Space Modification
From Mod Mania
Space Modification
1. Introduction
First of all I would like to restate the meaning of modding. Modding or modify means an act of changing a form or context of something. While space modification is where people modify the space or room. These rooms can be a house, your own bedroom, study room, lift, house backyard, terrace, exhibition space, etc.
2. Examples of Space Modification
The first example that we will be talking about is exhibition space modification. Exhibition spaces are arranged to go along with the theme of the work exhibited. It has to be able to. Furthermore, good arrangement will enhance the mood of the visitor. This is because the space is also a part of the exhibition. In other words, the space can be said as one of the work that is exhibited.
Another space modification like house, bedroom, study room, backyard or terrace is more personal than exhibition space. This kind of modification is quite different from exhibition space. While exhibition space is arranged to suits the work exhibited, house modification is intended to make the residents happy and comfortable. Most people decorate their room. They arrange the position of the table, bed, light, etc. Putting decoration or flowers on the shelves, posters on the wall, we all do those things. And people might not realize that what they did is mod because people would call this kind of modification as decorating or arranging.
The last example that I’m going to talk about is public spaces modification. I’ll use the previous students’ (Sisca and Simone) project in modifying our lift (RMIT Building 87) as the example. “Not only are we a part of this generation of users who demand instant & constant entertainment, as designers we are interested in exploring this concept.” The reason why public places are modified is because people are looking for entertainment through the boredom of routine. (I experienced the lift – except on the 4th day -, it was really cool and interesting =D) Making graffiti is another kind of public space modification that is very popular, especially for teenagers. People use spray on big wall, and some might small range of graffiti using marker on the toilets, and such.
3.Reason to modify space
Why do people modify space? Later on I will describe the reason why people modify space.
Firstly is to escape from routine or boredom. This is just like Sisca and Simone’s project, where the lift is the routine. As in me, I have always thought that the lift is unattractive and quite boring. There is nothing special on its design. But when they modified the lift, the lift became interesting and fun, because it is different. This also means that people want to have something different in their life. Another example that is more popular is graffiti. It is scratched image, can be painted or just using marker (Wikipedia, 2008). The example of it can be seen mostly on the wall in small streets, public toilets, train station, etc.
Secondly, people modify space for their own pleasure. Modifying house is one of it. People modify their house or their bedroom to fit their taste so that a house or room can become the best place to live in.
"Your living room will be a place for family or friends to sit and visit, so a special effort should be made to create a comfortable harmonious environment."(http://www.rentaldecorating.com/LivingRoom.htm)
Most of the time it's the first room you see when you enter a home and it can become a multi function room where kids play around, or family member working, doing homework even a dining room and kitchen. This is just one of the example how important it is to modify a space. Study room, for instance, supposed to help us in concentrating, it should give us the mood to study, and it should has good light source. Another example, bedroom is meant to be comfortable and personal, and it should be able to identify yourself or your hobby.
Thirdly, modifying spaces might be done for certain occasion. As an example, on Christmas we decorate the home with Christmas’ decoration and Christmas tree. As Hedding said that Christmas tree, Christmas ornaments, singing of carols, foods on Thanksgiving, the lighting of candles for Hanukkah are all part of holiday tradition. I’m sure that it is undeniable. When rooms are decorated, we feel the holiday spirits stronger than when it is not decorated. We also decorate space for occasion like birthday party or other kind of family party. I know that sometimes we do not decorate the room for birthday, but with decoration, the spirits would be uplifted.
Fourthly is because we need to modify the space. For example, a house with grandfather and a grandmother makes the rest of the family to think about their access to everywhere. Another example is having a disable person in your home or maybe baby. When a family has a baby, they would put tools that will keep the baby safe, like the vcr and dvd protector, corner protector, door stopper, plug cover. We can see some buildings have access for disable person, using sloping path instead of stairs, lifts, toilet for disabled people, etc.
Below are pictures of baby safety products(http://www.babysafetyshop.com/at-home.php)
4.The negative side of space modification
While some people modify space to make it better, some space modification can be seen as a negative action. Graffiti is one kind of space modification that can be considered as bad thing. It is not like graffiti is totally bad, for myself I think it is good because people can express themselves and be creative. Every graffiti has its own story and sometimes it can be considered as art. However, when it is not under control, graffiti can become a mess and an inappropriate action. For instance, having a graffiti on the exterior of train is really a nuisance. Here is example of train in Rome.
Not just in Rome but also in other places, like UK, America and Australia.
5.Conclusion
In conclusion, space modification is done because people are bored with routine and want something more interesting. Sometimes it is done on a certain occasion like Christmas. Further more, some people modify space because they need to modify it to live in it. But the most important thing and probably the most common reason are modifying a space for pleasure and personal enjoyment. However, some space modification could cause bad impact if it is not controlled.
Please comment on it if there is something wrong.. hahaha... thanks...
Jessalyn
Reference : Hedding, J. 2008, “Holiday Traditions : Aricona Residents Maintain Holiday Traditions from Other Lands”, viewed on 6 May 2008 http://phoenix.about.com/od/holidayevents/a/traditions.htm
Wikipedia, 2008, “Graffiti”, last updated on 6 May 2008, viewed on 6 May 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti
