When I first learned of Daniel Libeskind’s pre-fab house concept, three months ago, I hoped it would go away. Apparently it didn’t. Recently, it appeared again on DesignBoom, with the announcement that a prototype would be unveiled later this month.
Rendering of the Libeskind Villa. (Image from DesignBoom.)
The problem with the Libeskind Villa is that its dramatic, angular forms exist only for their own sake. Since it is designed to be prefabricated, sold, and installed anywhere a client wants to put it, it is little more than a habitable piece of lavishly expensive, second-rate garden sculpture which mimics the appearance of architecture.
My interest in architecture developed through exposure to so-called “organic” architects like John Lautner, who believed that a building’s design must be generated by the unique, specific demands of its site and client. When I look at Lautner buildings, which can be just as dramatic and “sculptural” as the Libeskind Villa, I know that every grand, gestural form actually has at least one specific, carefully considered purpose–to frame a particular view, to provide shade or privacy, or to reflect a particular angle of sunlight, for example. This, largely, is what architecture is about: responding to the site. A Lautner building cannot be transplanted to a different site, because it wouldn’t make any sense.
Ideally, pre-fab allows a client who cannot afford to commission an original architectural residence to at least reside in something that was thoughtfully designed by an architect. With the cost of the Libeskind Villa estimated to range from 2.8 to 4.2 million USD, it misses this market entirely. For $3 million, why on earth wouldn’t I simply hire an architect to design something that actually fits my needs and my site? Really, there can’t be that many people who would pay such a premium just to be able to say that they own a house by the architect of the Jewish Museum Berlin and 1 World Trade Center (formerly called the Freedom Tower), a design which, if built, will actually redefine tragedy on what is already the most tragedy-identified site in the world.
Tags: Daniel Libeskind, Libeskind Villa
