Strayed Homes

Book excerpt: Poetic and political, Strayed Homes invites architects, interior designers, and urbanists to think again about common concepts in architecture – 'private', 'public' and 'home'. Whereas most writing about the public/private focusses on urban space, this book focusses on the domestic – exploring those overlooked, everyday places where private and intimate activities take place in public. With four chapters set in four small, liminal spaces: the launderette, the greasy spoon, the fire escape, and the sleeper train - the book is part architectural history, part cultural history. It follows a series of allusions and impressions, to explore how films, adverts, books and anecdotes shape experiences of everyday architecture. Making a case for the poetic interpretation of space, the book can be used as a sourcebook for architects, designers, and theorists alike – prompting the reader to rethink the emotional state of leaving home, intimacy in public, and lonely dreaming.