culmination of my philosophy, which is that people with too much money should give it to me.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for the agent who had to "approximate" the square footage.

Blythe Hopes Vintage said...

I actually want that room. I may have to make one.

Anonymous said...

The poles are actually
"Help me Jesus!" handles......

Anonymous said...

And nobody noticed the shoes in the middle of the (apparently) only flat floor in the whole place?

mudslicker said...

"...for the first time in human history – become possible to live entirely within a sculpture!"

I take exception to this comment. I believe these sames words were uttered by Jonah [or was that Geppetto?] in that famous fairy tale about the puppet and the whale in the Old Testament.

BTW, love, love, love that giant teacup ride in the bathroom!

Anonymous said...

You just have to read the New York Times article linked in another post. I laughed out loud and had tears in my eyes. Oh my aching head - the paper about how the cat would feel in the house. This is fantastic stuff, you just can't make up crap like this.

Funfun said...

John-- I know, right? "At last it's possible to live INSIDE a sculpture! Finally the dream has been fulfilled! The dream NO ONE HAS EVER HAD." 0_o

Anonymous said...

If people die because the spaces in which we live are too comfortable, how do they explain why the early homo erectus died? They didn't have overstuffed armchairs and plush wall to wall carpeting.

Rich people confuse me.

Angela said...

An ounce of pretention worth a pound of manure??? Or several thousand pounds of oatmeal. I love Jordan's comments -- yes, did the people who said "we've decided not to die" but since the house is for sale, did the owner kick it?

http://www.reversibledestiny.org/HOME.html

Angela said...

Okay -- I feel kind of bad now. They are selling it because they were victims of Bernie Madoff . . .

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123785033607519075.html

dissimilitude said...

A house for the sober, for sure.

Melissa, this was my first thought, too.

The whole thing about how the key to longevity is being uncomfortable reminds me of those guys who swear by living in a state of semi-starvation to lengthen their lives. (I've always wondered if people who do stuff like that actually live longer, or if it just seems like longer because they don't get to enjoy anything.)

dissimilitude said...

My guess is that the current owner fell and broke a hip and had to go into assisted living.

Drunk or sober, I can't imagine getting up in the middle of the night in that place to pee without injuring yourself.

Christina said...

Is it just me or does this look a bit like "smalland" (sp?, the children's play areal at Ikea?
For the accident prone, like myself, this house would likely shorten the life span after a series of tragic accidents involving late night trips to the potty.

Land of shimp said...

Gosh, I'm sorry that they have to sell under such sad circumstances.

Still, I don't like the house at all. For one thing, have fun paying to heat and cool all that space that exists solely to be looked at. People die because they are too comfortable? So, living a long life is a goal, but the worth of that time isn't of prime importance? Yeah, that's insane troll logic.

As is spending a mint to create unlivable space, in uncomfortable surroundings. Why not just go out of your way to stub your toe constantly? It's cheaper, and your utility bills are lower. The condition of your toes would basically be the same though.

One groggy trip to the loo and your shins will be a bruised mess too.

Anonymous said...

That wsj article is priceless.

"the couple have been trying to sell their seminal work, the "Mechanism of Meaning," a series of 84 8-foot-tall panels that took them 10 years to complete, for about $17 million."

But they got scammed. Snort.

Land of shimp said...

Oh my gosh, that WSJ article was a howl. No one deserves what Madoff did, that's for sure. I'm very sorry the couple lost their savings.

I do think it's amusing that their architecture is sort of aimed at the self-loathing set. "Feel comfortable, happy? That's a harbinger of doom! Be uncomfortable, live in a cold house, be unable to furnish your rooms, know constant frustration and live forever." Well, now, doesn't that sound fun? Great comments on how their style of architecture is likely to break an older person's neck, too.

But this had me giggling:

"Barring a sell-off of their collection, the couple fear they won't realize their dream of building a "reversible destiny" village with homes and parks that would combine their theories of life into one community."

Parks? Parks? Just judging by their love of wavy, concrete floors, I shudder to think of the play surfaces they would create.

"Jimmy,come out of the bed of nails and let the other children have a turn! Go play on the swings-over-broken-glass, would you?"

Brooke said...

$4 million for a house that you can't walk in? Sign me up!

I don't think there is an insurance company on Earth that would touch this place with a ten foot pole...

Land of shimp said...

Depends on what sort of insurance, Brooke.

I'm betting that the owners will have offers of cheap insurance against fire, pretty much daily.

janet said...

I think I'd miss non-primary colors and the ability to actually clean the house after about a week of living there. :/

burhanistan said...

Your inside is out, and your outside is in
Your outside is in, and you inside is out
So come on, ha, come on, ha, come on is such a joy
Come on is such a joy, come on and make it easy, come on and make it easy
Take it easy, take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey

Anonymous said...

that reminds me...I've always wanted a house that was like a rat maze even with randomly shifting walls so the maze would change constantly. That's how you stay sharp.

Artful Dodger said...

A leaf blower and two open doors, and I'll clean that house in a jiffy!

Bill's Bayou said...

This is one for the "It's Lovely Hall of Fame." The article posted above is a must read. All art should be viewed in context of the artist's intent. In this case, I think this is a $#!+hole of a house. Yoko would have commissioned this house for John.

Their theory of living longer through discomfort will only be interrupted by gunfire between occupants or a sole gunman on the roof with a deer rifle.

That bathroom is indeed door free. As the artists intended. "You make your own privacy" is from the article. Funny stuff.

Don't forget to enlarge the photos. You need to get a feel for the home.

By the way, I fully expect someone to walk off the upper level and step into a running garbage disposal. Every day, someone will be hitting something painful on any one of those hundred sharp corners. This place needs a bulldozer.

Anonymous said...

The one tidbit of knowledge I took away from my required Finance class was "Diversify Diversify Diversify. Never put all your eggs in one basket". Someone who lost EVERYTHING in the Madoff scandal was someone operating under extreme greed and a superority complex of getting high off of investing where the plebes were not permitted.

That being said, love the irony of them getting scammed and then them trying to scam someone into buying a house of immortality. Jeesh

Ash said...

I think some yoga classes would have saved a whole lot of money.

I do admire their use of color though.

Bryan said...

Of course, all this being said, there's nothing really "wrong" with the realtor's pictures. Well, maybe there is...but the house makes it too difficult to tell.

BadPixie said...

I'm wondering about the pair of tennis shoes in what I presume is a bedroom? Did they get homesick and return? Will the former owners come back looking for them? Maybe they have one of those computer microchips beneath their tongues...

Decadent Housewife said...

Sorry, this looks like a potato field on drugs.

Anonymous said...

It took me a moment to realize they were pictures of the actual house and not the play room. My kids would love it.

silver bells said...

Um. How to phrase this....

I think they need to depersonalize the home. Just a bit.

Anonymous said...

Bryan, it is advertised as a house, but could anyone actually live in it? Shouldn't all the concrete areas be considered crawl space?

Rin [FrostyMint] said...

Like Chris, I actually thought it was a computer graphic image of some sort. Of all been said, I think it would be fun to live in such a house...for a couple of hours. Then maybe I'd get used to the 'unfamiliarness' and found myself wanting a normal house. Maybe it could be made into a fun house where people pay to stay in such a weird house just to experience the uncomfortable life that they are referring to.

Hmm, maybe it's an acquired taste...

jackie31337 said...

Jordan said The artist/architects designed their floor this way based on their theory that having good balance prevented aging.

I was wondering if this was the work of those people. I thought their theory was that living in an unpredictable environment keeps your brain in shape, though. Either way, that house looks fun.

Anonymous said...

We recently forked out $200/night at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, where we discovered that the wall between the bathroom and the rest of the room was just textured glass. And the shower was right up against the wall. So if you were in the shower, there was a really nice silhouette of you for everyone in the room to see. Apparently there's a whole world of people out there who don't think that bathroom privacy is something of value.

Julie Price said...

My question is: if they've only been developing this philosophy behind such architecture for forty years, how do they know it leads to exceedingly long lives?

Unknown said...

It took me quite some time to believe that this place is real, and not either CG or a model shot in extreme closeup.

Some art just can't be appreciated.

Chazya said...

its a habitat for educated chimps. this is where the lab chimps who come from nymh go to live.

seriously, its made for beings which may crawl on all fours to get around. I highly doubt that cave dwellers have such unsettled grounds in their caves. and where do people sleep? propped up on the cement with a blanket?

I found the fridge, its the dishwasher looking thing next to the sink. I think people will live longer because they will not be able to store up food, all food needs to be purchased in 48 hour increments because there's not place to store it or dishes.

and who wants to try to balance in a salad bowl shaped tub to bathe? hmm, anyone?

Anonymous said...

This house is very disappointing. The key to longevity is not good balance, it's strong sphincter muscles. It's sad that the toilet is affixed to the floor, just like every boring house, instead of to the wall.

Glory von Hathor said...

I don't get it. Your stripper shoes would like, totally never be able to balance on that flooring texture as you pole dance. Amateurs.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Hmmmm.

Perhaps they should have Madoff spend the rest of his days in there...instead of the big pen.

Anonymous said...

Buyer pool, one in ten million. Good luck with that! Sometimes rich people are stupid.(does this cross the line of commenting on a "class"--or is it "klass"????

Anonymous said...

I like wine too much to live there - stumbling to my death the first Saturday I'm hanging at "home" surely would screw up their theory.

Gardenqueen said...

It sure doesn't look like anyone's 'living in a sculpture' there.

Robin said...

Two words: Ug ly!

Robin said...

Two words: Ug ly!

Cottagecheap said...

Anyone have a bus....I think we need to take a "tour" as a group. You know..our 'commune' wants to live there. Seriously, I would make us all beanies...so we could go in there. What is that shtfuff on the floor made of? It looks like a petri dish, to me!