Notes on: Ordinary

It’s difficult to understand the concept of ordinary without a specific subject attached to it. Ordinary…what? What do we mean when we describe something as ordinary? Does ordinary necessitate a positive or negative connotation, or can it be a neutral adjective that simply addresses a shared sentiment of familiarity? How does one qualify an adjective that describes anything and everything? For some, it represents consistent reappearance through a longer period of time; but for others, it reminds them of never-ending readjustments to new realities over a much shorter amount of time. There is not an inclusive definition of ordinary because it is subjected to different cultures and unique experiences. It is particularly evident that we don’t have an inclusive definition of the ordinary when we discuss its connotation, which often conjures a rather negative sentiment in North America than other parts of the world.


Our everyday existence emerges from and is inseparable from its environment. As Martin Heidegger diligently pointed out in Sein und Zeit, the ontological state of Dasein¹ “understands itself, initially and for the most part, in terms of its world…”² In the eyes of Heidegger, the subject-object duality of our existence and our thoughts is not inherently in opposition with each other but rather co-exists as a unified body. This gives us a critical premise for understanding the ordinary because everydayness often supersedes our conscious state of being. In the architecture context, an example of this would be when we look at drafting tools, such as a pencil, as a piece of equipment that helps us communicate design ideas on paper but rarely do we scrutinize its compositions and materials. This goal-orientated objective is known as the Ready-to-hand phenomenon, whereas the Present-at-hand theory teaches us to question an authentic state of being—what is the existence of a pencil? Would it still be a pencil if it is made from different materials or was broken in half? It is so easy to neglect the ordinary because humans are constantly caught up in the drift of chasing after time that it seems preposterous to reflect on the habitual.


In the Ordinary issue of PLAT, we invite you to sit with us by the water and take a moment to appreciate our everydayness. Momentarily, you will find a few articles and conversations about architects constructing the ordinary from various parts of the world. For a short reading pause, you can flip through a street photography book or take a stroll through an art installation. As you continue reading the issue, you may discover a dust mountain, a wood frame house, or even a playful tumbleweed. We wish you a pleasant read.