Many of Simonds’ works explore the relationship between building and growing. The Growth House is the generative work in this exploration. Originally created as a drawing, it has since been constructed as an installation periodically (see 1974 Art Park, Lewiston, NY , 1994 Retrospective La Caixa, Barcelona, and 1994-1995 Retrospective, Jeu de Paume, Paris Simonds describes the Growth House as: “a seasonally renewable dwelling made of earthen bricks with seeds inside. As the seeds sprout, growth transforms the built structure; the dwelling is converted from shelter to food and is harvested and eaten” (1973).
Simonds sees the Growth House as a “marriage of building and growing, shelter and food; an hermaphroditic dwelling. If one thinks of building (shelter) as a (“male”) imitation and envy of (“female”) growing (food) then one can see the Growth House as an hermaphroditic structure” 1973.