What is a Home?

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The idea of home is a diverse and unimaginably audacious category to sum up in words. Home is many things and none are less vital then the next, but to narrow down the vast category of home, I will focus on the structure of what a home is. The structure of a home can be anything especially depending on where you look. Ranging from multi thousand square foot single family homes to high rise apartments and shacks on the side of mudslide prone hills, the design of a house can fill any number of categories. Each and every one of the homes we live in was designed by someone and constructed with the resources that are available or resources that can be brought in. Some choose to build a home that will stand for hundreds of years, others build shoddy homes with poor materials that would not have a chance against anything more harsh then a moderate rainstorm. All of this to say that the structure of a home is boundless and changes to fit the needs. Homes allow for creative expression and the homeowner can do any of a number of things to make a home their own. From paint to furniture from siding to stone a home may be the single greatest indicator of the people that live within.
Some homes are designed by famous architects, some are designed by no name architects, some are pieced together by people who have had no experience in architecture whatsoever but want to create a home that will serve the needs of their family. All of these scenarios have a common thread, they all try to fill a need. This is an essential aspect of home design, filling a need. If a home doesn’t fill a need then what is its point? A general need is providing a roof to keep out rain, or a wall to keep out intruders, block wind, or hold warmth, or a door to provide pr...

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...display our outlook, and furnish them to serve our needs. Our homes are a reflection of who we are and just like art they change over time. Brick…stone…wood…concrete…stucco…metal… the possibilities are endless and homes take on whatever form fills a need. Homes are like giant canvases for people each one modifies to match the tastes of its owner, each on morphing into a sculpture to match what the homeowner wants or needs.
Homes are no longer simply about living, they are built of course to live in, but they accomplish so much more. Although the design of home has evolved into a much different thing then what it once was, a home is still a home. We are beginning to realize that we went wrong when building houses of styrofoam and thin concrete slabs. We are beginning to see the value in antiquity. Just because a home is old does not mean that it needs to be razed to

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