Cottagecore

"Cottagecore" is a aesthetic style that has recently become popular on social media. It mimics the aesthetic of a vintage British countryside, as the name would suggest there is a heavy focus in cottages and the life and activities that surround them.
Howl's cottage, Howl's moving castle (2004)

What is a cottage?
To me a cottage is a retreat, a place of relaxation separate to the constraints and strict rules of urban life, it's an escape from the bustling city, a quiet home. It also allows people to be the truest version of themselves offering an escape from the judgement of others. And it would seem like this is a shared idea of a cottage being a hideaway, somewhere to shy away and take a break from whatever is going on in your life, an example of this being Alvar Aalto's experimental house which served as a get away for him and his partner after his first wife died.

It is my belief that the idea of a cottage being an escape is closely linked towards the fact that in the second world war children were sent off to the countryside in order to protect them from the war. 

Cottages can invoke creativity and peacefulness whilst soothing the soul from any stress that may come from the everyday city life. They offer a change of scenery, relaxation and peace of mind which pair wonderfully with the atmosphere and the Genius Loci of cottages, like tea and cake they go hand in hand. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manifesto, Sustainability

Image
  Is sustainability truly sustainable?   Before taking an interest in architecture and design I used to think that sustainability just meant adding plants and greenery to things.   Personal experiences and why I wanted to do this topic: GCSE product design Researching into Ken Yeang.   Embodied carbon through manufacturing processes and construction.   What have I learnt so far in terms of sustainability in design?   My opinion on what defines a sustainable building/product?   Maximising the use of the climate, whilst minimising the energy required to run the product/ building.   Both perspectives, consumer and designer. Having been both of them I can relate to both sides.   My ambitions for the future are to promote the construction/ progression of ecological cities where human systems and natural systems can co-exist.   Another ambition of mine is to convert or start converting an existing street into an ecological street that will hop...
Read more

Gothic architecture

Image
-Gothic/Revival Architecture sketches, drawn by me (Camron Lam) Gothic Architecture Gothic is a term that has been linked to many different things since it's initial creation. The word has been used to describe: An Architectural and Artistic style A genre of literature And as of recent a fashion aesthetic, typically featuring dark clothing and makeup Gothic architecture was an architectural style developed in medieval Europe in the mid-twelfth century. A trait of this style of architecture is that none of it was really drawn since they couldn't really draw in that time period which meant that a lot of Gothic architecture was built through trial and error. It typically featured tall buildings with cavernous spaces, tall ceilings and intricate ornamental façades. Lot's of Gothic architecture involved vaults, which were a good solution for the need to span large areas with masonry. These included: Barrel Vaults Groin Vaults Rib Vaults Fan Vaults https://cdn.britannica.com/47/7...
Read more

The designs of domus

Image
Nomadic Domus Nomadic domus refers to the homes of people who were often on the move, these involve living spaces such as tents, campervans and igloos. They are non-fixed living spaces that were occupied by people, examples include: Bedouins, Tents Innuits, Igloo Indigenous Americans, Tepee, Wigwam  Aboriginal Australians, Humpy Ancient Mongolians, Yurts They used Non-fixed homes as they often needed to hunt and follow herds of animals for a stable source of food. ~~~ What is interesting to me is how functional and intelligent some of the design choices in these nomadic living quarters are and it's intriguing to understand how some of the design choices of these structures can make a huge impact for their inhabitants. An example of this is the Igloo, it retains it's warmth via the application and understanding that heat rises. In this system the cold air is pushed towards the lower opening which is also the entrance whilst the hot air is kept and channeled out at a controlled r...
Read more