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eohippus all contents copyright 2007 max carmichael | why eohippus? bio contact | |
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arts portfolio: visual arts music writing events design | |
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design: environments | back next | |
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Terra Incognita Loft 1981-1989 Well-traveled friends have called this the most beautiful loft they've ever seen. I moved in and started work in the spring of 1981, and lived there until the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged it in October 1989, after which the building was condemned and demolished. Unlike today's "professional lofts", the Terra Incognita loft was on top of a light-industrial building illegally rented and occupied, never inspected, and I built it out from raw space with salvaged materials, mostly pilfered from demolition sites. It was to be the ideal immersive space for a creative community. It was 100 feet long by 25 feet wide, with 12-foot ceilings, more than twice as large as most 2-bedroom apartments today. I initially built it for five people, then rebuilt it for three after the first traumatic year, with new roommates pitching in to finish their rooms. Almost half the space was open, shared, common space, and that shared space quickly became the village center, gallery, rehearsal space, and dancing ground for our larger community. The floor was painted white and kept spotless. There were many handcrafted interior details. There was a guest room where visitors could crash if necessary, and skylights in every room. The front windows were spectacular and were used by photographers who would spot them from outside. Hundreds of people visited TI and were affected by it. Everyone who ever lived there still talks about it, and it became an extension of our spirit. In occasional dreams I visit it, as if it were in a parallel universe, and there are cool strangers living in it and continuing to build it out in new ways. |
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