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Conversation pit

Architectural feature

A conversation pit is an architectural feature that incorporates built-in seating into a depressed section of flooring within a larger room. This area often has a table in the center as well. The seats typically face each other in a centrally focused fashion, bringing the occupants closer together than free-standing tables and chairs normally would. In residential design this proximity facilitates comfortable human conversation, dinner parties, and table top games. Its disadvantages include accidental falls and uncomfortable interactions with those standing above in the main room.

History

Saarinen's restored conversation pit at the [[TWA Flight Center

Looking down on the dining area and conversation pit on the BB ranch

The conversation pit was popular from the 1950s to the 1970s, seen across Europe as well as North America. Modernist architects Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard used a conversation pit as the centerpiece of the influential Miller House (1958) in Columbus, Indiana, one of the earliest widely publicized applications of the concept. A red conversation pit (since covered, but recently restored) was later incorporated by Saarinen into the 1962 TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Other influential residential projects include the 1955 Cohen House in Sarasota, Florida, by architect Paul Rudolph, for whom the conversation pit became a signature element, and many of Bruce Goff's houses and the 1965 Nicol House in Kansas City, Missouri. The 1968–1969 Volcano House in Southern California, designed by architect Harold James Bissner Jr., has a conversation pit.

Many conversation pits have been filled in during renovation to create a uniform floor level.

Season 5 of Mad Men, released in 2012 and set in 1966, featured a conversation pit in Don Draper's new Manhattan apartment. The show's stylish living room led to a reappreciation of the conversation pit and mid-century modern design in general.

References

(February 22, 1963). "Design: Fall of the Pit".
Germany, Lisa. (March 1983). "Architects in Wonderland". Texas Monthly.
(2007). "Conversation Pits and Cul-de-sacs: Dutch Architecture in the 1970s". absolutearts.com.
Roman, Antono. (2003). "Eero Saarinen: An Architecture of Multiplicity". Princeton Architectural Press.
Stephens, Suzanne. (February 2011). "Miller House and Garden". Architectural Record.
Smith, G.E. Kidder. (1996). "Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present". Princeton Architectural Press.
Treadwell, Sally. (November–December 2007). "The conversation pit". Old House Interiors.
"Adah Robinson Residence".
Gabriel, J. Francois. (1997). "Beyond the Cube: The Architecture of Space Frames and Polyhedra". John Wiley & Sons.
Cindy McNatt. (10 November 2013). "Huell’s Howsers out of this world house, see photo 9". Orange County Register.
Daspin, Eileen. (August 1, 1999). "Conversation Pit is Groovy Again". Wall Street Journal.
Kambhampaty, Anna P.. (July 22, 2022). "Sit Down. Let's Talk. The Conversation Pit Is Back.". The New York Times.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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