Thoughts about Walden 7

I want to start by saying that at Walden 7 visit I learned an important lesson. Not only related to design and architecture, but regarding life in general: to avoid being shallow and judgemental.

After I first look at Walden 7 I have to admit I couldn’t say I like it at all. In fact, I wasn’t even excited to go and take the tour, because it felt too tall and massive that almost scared me. But well, I trust our teacher and my inner conception that I don’t necessarily have to like something, but it is utterly important to understand it.

The first thing I noticed when we got in is that as everything is façade and the outside is closed, the inside part is wide and open. You could see the sky and walk through different hallways that are ending with a total of 4 fountains dedicated to each of the 4 elements. Even the colours of the building are very symbolical: beige-orange that represent the sand/earth/desert and turquoise that resembles the water and the sky. I think they perfectly reflect the majesty of the building, which is the bond that links the ground and the sky. Although the building has 1000 inhabitants and it is as our guide said “a small city “, once you go inside you don’t have the feeling of a really dense place. I think this is due to the openness of the interior part, from where you could see the sky and find big areas dedicated to playing different games such as ping-pong, badminton or watching movies and attend exhibitions. As you go higher, you can see the geometry of the building that becomes a straight-lined frame in contrast with the organic, natural landscape behind ( as in the picture I took ).

The philosophy of the building was the thing that opened my eyes into understanding it better. When I hear about common spaces and a very close relationship between building’s inhabitants I think about the communist way of living ( which is a cultural issue ) that is not making me see a place in a good way at all. Something was different in this one. The building is encouraging the people to spend time together in the common places such as the swimming pool, fountains, open spaces from the ground floor, but this doesn’t mean they share the living room or sleep 2 families in the same bedroom, which often happened in communist blocks. I know that Walden 7’s way of living with open balconies ( where everyone can walk through ) and some exposed spots of the apartments is not something that I would probably accept for myself even if I am young and I like spending time with my friends. Thus, there is a wonderful thing I understood about this building. You have to accept a certain lifestyle and open yourself into what it implies in order to have a pleasant stay and great experience. By accepting it you might lose a bit of your privacy but gain a really big family that is living just next door.

 All in all, it seams that this new way of living ( in my perception ) perfectly works, as there are a lot of people living there since the 80s or 90s. They are also really active and open-minded, probably because they have to act like they live in a village: they have to organise themselves, have meetings, take decisions, gather money for renovation and events and by the end of the day, enjoy the party on the rooftop swimming pool.