Marcel Wanders has dismissed the ongoing debate about whether non-architects should design buildings as "an endless conversation about nothing" (+ interview + slideshow).
Wanders' prefabricated house features a relatively small glass-walled living space and a larger covered outdoor area
"I don't want to go there because it's going to be an endless conversation about nothing," said Wanders, who spoke to Dezeen in Miami.
"I would love to not be in conflict with architects, so I won't call it architecture," he added. "I understand the sensitivities of it."
He joins a string of designers that have recently moved into building projects, including fellow Dutchmen Maarten Baas and Piet Hein Eek, along with Thomas Heatherwick, Dror Benshetrit, Karim Rashid and Nendo's Oki Sato. Heatherwick and Benshetrit's comments about how designers approach architecture have stirred heated debates in the Dezeen comments section, while Eek recently said that most architects are "not interested" in construction.
A small cluster of Wanders' Eden houses will be built as a prototype development, with units separated by bamboo planting
Wanders also believes that architects have become preoccupied by the exteriors of their buildings, and don't give as much thought to the interiors.
"I think architects design outside in," he said. "Or they design basically outside. They don't get in the building anymore."
"We don't m...