One Week by Buster Keaton: Envisioning Prefab Architecture In Motion

Suau, Cristian and Lascelles, M. 2008. One Week by Buster Keaton: Envisioning Prefab Architecture In Motion. Presented at: Cities in Film: Architecture, Urban Space and the Moving Image, University of Liverpool, 26-28 March 2008. pp. 237-243.

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Abstract

The case study is mainly focused on B. Keaton’s masterpieces: One Week, 1920 and The Electric House, 1922. It ingeniously shows what means the montage of mass housing prefabrication as hardware and software (repetition; sense of placeless; generic layouts; and lack of appropriation) in US. The films illustrate the power of do-it-your-self applied in housing and its execution simply as an accident, a random process rather than sequential. For instance, One Week is the story of seven days construction of Sears mail-order Modern Home, a standard catalogue house, with precut, fitted pieces and appliances. This film shows a non-standardized architecture, by exploring unexpected trails of spatial production, rather random than custom-made. The ability to move, change or adapt are prerequisite for life. In the case of architecture in motion, there are some features that can play a significant role in its development: A. the expanding functions; B. variable divisions of interior space; and C. flexible furniture and appliances. Therefore, what might non-standard manufacturing house be like? Keaton creates a parody-manifesto. The One Week’s house appears as a space-frame randomly designed for flexible living,which allows moving from one place to another or be changed in its shape or use. The Electric House is focuses on the mechanical appliances. They announce a new architecture where walls might fold over; floors shift; an escalator replaces staircase; the foundation rests on wheels; the programme metamorphoses and the appliances organise the domestic life. Parts could leave the site and return, or the entire building could collapse or become mechanised, fold up or simply transport to a different location. Keaton anticipates the architecture in motion; envisioning adaptable, light and compact spaces, with dwellers in transit.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Architecture
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NA Architecture P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Film & Architecture, Customised prefab, Sears kit-houses, Buster Keaton
Related URLs:	http://www.liv.ac.uk/abe/cif/index.html
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2016 22:24
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/15025

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