“The Third Room”. Anthropological and Architectural Explorations

The role of the dwelling transformed into a home is defining for the individual in forming his/her identity, in personal development and the development of relationships with the others, but also for the social and political reality which it can reproduce and even contest. The specific and in depth understanding of the mechanisms of search for, making and remaking of the home can become, in this context, a basic element in an architectural design centred upon use and user needs. In this article we wish to highlight part of current challenges raised by the dwelled space to its users, exploring the way architecture can influence/potentiate use.

The bibliographic research done with this purpose followed the identification of architectural and anthropological components of home making/remaking related to their role in personal development and relationship negotiation with the family and those outside it. The bibliographic research has been supplemented by field research done during a workshop which investigated the use of the “spare” room in a three-room apartment dwelled by a couple/family of two. The results illustrate the utility of such research which can be the base for rethinking dwelling architecture, in order to serve actual needs, but also respond to ever-changing and ever-negotiated mentalities and life styles.