Dissertation on the ideal form of habitation

Abstract

Landscape Architecture may be realized as the shaping of ideal environment about human life. So the problem of ideal habitation is the fudamental one of Landscape Architecture not only in Architecture alone. Walter Gropius (2), as is generally known, has devoted deep study to dive into the ideal form of human habitation. In conclusion, he affirm two types of habitation, namely single family house and garden apartment of 10-12 stories. But his conclusion was reduced from the standpoint of social and economical elments, not from the intrinsic nature of man.We have, as also generally known, many studies about the ideal city since Theodor Fritsch of 1896. The standards of population density in these many studies have vary wide range between 100 dwelling units to 1/2 dwelling unit per gross residential acre. This means that there are many types of ideal habitation. It may be said that we have no conclusion about the form of ideal habitation.We, human, have many complicated characters, but the best way for the solution of this problem is to realize human characters as the two contrast characters namely biological and mechanical. The ideal habitation for biological man may be assumed as the single family house closely connected with nature and the ideal one for mechanical man may be reduced to the garden apartment containing multiple families. It is very important that these two characters which are contrast each other exist together within each person. The ideal habitations may be considered generally as the above two types at the same time. But I lay stress on our biological character. It is because that we are a part of nature still and we cannot escape the uncomfortable question of how much of nature we can destroy without destroying ourselves. We must discover some wise principle of co-existence between man and nature. But finally, the ground in its various sybmolic aspect may be considered as “mother earth”, or as “the last resting place”. I assume that the ideal habitation is the single family house co-existing with nature. The habitation type of high apartment may be considered as the temporary habitation just as high hotel or business residence in the city center. Though there are some gap between the ideal and the actual, this is my conclusion about the ideal habitation.