As defined, a house is a shelter from the elements of nature some people wish to keep out to conceal their private lives. There are thousands, if not billions, of reasons to shelter ourselves. Some imaginary people live around thick forests, yet they bring the forest inside their homes. They have nets of spider webs with an outer lining of leaves and twigs that they use as storage to wrap tools, personal items, important documents, and everything else. A sizeable tame spider spins such strong webs people even weave these webs into an assortment of containers, such as baskets, spheres to keep personal things in, window barriers, chairs for sitting, and many other ideas. It’s as if the home dweller wishes to live in a forest contained in a forest. The question is, are there insects and other animals? No, these homes keep out animals that are not wanted. The dwellers of these homes have impenetrable walls that protect them with transparent material similar to glass, but this material doesn’t let anything out or in. So an outsider could ask where the outside start and the inside end. These homes are clean, comfortable, and secure; they are outside the elements of the four seasons; in winter, the houses are cool and warm, and in the summer, a coolness keeps the heat away. There are walls of light that conceal the home dweller’s private life; there are nets or finely twined webs in intricate patterns. There is beauty in these homes; their shapes are of all forms that conform to the aesthetic value of the dweller. The color and design of a home are not dependent on a designer or architect or the current fashion; the personal taste is of paramount importance. Each house has a device that purifies the waste, using the liquid as recycled water, and the solid is developed into nutrients for the growth of plants. This is all done automatically.

What is the shelter? I believe this depends on the individual’s thinking; in a mythical world, this depends on what they want, nothing to do with financial situations. There are no media to tell people or suggest what they should have; there is no such thing as an American dream. People in the fantasy world would have to decide their vision without anyone’s guidance. This means that mythical people are very individualistic and independent. Even in our world, the American dream isn’t the same for all people; perhaps the media has a particular way of thinking about what they believe people want that doesn’t take into the reality that people are individuals and that their dreams are never the same. To some people, a simple life is enough; to others, a busy life, every person is different, and there is no one American dream.

In the mythical world, some people seem to live in the open, but the elements do not soil them; rain doesn’t touch them unless they wish this. It seems they can create an atmosphere within a particular area, thus keeping out the things of the outside world. They can make sunshine with all that goes with it when it rains. Even when exposed to the elements, these home dwellers live in a hollow circular place that is clean, without dirt or dust; the floors are clean, there is a clean plumbing system for waste that is hidden away, there is a cooking area also hidden away, hills and heavy forests surround these outside homes.

There is nothing called cultural architecture; it’s as if the mythical world has such a complicated diversity of cultures in one place. The home dweller decides on their preferences no matter how strange. Professional builders use their minds to create unique tools using matter and energy to create structures on site. Or the owner could build their systems. Like in a 3D computer program, the furniture and interior form themselves through the mind of the person building the structure. Some devices aid in building a structure from thin air without an instrument; the mythical world has moved beyond manufacturing. The materials that the structures are constructed of seem like living materials. They form into shapes through the imagination of the builder’s mind.

Robert J. Matsunaga