Architecture is Awesome: #39 The Comfort of a Corner

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

 
This is another in my series of posts inspired by 1000 Awesome Things, the Webby Award-winning blog written by Neil Pasricha. The series is my meditation on the awesome reasons why I was and continue to be attracted to the art of architecture. 
 
Corners are where architecture gathers itself, where walls meet in quiet agreement. They are the natural refuge of a room—a place to tuck oneself away, to observe without being observed. In a world that often pulls in all directions, corners provide a moment of stillness, a chance to pause, to belong.
 
I have long been fascinated by the role of corners in shaping how we experience space. They are both defining and defined, both boundary and shelter. A well-crafted corner can convey strength, elegance, or even mystery. Think of the hushed intimacy of a reading nook pressed into the junction of two walls, or the grandeur of a vaulted cathedral where corners dissolve into shadow and stone.
 

Photo by Alexander McFeron on Unsplash

 
Corners invite adaptation. In our homes, they become places of retreat—an armchair pulled close, a lamp casting a pool of light, a cat curled into the warm geometry of the space. In public architecture, corners can become anchors of human activity, where city blocks turn, where street musicians tuck themselves away, where friends gather for an impromptu conversation.
 

Photo by Partha Narasimhan on Unsplash

 
Some corners impose, while others embrace. The sharp, precise edges of a modernist masterpiece draw attention to the purity of form, while the softened, time-worn corners of an ancient stone wall suggest history and endurance.
 

Seagram Building, New York. Mies van der Rohe, architect (my photo)

 

Seagram Building - Corner construction detail

 
Even beyond the built environment, corners are woven into the way we think and feel. We speak of turning a corner when life takes a hopeful shift. We find comfort in the idea of a corner table, a corner office, a corner of the world to call our own. Corners offer both perspective and protection, a place to press one’s back and feel grounded.
 
In the end, architecture is about making space for life to unfold, and corners remind us that even in the most open plans, we sometimes seek enclosure. They give us pause, they hold us, and they remind us that finding a corner to call our own—whether for reflection, refuge, or simply a moment of stillness—is truly awesome.
 
Next Architecture is Awesome: #40 Light and Shadow