explorations and endeavors of ian jean gilpin cozzens

six patterns for everyday spaces

Right now, I am in the middle of making a set of six silkscreen prints about the architecture of everyday spaces: the organization, dimension, and structure of the ordinary places where we live. This printing/architecture project is supported by subscriptions: subscribers receive six large-scale prints over the course of what was originally supposed to be a year.


I started this project in January of 2007. The first print was finished at the end of August 2007, about six months behind schedule. So — as might have been expected — everything is late, my revised timeframe for finishing the whole series is by October of 2008. The response so far from the subscribers is that the extreme lateness is well offset by the complexity and & awesomeness of the print itself...


The 120 subscriptions are almost sold out. If you are interested in subscribing, please contact me.


>> current updates on the print series work


>> images of the first print in progress


the original descriptions of what the six prints are about, as written in December 2006:

(these are always developing, as I work, draw, read, experience, discuss, and figure stuff out.)


  1. Windows should be vertical instead of horizontal, to echo the human body and reinforce the individual's viewpoint. *
  2. Private spaces should be delineated by subtle yet effective boundaries, so that individuals can be alone without closing themselves off entirely.
  3. Common areas in the house should be laid out asymmetrically, to create comfortable corners and purposeful spaces, instead of long passageways and formal sitting areas.
  4. The cooking area and the main social area of the house should be in the same room, so that people who are working are at the center of the social life of the house.
  5. The outer boundaries of every dwelling place should not be immediately comprehensible: a connection to a cellar, back stair, etc. creates the possibility of limitlessness.
  6. All buildings and spaces should be scaled for human life, oriented and designed in response to the sun's light and the local climate, and built of materials that age well and are easy to modify.

  7. * In the process of working on the first print, through conversations and observation, I realized that there is (of course!) a purpose for horizontally oriented windows. Windows for spaces that are more public (living rooms, storefronts, etc) are longer horizontally... while windows for more private spaces are taller vertically.