That portion of the field of play which is used for fencing is called the strip [which is] from 1.5 meters to 2 meters wide [and] 14 meters long, so that each competitor, being placed at 2 meters from the center line has at his disposal for retreating a total distance of 5 meters without it being necessary for him to cross the rear limit of the strip with both feet.
Fencing Rules, United States Fencing Association, 2019.
Much training for sport fencing involves rote repetition.The maître d’armes creates an opening in his or her defense, or perhaps simulates an attack that invites a specific parry before the riposte.The fencer answers with appropriate actions…again, and yet again ad infinitum. The putative goal is to force the fencer to develop “muscle memory”, an instinctive yet multiple-ply strategic response to an opponent’s movement that is faster than any conscious thought. Philosophers of the sport have rhapsodized over this “negation of the self”, which of course takes place amidst a simulation of a ritualized form of bladed melee combat. Two centuries ago, a “fencing match” resulted in the death (true negation) of at least one and often both competitors…or rather, duelists.
Among themselves, inveterate fencers often speculate on the possibility of incorporating a regulation strip, as well as the other attendant requirements for the sport, into a residence. The wistful fencer begins, If only I could fit a fencing strip into my house…
Why would anyone want that?
This project, as well as the word-count-limited text, were prepared during the bleak depths of the COVID pandemic lockdown for an “unbuilt architecture” competition. I had been considering, and occasionally developing, the project for a decade…see the gallery below for images from the design development.
For the better part of that time, I had assiduously trained as a competitive épée fencer, and I had achieved a slightly significant national ranking, only to quit the sport completely in disgust and disappointment after a seeming betrayal on the part of former coach.
The House of the Fencer project ultimately brought me no honors.
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