Photo by Bob Riginik“Only time turns a house into a home,” says Brazilian architect and designer [Guto Requena](http://www.gutorequena.com.br/site/#cybersewing atelier/1) about one of his most recent projects What turns a house into a home?. In partnership with Deca, Guto was invited to attend the Mostra Black 2011, an exhibition that brought together fourteen different Brazilian architects who explored their own personal interpretations to the question “What it is to be black?”. Though he put his own spin on the question, the work's goal was to pinpoint something that identifies us within the space in which we choose to live, through an emotional and subjective scope.Guto’s interpretation utilized a house built in the neoclassical architecture style of the 40s. The audience was encouraged to participate in the exhibition by expressing their views on the meaning of the word “home” through text message, Twitter or a touch screen interface. On the second floor the most popular and recurring words were projected on the wall as a digital wallpaper. In addition to calling attention to the clear difference between the analog world, represented by the old building, and the digital one, illustrated through various forms of interaction, the project points to the importance of reflection presented by interactive technology in the setting of a home.You can see the interactive environment in the video below:Guto routinely uses interactivity as a starting point in his search for the link between the old and new, or the physical and the virtual. In a recent article on his project, Bohemian Cyborg, he said the inhabitants of our time are "cyborg inhabitants" and are “more familiar with digital technology and increasingly more able to establish dialogue with machines,” (which you can read here in Portuguese).We had a pleasant chat with the "futuristic" architect to better understand his views on this important and recurring issue: the impact of technology on our existence in the natural environment. Read it below:The Creators Project: Who are you and what do you do?
Guto Requena: I'm Guto Requena, an architect and designer. My works reflect on the impact of new information and communication technologies and their consequences in physical and virtual space, in light of of new ways of living in our society. Recently I've been writing and presenting the show Nos Trinques (loosely translated as “fashionable”) on the GNT channel, which intends to discuss design and behavior.Why did you choose to work with reactive architecture? Tell us about your interest in this field.
My interest arose during my second year of architecture school at USP [University of São Paulo] when I did an internship with North American architect Greg Lynn from Los Angeles. Lynn is an important name in the international architecture scene, who uses computers not only as a simple drawing tool. I became very involved in how digital technologies are adding new layers of poetic narratives over our spaces and since then I haven't stopped studying this fascinating field. During my graduate program I was a researcher at NOMADS, an interactive dwelling research center, and in 2003 I started my Masters Degree at USP. At the end of 2007 I presented my dissertation entitled “Hybrid Living: Interaction and Experience in the Age of Cyberculture” (available online for download here).Why do you choose to tweak physical environments based on the participation of many characters?
I believe there is a new and unique Brazilianness when dealing with sensors and actuators applied to physical space. I'm very interested in the possibilities of an open and participative work for people, for them to cease as mere spectators and to become, at some level, co-designers of the project. I like the unpredictability of the projects and I see architecture and design as excellent opportunities for testing and experimentation in this area.How would you personally answer the question: “What turns a house into a home?”
What turns a house into a home is a set of factors, including the emotions and memories deposited there, either from objects and furniture, as well as actions that happen over time. Only time turns a house into a home.
Bohemian Cyborg: photo by Marcelo MagnaniTell us a little about the concepts that permeate your project, Bohemian Cyborg.
The design of the interchangeable loft space Bohemian Cyborg was presented for my masters degree graduation project in 2007 as a concrete reflection of the dissertation. The original apartment reproduced classic Parisian partitions that divided the house in three areas: social, intimate and services, with monofunctional sealed rooms. In this re-interpretation there's no fixed plan, but several setting possibilities. You can use it as an office, a dance floor, a large meeting room, a small gallery for exhibitions or a more traditional apartment. This process takes place simply and inexpensively from the displacement of panels, furniture casters, and through lights. If families have changed, if our habits have indeed changed, our living spaces should accompany these changes.How do you see the intersection of art and technology in your work?
I like to blur the boundaries between design, architecture, art and I like to work with new digital technologies. I hope to expand the scale of my work to the city, designing interactive spaces in urban areas—facades that respond to stimuli and architectures that will make people reflect on their role in their own city (such as Memo 12:01, interactive totems for the metro in São Paulo). New digital technologies foster our relationships with the city, allowing new behaviors and new rituals. We have to look at new digital technologies critically, and understand that it is up to our generation to set the direction and usage of these new possibilities (we indeed are special because we are the only generation to witness the transition from the analog to digital).
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Guto Requena: I'm Guto Requena, an architect and designer. My works reflect on the impact of new information and communication technologies and their consequences in physical and virtual space, in light of of new ways of living in our society. Recently I've been writing and presenting the show Nos Trinques (loosely translated as “fashionable”) on the GNT channel, which intends to discuss design and behavior.
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My interest arose during my second year of architecture school at USP [University of São Paulo] when I did an internship with North American architect Greg Lynn from Los Angeles. Lynn is an important name in the international architecture scene, who uses computers not only as a simple drawing tool. I became very involved in how digital technologies are adding new layers of poetic narratives over our spaces and since then I haven't stopped studying this fascinating field. During my graduate program I was a researcher at NOMADS, an interactive dwelling research center, and in 2003 I started my Masters Degree at USP. At the end of 2007 I presented my dissertation entitled “Hybrid Living: Interaction and Experience in the Age of Cyberculture” (available online for download here).Why do you choose to tweak physical environments based on the participation of many characters?
I believe there is a new and unique Brazilianness when dealing with sensors and actuators applied to physical space. I'm very interested in the possibilities of an open and participative work for people, for them to cease as mere spectators and to become, at some level, co-designers of the project. I like the unpredictability of the projects and I see architecture and design as excellent opportunities for testing and experimentation in this area.
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What turns a house into a home is a set of factors, including the emotions and memories deposited there, either from objects and furniture, as well as actions that happen over time. Only time turns a house into a home.
The design of the interchangeable loft space Bohemian Cyborg was presented for my masters degree graduation project in 2007 as a concrete reflection of the dissertation. The original apartment reproduced classic Parisian partitions that divided the house in three areas: social, intimate and services, with monofunctional sealed rooms. In this re-interpretation there's no fixed plan, but several setting possibilities. You can use it as an office, a dance floor, a large meeting room, a small gallery for exhibitions or a more traditional apartment. This process takes place simply and inexpensively from the displacement of panels, furniture casters, and through lights. If families have changed, if our habits have indeed changed, our living spaces should accompany these changes.How do you see the intersection of art and technology in your work?
I like to blur the boundaries between design, architecture, art and I like to work with new digital technologies. I hope to expand the scale of my work to the city, designing interactive spaces in urban areas—facades that respond to stimuli and architectures that will make people reflect on their role in their own city (such as Memo 12:01, interactive totems for the metro in São Paulo). New digital technologies foster our relationships with the city, allowing new behaviors and new rituals. We have to look at new digital technologies critically, and understand that it is up to our generation to set the direction and usage of these new possibilities (we indeed are special because we are the only generation to witness the transition from the analog to digital).