MAXON HOUSE & STUDIO

Maxon House & Studio

Photographer:Aaron Leitz

Excerpt From Type 7 Volume 5

Good designers always consider the tactile in whatever they’re making; it isn’t enough to satisfy the eyes if you don’t also imagine the relationship a given object will have with the user’s hands. Unlike basic ergonomics, this isn’t a science. It’s less about how easy certain things come to hand, like door handles and light switches, but how “nice” these things feel to engage with. Is the texture right? Is the “click” too aggressive? Does it feel strong enough? For most it’s enough to pursue a sense of reassurance when attempting to answer these questions. At Olson Kundig, the solutions are often a bit more fleshed out, and it’s on show at no project more than the Maxon House & Studio.

The office has an official “gizmologist” on their payroll, someone whose job it is to fabricate mechanisms and large scale kinetic structures that often go wildly beyond the specifications required to fulfil their basic function.

Sometimes it’s a sliding window, but it'll be ten feet wide and operated via an intricate hand crank and chain system bolted proudly to the wall. Other times it’s an elaborate form of doorway - one that might look ungainly to manoeuvre but balanced well enough to open with the touch of a finger.

When Lou Maxon commissioned Olson Kundig for an office space, but specified that it should facilitate a sense of separation from the rest of the living areas, how do you imagine they first approached that problem?