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ardization and leeway for appropriation (3), and the meaning
of comfort and habit (4).- In its most economical form, a residence must offer a
protected zone for secure sleep. In such instances, the bed or
sleeping place can be conceived as the home’s core element, as
the most intimate private space, supplemented by its immedi-
ate surroundings (i.e. night table, bedside rug). As a sleeping
alcove or canopy bed, it assumes the appearance of a small
house. It forms the most confined spatial manifestation of the
individual’s > personal space; it is contained by the room and
by the > dwelling beyond as though by a shell, and is supple-
mented by various functional spaces, and multiplied accord-
ing to the number of occupants. In the context of collective
living, the relationship between private sphere and common
space is organized and articulated mainly by means of > ac-
cesses.
Adolf Loos propagated a division into public and private
residential areas on disparate levels. ‘The individual in a pri-
vate home lives on two different storeys. He separates his life
into two distinct parts. Into daytime and night-time life. Into
living and sleeping.’ (2002b) In fact, the separate grouping of
rooms for individual use on the one hand and common rooms
on the other on separate corridors or on different levels facili-
tates a disturbance-free utilization, while however reducing
the likelihood of incidental encounters.
A clear contrast would be an arrangement that, for ex-
ample, groups individual rooms around a common room that
serves as the centre of the dwelling, and which may even open
onto it. This configuration promotes a higher degree of com-
municative interaction between residents, at the same time
conveying an image of the home as a totality; it does how-
ever, offer fewer possibilities for undisturbed retreat. Lying
between these two extremes are various mixed forms that dif-
ferentiate separation and > accessibility in a graduated way.
Effects of separation can be minimized through the use of
various levels that open onto a > gallery; in a flowing spa-