Eudaemonia Machine
“Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.”
Eudaemonia noun: A person’s state of excellence characterized by objective flourishing across a lifetime, and brought about through the exercise of moral virtue, practical wisdom, and rationality.
I took on a long delayed challenge and wrote a novella during the quiet and solitude that the early days of the pandemic. By my estimation it’s nothing worth reading and unless I put serious effort into revisions, it won’t be shared more broadly. In the year that followed I also wrote a screen play inspired by a dream that consumed me one night. These creative outpourings were for me and me only. Long solitary swims out into a sea of imagination and wonder. The very doing was enough. I had reached a state of Eudaemonia (or Eudaimonia). The common link between these swells of productivity was space.
In Cal Newport’s book “Deep Work” he mentions the Greek concept of Eudaimonia. In his mentioning of it he is referring to the interpretation of the word where in you are achieving your full human potential. The Eudaimonia Machine then is a space that is architecturally designed to assist us in reaching our maximum potential or flow state. This idealized outcome is at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Once all other needs are met, the window opens onto a vista of freedom where our loftiest dreams may be realized or at least pursued.
Returning then to my two years of creative production I can draw ties to what Cal Newport has described and my own situation. Intellectual space was carved out for me during this period in multiple dimensions. Most importantly in free time and my physical surroundings. I had no more excuses of being to busy thanks to social distancing, a wave of cancelled events, and closed venues. I also was fortunate enough to have a room at our house dedicated to work. The two combined with the willingness to build an Atomic Habit out of writing, created the space I needed to unlock potential.
To be clear, these were not pre-requisites to producing anything; a vast number of creative works have been completed under constraints that likely added to the richness of the final output. It can be argued though that time and space are integral to doing the type of deep work that, no matter the reception of the work, is nonetheless a reflection of the maximum potential of the individual creator. What is hard to illustrate here-or more a reflection of my inadequate communication skills-is that an architecturally intentional space can at least assist a person in reaching flow state.
Writer’s block, no problem. Searching for a muse, we have them. Juices run dry, replenish them here. That a single room or building can solve these obstacles to creative potential is of course absurd. The individual inclined to procrastinate working on their magnum opus will do so anywhere and at anytime. A great amount of personal development work has to be done to unearth the necessary raw energy, cultivation of knowledge, and driven inspiration necessary to start work of significance. If, however, that foundation is there, can a space help us make the navigate our internal labyrinths and unlock a treasure trove of output?
Architect David Dewane has envisioned such a design and shared it with Cal Newport in Deep Work and it has been realized by one company already. What he is seeking is a building with many layers that strip away the unnecessary as we move deeper through it. Intensifying our focus as we move closer and closer to our maximum potential. We go from inspiring social setting in the outermost room and navigate down into private spaces devoid of distractions in the farthest recesses of the building. This is architecture at its fullest expression. Form and function balanced together to navigate us through space and in doing so our relationship with the world outside and within us. The building is the Machine and not some heralded new electronic device by which we maximize human invention.
Eudaimania Machine Layout
Can we build more of such places outside of our homes, schools and other traditional settings? A prior to now, unknown 4th or 5th place waiting to be erected. The Switchyards Decatur location endeavors to replicate that Eudaimonia Machine by design. To deliver on this promise the space delivers on three key pillars to the deepest work that a Eudaimonia Machine requires. A gallery of Atlanta’s lore and history as you enter. A library of resources from the most distinguished publications. A self serve cafe to network with a fellow traveler and bounce ideas. A co-working office environment to facilitate tackling low to mid-level tasks. Phone booths for private conversations. Lastly, a deep work environment devoid of nearly all distractions where the insurmountable can be scaled. This is a place daring to unlock human potential at scale. It is a space I want to selfishly keep all to myself and where I composed this piece and so many others.
So as the world reopens at this juncture in early 2022, and we return to our usual spaces of work, creation, play, and rest; we should ask if we are returning to the right places for achieving maximum potential in any of these activities. Getaway Cabins, Switchyards, Artist Havens; as I drive around the Southeast I am seeing more and more of these types of places emerge. Maybe we collectively know that the old spaces don’t fit our new world view and the old gatekeepers no longer hold all the keys. I sincerely, hope this is the case. I can’t stomach a return to the mindless mass consumption and office cubicle drum beat. As Amanda Gorman said, “…let us not return to what was normal, but reach toward what is next."
