A construction question, or can non 90 degree angles make ya nuts and physically unwell?

I currently live in a dump. Paint peeling, windows not weatherproof- we're trying to move. Aside from the amenities- there's a problem I think has been affecting us on an unconscious level: the architecture (or stunning lack thereof).

There's not a straight line in any wall, doorway, floor or ceiling. The floor is square tile- white with black grout. Everything is also leaning towards the kitchen, which has a nice, BIG stress crack in the outside wall.

Would such stuff throw a person off, make them disoriented, and feel... well- just not right?

Id go with mold messing with you long before the angles of rooms and such. You would be surprised what humans can get used to.

Sailors get sea legs, if the apt was that bad of Kilter you'd get "my crazy apt legs".

In the science museum in Ottawa, if I remember well, there is a display of a house put in a certain angle. There is a "bridge" you can walk on that is normally set and that crosses that house, and yet, you keep falling to one side while in it, so yes, it can affect your senses... sorry to hear about your situation.

Originally posted by wylekat
I currently live in a dump. Paint peeling, windows not weatherproof- we're trying to move. Aside from the amenities- there's a problem I think has been affecting us on an unconscious level: the architecture (or stunning lack thereof).

There's not a straight line in any wall, doorway, floor or ceiling. The floor is square tile- white with black grout. Everything is also leaning towards the kitchen, which has a nice, BIG stress crack in the outside wall.

Would such stuff throw a person off, make them disoriented, and feel... well- just not right?

Why did you have to bring that up? Are you prejudiced?

To answer your question, yes. I don't know about feeling disoriented, but I would definitely not feel right living in a place like that. If you step outside and do everything you need to do during the course of the day, whether you think about it or not, everything you see that is modern and is man made is perfectly the way it was designed: To be pleasing to the eye. To look good. To be perfect in it's design whether that be straight, round or somewhere in between.

Your place? Remember those questions in school where you had 3 images on a piece of paper that were (for example), an apple, an orange and a sandwhich, and the question was: "Which one doesn't belong"?

Yeah, something like that.

I think both can affect you.
The mold is definitely know to make people unwell.
The angles probably do too. You've spent most of your life with uprights and 90's as a reference for your balance systom, but now you've got irregularities, I suspec you may have a form of sea sickness

my answer is yes i can tell if a wall is off the plumb just by looking and i can normally tell if something in a room is off by half a inch but that is after years in the building industry .

plus the paint in the house can make you ill if it is pre 1965 wash the place down with sugar soap and spray dettol on the floors

People have been living in round mud huts with woven grass roofing, or tents, yurts, tipis, and even caves since pre-history. Architecture, so long as it's livable architecture within your cultural norm will not effect you psychologically.

Sure, living in a dump and knowing you can live better will effect a person on some levels, but, it's not a direct relation or effect of the architecture.
There's people all over the world that grow up and live in worse conditions their entire lives, and besides the conditions of their hard impoverished lives, the architecture effects them none at all.

Now, if, for instance the ceilings were too low, the hallways extremely narrow, and the rooms prohibitively small, there'd be some effects related to claustrophobia, but, again, this is usually related to cultural norms and conditioning.
If you grew up living out of an igloo where you couldn't stand up inside, with everyone huddled together, that would be your norm.
Architecture itself isn't going to damage you, unless, of course, it happens to collapse on top of you.

Environmentally, as someone has mentioned, if there's mold, or other toxic hazards, yes, that can effect you.

reply to post by wylekat


Nice thread star and flag.

Can't you improve and turn the crack into a window/portal to let in more light?

I think you have a problem here. As Druscilla pointed out, we have been living in irregular shaped houses for a long long time, and with no apparent side effects, but I would like to suggest that there is a huge difference between an organically shaped construction made of natural materials, properly ventilated and mould free, and a damp building which is decidedly off kilter. You will definitely be affected by shapes that you perceive on an unconscious level.

I trained as a architect and can remember being horrified at how many architects and students seem to think that odd angles and trapezoid shapes were a good thing to incorporate into their designs. I even tried it myself, but frankly, it felt weird. I much preferred either dead straight lines or properly organic shapes.

I also found an essay by Anton La Vey of all people, much later on that explained a bit more about why this might make me feel so weird...it's very interesting. Google trapezoid shapes in construction Anton La Vey, and it's right there.

Good Luck with the house move! My tip is to draw or write your wishes on paper, and watch them happen almost instantly. It works for me.

insure it for fire and torch the place if it is that bad

Originally posted by Druscilla

There's people all over the world that grow up and live in worse conditions their entire lives, and besides the conditions of their hard impoverished lives, the architecture effects them none at all.

That's because they're used it. Living in it and seeing other dwellings that are the same. So no, it's not going to affect them because it's the norm.

I don't know if it's still there, but there used to be a house near downtown Phoenix that was built in the 50's. It was obvious because of the architecture. The plot was rather large with no outbuildings. For some reason, the adjacent lots were also empty with For Sale signs in front. It was like an oasis stuck in time, because 3 or 4 blocks to the west were all the tall, modern office buildings on Central Avenue. Looking at that in person gives the person who is aware of such things the distinct "feeling" that is associated with different types of architecture. Now imagine if you lived in that house. You would have to be painfully unaware of your surroundings to not feel, on some level, out of place.

You don't see this sort of juxtaposition much because building codes keep changing. This is the main reason why, if you don't maintain a structure that keeps with the changing codes, it's going to get torn down because it's going to be deemed uninhabitable. Whether it is physically uninhabitable or not is beside the point. It's not up to code. The fact that that house was still standing was kind of a surprise because it wasn't in a neighborhood that had the historical classification to it. Homes in those areas are upgraded because there's good money there.

So not only does the OP feel that way because of the shoddy way the house was built, but it was obviously unattended to, maintenance wise, for a long time and just started to "sag in" on itself. Buildings will do that if left unmaintained.

Here's that link that someone else referred to: www.beyondweird.com...

This is a pretty interesting topic OP.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


I brought it up because of the contrast of colors, and such a pattern can become an optical illusion under the right conditions. It isnt because I might be a racist. Sheesh.

reply to post by Druscilla

"Architecture itself isn't going to damage you, unless, of course, it happens to collapse on top of you."

Well, that's the other end of it. This place Might Just. It's why I wrote the thread. Unconsciously- before I found out about the termite damage, the sagging drywall, the lousy windows, and on and on and on- I knew something was horribly wrong with the place.

Personally I think it's possible and can make you feel a bit 'out'. My mum's old house used to seem to slope towards the kitchen and I always thought that's why everyone naturally gathered there regardless of the time of day. Also in my house our hall-landing's a bit skew-wiff and even thinking about makes me a little dizzy.

The effects of mould can really alter your mood and your health, some of it's pretty dangerous too.