Blending in

I was taking in some sunshine & coffee at New Farm Park today, admiring houses on the far river bank at Hawthorne. There is one house in particular right on the water that has always been a favourite. When I was muddling my way through university, I did a year of architecture. I've always been fascinated by design and how space can be utilised in different ways to create something hopefully extraordinary. I liked the beauty and the idea of designing,  but my skills were more technically focused than artistic so it didn't end up being my thing. However, in first year there was a lot of observation of environments; thinking about space, getting an idea of what you felt worked and why, much abstract stuff.

Anyway, this house is this fantastic looking timber, multi-level dwelling with towers and decks; it just looks amazing. It was built around the time I was enrolled in this course, and I recall really focusing on it because it just appeared 'at one' with the environment and as if it had always been there. In comparison, some of the river houses and units surrounding it don't gel with the landscape. They look beautiful and expensive and lovely in their own way, but just don't seem right to me.

It started me thinking about the similarity with people. It all depends on others perceptions of course, but in your own environment, you tend to either be conspicuous, or camouflaged. There are really only the two groups that exist. But what if you don’t fit into either?  I don't stand out or attract a lot of attention, but I know and I’ve been told by many people that I'm different from the general ‘herd’ as well. With houses, my view is that it works or it doesn’t. But with people, I am stuck in the middle. It would have bothered me a lot before, the not-fitting-in-to-some-group. Now, I quite like being the individual that I am, and if that means re-thinking my categories for people, then that works for me.

Dodgy photo, but the house in question is dead centre. Will replace this with a decent (clear) pic soon.