Boredom can be constructive and creative - a state in which we have the opportunity to look at the automatisms of our actions and end mindless obedience. The analysis of b oredom as a productive building block was conducted by Alexandra Gordova in her literary debut. What happens when we let boredom into our homes?
The book entitled. "Everyday Boredom.Home as productive and unproductive space" by young architect Aleksandra Gordowy shows boredom as an unexpectedly productive aspect and a tool for constructing living space. The author proposes a reversal of the schemes in which the conversation about the quality of habitation usually takes place.
scheme of living space
© Aleksandra Gordowy
As Filip Springer wrote about the book:
In the spring of 2020, it knocked on our door, and we did a lot to drive it away. We even started baking breads. Boredom - we are afraid of her like a fire. Alexandra Gordowy examines what would happen if, however, we let her in the house and let her get comfortable. You can't read this book through the prism of the pandemic (it was written before it), but you simply can't not read it if you want the world, after the pandemic, to be better. Because "boredom helps us see that we are often sitting uncomfortably" (I hung this sentence over my desk).
The everydayness of boredom
The Everydayness of Boredom is a going beyond stereotypes analysis of the function of housing through the prism of the essential - though rarely considered in studies of the subject - boredom as a necessary element for human well-being. In it, Aleksandra Gordowy conducts theoretical considerations, cites philosophers and researchers of human behavior, and applies her conclusions to practice, proposing their application in one of Lodz's tenements.
The center of the author's considerations is a house - an existing post-labor tenement in Lodz, on East Street
© Aleksandra Gordowy
If we consider boredom as one of the more important states of consciousness, it suddenly becomes an extremely valuable factor in the architectural design process. It is definitely a more popular practice to design against boredom than for boredom. Rather, we would say: "This is where I plan a place to work" rather than: "This is where I will cultivate my boredom." Boredom is not only a by-product of modernity, but also one of the greatest fears of the modern world, from which, running in a perfectly vicious circle, the world tries in vain to escape. However, if we actually examine what actually happens when, convinced that the world is temporarily at a standstill at best, we become bored, if we look at the point at which this state occurs, we find that not only is boredom unavoidable (thankfully!), but many of the world's most interesting inventions are products of a protracted state of impatience and lack of satisfaction, of being "in between" for too long, that is, de facto boredom.
Alexandra Gordowy, "Everyday Boredom. Home as productive and unproductive space".
Publisher: Bęc Zmiana Foundation, PFR Real Estate
The book also includes texts by experts on housing issues.
Sociologist Joanna Erbel writes about the prospects for innovation in the sphere of satisfying the needs that are nowadays associated with habitation. And architect and urban planner Agata Twardoch, from the perspective of a professional who has been involved in promoting accessible housing for years, mentions the inclusive architecture of boredom.
graphic design: Noviki Post Studio
The book is based on a thesis that won the top prize in the first edition of the PUM: Space of Users and Residents competition. The competition, organized by PFR Real Estate in 2019 in cooperation with its partners - the PFR Foundation and the publishing house of the Bęc Zmiana Foundation - was about research theses in the field of housing. You can read more about the competition and the winning thesis here.
compiled by: Dobrawa Bies
illustrations courtesy of Aleksandra Gorodwa, Bęc Zmiana Foundation and PFR Real Estate
