Capsule_2

A space for all uses: in search of the smallWhen space is truly a commodity, flexibility is central. I remember a street side vendor in Seoul that I passed daily on my way to work. A small portable 'capsule' with built-in cooler and freezer. It was the smallest of multi-use spaces, by my estimates, measuring no more than 10 square feet on the inside. The public face of it was dressed in glass exposing many small items for sale; gum, cigarettes, various snack foods. On the front also, a narrow transaction counter below a small window opening for brief conversations and the exchange of Korean Won for goods. The vendor, who I saw daily, was a small elderly woman perched inside on a raised floor. I determined this raised surface to provide either additional storage space below or space for a heater during the winter months. No space waisted, not even the tightest of corners.

On many day's I would pass and notice small children on the inside with the shop owner or sometimes outside playing. From a miniature storefront to a place of family care it was the most versatile of small. While I never stopped to make a purchase myself, this small shop became a curious urban 'object' that I examined daily. I paced its edges, measuring by foot the distance around it's sides. I photographed, drafted and painted it, in hopes of gaining insight to how the space functioned inside and out. It was nothing short of pure efficiency.

Inspiration presents itself in many forms. I'm constantly inspired by uncanny combinations and overlaps of function and use. Particularly those of polemic identity and position. The act of thriving in minimal accommodation with multiple uses is sustainable on many levels. To make such concessions is clearly one of the few logical actions in dense urban environments.