ARCHITECTURE GIVES PEOPLE SECURITY IN TOWNS. WHY?
Sauerbruch: Our lives are becoming more fast-paced. However, the more mobile our lifestyles are, the greater our longing to feel at home. On the one hand we are constantly on the move, on the other hand we want to settle somewhere. We want to find a place where we can feel safe and secure. And this is where the built, the architectural environment plays a key role. A place can give me security because I know it. Or they are places I like to visit because they are really interesting, beautiful or pleasant and I simply enjoy spending time there.
CAN YOU SEPARATE THIS FEELING OF BEING AT HOME FROM THE ARCHITECTURE OR IS THERE A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN THE TWO?
For me personally, the private and public spheres are very closely connected. You need to have a feeling of safety or security when your are out in the streets. When I know that I can always retreat to my home, then I can also go out full of curiosity and approach people with an open mind. This is the difference between well-being and urban well-being. Ultimately, in towns coexistence has to work, be fun and create a quality of life. It is not just about the individual, but rather about seeing the individual in a collective.
LET us STAY WITH WELL-BEING. HOW DOES THE BATHROOM SPECIFICALLY INFLUENCE OUR WELL-BEING?
The hypothesis that the architectural environment influences my well-being assumes that inanimate material inspires people. And when it comes to well-being, our body is the first instance, being a kind of receptive instrument. The most physical room in a home is the bathroom. We are more or less naked in there. Whether it is the surfaces or the lighting atmosphere – we experience architecture up close here. It is the heart of your living quarters.
WHERE DO YOU FEEL AT HOME?
I feel at home in space, which does not predetermine what I am supposed to do, but rather gives me the freedom to discover it myself. That could be urban space or even constructed spaces that I at first do not understand. I then get to discover them and feel at home in them
