Bioscleave House aims to maintain equilibrium, requires waiver to enter
By Donald Melanson 
posted Apr 4th 2008 3:07PM
posted Apr 4th 2008 3:07PM
We've seen plenty of houses of the future, but none quite like this so-called Bioscleave House by artists Madeline Gins and Arakawa, which promises to force people to "use their bodies in unexpected ways to maintain equilibrium." Those equilibrium-inducing measures include, as you can see above, a vast undulating floor (somewhat curiously made of concrete), as well as off-kilter power outlets, walls painted in about 40 different colors, and windows of varying heights, all of which is designed to keep occupants and visitors "on guard" at all times. That equilibrium also comes at some risk, however, with visitors required to sign a waiver before they enter (children aren't allowed in at all). What's more, while they seem quite pleased with their creation, the artistic duo didn't build the $2 million dollar house for themselves, and they're now looking for someone else to call it home.
[Image courtesy Eric Striffler / The New York Times, thanks TSM]
[Image courtesy Eric Striffler / The New York Times, thanks TSM]
holy crap! they stole the playground out of the local mall!
...or...
BIOSLAVE. coming soon!
please alert the authorities. phan is hanging out at playgrounds again.
Holy crap, looks like something that came out of the Clockwork Orange meets Willy Wonka meets Ronald McDonald.
What a nightmare!
if they at least had some strippers hangin off those poles instead of two androgynous andy warhols, at least we'd be somewhere
Four words:
What. Is. The. Point?
jinx!
Dr. Suess is rolling in his grave.
Will it blend?
already has
Looks like a great place to test the next Mars rover...
you call that blending?!
I have 2 millions to burn! but I'd rather buy a veyron than that...
I hope they aren't expecting this to become the next Fallingwater.
FallingPeople, by Frank Lloyd Wrong.
designed by fisher price...
.... on crack
bad crack at that
If I were reminded every morning I woke up of how I blew $2,000,000, I'd want to leave too.
These people make me want to crush imagination out of the human race.
Jesus Christ, what's wrong with normal homes?
most of those suck too. people are generally boring
the subprime mortgage exposure. combining that with the ongoing credit crunch, investor fear, and drastic fed movements and we'll have even bigger problems in 2009 if the economy doesn't pick up. is that what we're talking about here?
I love it. Too bad that floor would wreak havoc on my arches. I'm pretty sure the countertops would also be bad for my back.
not to mention that loving it would mean you had already damaged your senses.
For 2 millions you can take the best lover in the world. Me.
oh. so that's what barf tastes like.
And where the hell are you supposed to put furniture??? Or are you just supposed to dance on the stripper poles all day?
"...promises to force people to "use their bodies in unexpected ways to maintain equilibrium.""
"designed to keep occupants and visitors "on guard" at all times."
That's what I go home to get away from! I want to relax at home, not chance breaking my leg.
Well, as a skilled carpenter I can tell you there's probably very little wrong with structurally speaking, but aesthetically speaking, it rims on Outer Darkness in my design ratings.
May I also add that it looks to me like the architect boiled large quantities of play dough, some twigs and about 15 buckets of paint in a large vat full of various oils and chemicals, proceeded to then pour said mixture into a glass, ingested said liquid then proceeded to throw up on blank paper and thus calling the resulting mess plans for a new house.
Jeez what a stupid idea,
Imagine having a few beers and getting up off of your disequilibrium inducing concrete mound to head for a pee...
Where's the token machine for the rest of the rides?
What a couple of hacks. You call that art. Oooh you even rotated the recepticles 30 degrees, you are so creative.
they did what with the who?
Sorry, I meant receptacle as in power receptacle, apparently I can't spell.
$2 million isn't that much for a psychedelic interior like that. Think about all the money you save on drugs.
Actually, I thought about designing a house like that while being high on shrooms. But then I went sober and thought it would be a bad idea.
I can't even maintain a thought while looking at that picture, and these "ar-teests" want me to fork over 2 mil to bust my @ss just trying to get a frickin beer from the fridge? WTH?
Perfect abode for the Schoeners.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Schoeners
I can see the idea behind it but there are smarter ways, that are more practical when it comes to inhabiting a space, to express their concept. They should written a book about it or made it into a traveling exhibit, it just seems like a waste of resources.
Saying that, people in US need to re-examine the kind of houses they aspire to live in. Mc Mansions are completely irresponsible manifestations of quantity versus quality.
a druggie's dream come true!
Did anyone read the article? The real point of this house is to oppose death. It's supposed to keep you from dying! Last time I checked, life on this earth has a 100% mortality rate. Anyone care to dispute that fact? It looks like this house might actually have the OPPOSITE effect the first time somone fell down and broke something on the undulating concrete floor or fell into the kitchen pit...
*sigh*
..If you can still get voltage out of the outlets without requesting it using some protocol first, this is the most dangerous house ever.
Mine will be the exact opposite of this. Straight lines /everywhere/. All the walls are white. Lit using LED groups that can go any color at any time, all the outlets are more or less USB... Light misters in the ceilings to cleanse the air... A few rooms with grass instead of carpet, cut at specific times by high intensity beams of red light...
what are these misters you speak of?
Those misters are devices that produce mist in the air, with the objective of removing dust. At least that's what I think.
Actually, I would pay a couple of mil for your design. At least yours is far more practical as well as functional than this piece of crap these two imbeciles call "art".
cool i would actually want to stay in something like this, but maybe not for years....
Why no kids? They would love it...me too!
where is the fridge...
COOL I found out how to change my user name... :)
What exactly are you using your countertops for?
I want to know who the sucker....parton of the arts fronted the cash for this to start with. Perhaps they back dot com start ups as well.
That has got to be the biggest waste of space, material and the $2 mil it cost to build this heaping pile of shit.
Nothing more than an exercise in self-indulgence for two people who's mental health is seriously called into question.
Regardless of how you choose to live, be it healthy or for the moment, nothing we can do, at least so far, will keep us from dying. It's an inevitibily until someone figures out a way to reverse engineer our DNA and I don't see that happening any time soon.
As a matter of fact, I see these two dottering, senile baffoons dying before any such DNA rendering becomes common place.
Bottom line here is that there is a reason, and a very good one at that, the this "house" still sits empty - common sense. But I suppose that the investors can charge a fee to people to enter and play around, as this behemouth only reminds me of one thing and one thing only; the huge Playlands at various McDonalds around the world and just about as useful to those above the age of 14.
"You know what's wrong with regular houses? Too comfortable. Surely we can remedy this somehow."
how do you do that again? Can't find the link on here.
This house is the closest real-world rendition to what happens and the conditions inside your stomach late at night after you've eaten a greeeeazy pork sandwich, served in a dirty ashtray.
Oh yeah, and it's stupid.
I hate to say it, but I find it pretty cool. I'm not sure I could live there, but I think the idea of the Reversible Destiny hotel would be cool. I think I could deal with a weekend in a place like this.
Actually that would be a Jackson Pollock and you probably could find
a fool...I mean art connoisseur to pay 2 million for it.
I imagine one or both of them will die in that house, having fallen and broken a hip, or a skull or something. In that case their tombstones could be engraved with a single word:
"Irony"
to give "art" and artists everywhere a bad name.
"somewhat curiously made of concrete"—probably because you can pour concrete in any shape you want. That's why all those buildings in funky shapes started showing up in the mid-20th century: because concrete was new, and architects were excited about what they could do with it.
But they weren't half as loony as these guys. The point of this house is that they think that being uncomfortable will make people live longer; by keeping people alert, it will stimulate their immune systems. This isn't just crap. This is what crap scrapes off its shoes.
They say they want to defeat death. Well, gee, for $2M, you could pay for a *whole* lot of heart operations.
Its like camping on the steep side of a mountain. I've had to do that a few times. Tilted, bumpy ground, trees sticking up, roots and rocks, and don't forget low hanging branches! You can either sit with your food below your feet or with your back to a tree and your ankles above your waist. If they REALLY wanted to make it challenging, tilt the bed to about 40 degrees with no sides on it! Having to tie yourself to the bed adds new meaning to intimidating (rolling over in your sleep, and rolling, and rolling..)! Then there is the REAL danger of going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Throw in dark, rain, wind, and squirrels and you have a true adventure. This is a walk in the park compared to what nature can throw at you!
Ok, so I get up out of bed and stumble to the bathroom early in the morning. I trip on a little bump in the concrete and bash my head on a giant coloured pole. fun
Wow, a biosphere for spider monkeys, or a retirement home for strippers.
Crap! What a total waist of time and money!
It's funny just how many mentally disturbed people hide behind the word "Artist".
"androgynous andy warhols" - haha!! spot on
What's not mentioned are the cool light switches that control the fixtures by motion. This part really is cutting edge stuff.
That would be the perfect office for an occupational therapist.
Strippers have too much class to be caught dead in a place like that.
I just want to chime in on how insane these people are. They want to outlaw death. As in, make death illegal. WTH??? http://www.reversibledestiny.org/
I am not getting drunk in that HOUSE!
And unfortunately, this building is neither.
Looking at the photo I am reminded of these sage words...
"First you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women"
Is the urinal sideways in that joint?
Now someone needs to come up with a 4x4 vacuum cleaner so the new owners can clean the floor....
Fallingwater? More like Fallingceiling.
If they want $2 million for that place, they better hope the land it's on is worth $4 million.
Hm. Not impressed.
Reminds me strongly of Hundertwasser's work,
who has done stuff like that decades ago already - and with an IMO far more consistent vision backing it...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundertwasser
Slap an Apple logo on it and then maybe you'll be able to justify the $2M.
CUBE
or Unreal Tournament Arena waiting to happen...I can see the gibs and body parts flying already
But, its cute... and deadly, assualt with a cute and deadly house?