Then, Now, Next: Rediscovering Future Design

THEN, NOW, NEXT: REDISCOVERING FUTURE DESIGN Rediscovering opportunities for ultimate design Realigning human centred design through the construct of the womb Triangulating of Philosophy, Science and Architectural Theory.

What is Known, What We Know and The Insight for New Opportunities

Honours Thesis School of Architecture, Design and Planning The University of Sydney Isabella Harris

CONTENTS Abstract 4 Key Defintions

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Prologue I am survivor

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Act 1: 10 Scene 1- Introduction Scene 2- I am spectator Act 2: What is known 18 Scene 1- Human Fraternity Scene 2- I am human Scene 3- An Architectural Bubble Scene 4- The womb Scene 5- I am female

The womb according to Sloterdijk Intermission 46 What does the womb provide?

Act 3: New Theatre Scene 1- The construct of the womb

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Act 4: What we know, Exclusion Scene 1- I am woman Scene 2- I am feminist

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Epilogue: New Opportunties 66 The Space Between Referencing 68 Images Bibliography

ABSTRACT This dissertation, presents a speculative discussion about the phenomenology of the womb, and its ecology, as a considered archetype for ultimate human centred design: an inclusive space, providing contextual experiences, for all to flourish. The dissertation is a hybrid visual essay, combining imagery,prose and academic writing. The discourse examines an ontological view of the womb, parallel to its biological response to human needs, its advocacy for health, life and inclusivity. The womb is explored as the ultimate human centred architecture, in the complex space between collective and individual human needs, where core principles (function, coexistence and nourishment) for inclusive design are established.

At the intersection of the womb’s core principles,experiences are created, contributing to how we comprehend and interact, consciously and unconsciously.

This fusing of principles and experiences, developing a construct with which to engage thinking about architecture theory and practices. Throughout, the cruciality of relational experiences, over the architectural object, engendering ultimate design, will be established as a

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prominent aspect. The construct intends to provoke thought about necessitating a critical shift of the known architectural narrative, to new opportunities for our future survival, relational to socio-cultural and environmental considerations. It is intended that this dissertation will inform my future research and investigation,with the construct of the womb, providing a case study lens to view and develop insight into diverse architectural typologies,inclusive of indigenous architecture. The intention of the discourse is to establish a bridge between architectural theory and practice.

Please note1

Welcome! Thank you for joining me. These footnotes intend to provide clarity to my thinking, examples which situate the discourse and of course, citations.

2 “Definition of archetype: Dictionary Online,”, accessed August 19, 2021 https:// www.dictionary.com/browse/ archetype#:~:text=the%20 original%20pattern%20 or%20model,model%20 or%20first%20form%3B%20 prototype.

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Key Definitions - archetype: an original pattern or model2 - coexistence: a relational state, with all matter and within space and others - construct: a conceptual framework - ecosystem: the interconnected, complex system of a human (womb and beyond), philosophical thought or environment.

- exclusion: a state of being- driven by unequal power economically, politically, socially and culturally.

- flourish(ing): the process and state of positive growth and transformation - function: purpose or need hermeneutic: the theory of interpretation - human fraternity: humanity (the human race as one entity) - human centred architecture: architecture focused on around human needs and relationship - inclusion: a state of being- embraced, regardless of identity and position - matter: a substance which occupies space - nourishment: opportunities which enable holistic development (spiritual, mental, physical emotional and environmental) and wellbeing - the womb: a biological archetype which promotes human development/life - triangulation: the combination and connection of multiple perspectives and methods to approach a phenomena - ultimate design: convergence of coexistence, nourishment and function, and the individual and collective experiences at this intersection, in order to flourish - woman: a social construct; ones experience of gender which is deeply felt and can transform over time

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PROLOGUE There is something intoxicating, about the theatre of beginnings, intended or unintended, the collision of spaces, beings and muses.

It is here that potentiality is imagined, the conscious and unconscious catalysts of metamorphic change; Enlightenment.

Perhaps each is written as the opportune fulfillment toward clarity, amid uncertaintyA new narrative, not evolving, nor reconstructed one which does not hide the wisdoms, but one which awakens the conscience.

Every moment within a moment, forms a beginning, the genesis of a fragment, or fragments.

An experience, both conscious and unconscious, informed by our collective and individual selves.

Each fragment, experience, informed by those preceding, born from a relationship.

Each sculpting our form, our being.

Each dependent on lived and told stories, of fiction and nonfiction, of truths and lies.

Each fragment, the composition of our wholeness.

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I am a survivor Four years ago, as I embarked on my studies in architecture, I ebulliently teetered, on ‘that’ edge, that of potentiality, with the imagined expectations of all tomorrows (Figure 1). Embracing vulnerability for the possibilities of new ambitions, whilst forsaking the security of conscious knowing. Anticipating the unknown, leaving my regional home for the city of Sydney, I found myself in a temporal space of discomfiture, places of confrontation; a duel between the intrinsic need to know my place and to know myself. A space of conjecture. Of conviction.

My journey toward architecture was anchored consciously and unconsciously, through my own experiences, both personal nurture and societal neglect and that of those whose stories are told, untold, but always lived, individually and collectively. Architecture’s place of context for me at that time, was initially embedded in its geography; specifically the right for regional women and children to be able to access housing and resources/ services in the face of domestic violence, without being displaced from and within their own communities.

7 Figure 1. ‘...Teetering’

A spatial justice- a space which I knew well. In theory, the resolve seemed quite simple, but what I learned, in the very beginning of my studies, was that whilst architecture as a discipline is admired by many, its impact on society and our global humanitarian crisis, is understood by the unheard few and unacknowledged by the many heard.

That awakening for me occurred when the relational fragments of my experiences, cocooned with and within the potentiality of the new empty3 space, entwined with the agencies of self; survivor, spectator, human, female, person, woman, feminist, thinker, designer and storyteller.

And this is the story to be told.

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ACT 1 Scene 1: Introduction

I became curious about the womb, at the very same time I returned home to my familiar place, in the wake of COVID-19.

Swaddled by the familiar Distanced from the chaos, I became Spectator to the unfolding reckoning across our globe.

Each day a pre-production For the next.

At the time, I did not conceive the relationship Of polarity and contrariety between these two disparate entitiesthe womb and the virus Disillusioned by what seemed selfsame yesterdays, the everydays of human behaviour; consumed by the crisis of our world, I remained silently enveloped, through what seemed the public dismantling of our society.

The moment when the His-story5 of the invisible became visible to conscious thought.

Only unveiled through the awakening of lived experiences, Experiences of self.

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Figure 2. ‘... Unveiling’

On almost every front, our world is under enormous stress.

We are not at ease with each other, or our planet.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres.3

My study of architecture António Guterres (UN Secretary-General: 2021), “Global Crisis 3 4

Response ‘Too Little, Too Late’, Secretary-General Tells General Assembly ‘Our Common Agenda’ Event, Warning of Instability, Climate Chaos,” Transcript of speech delivered at the General Assembly Our Common Agenda’ Event in New York, September 2021, Accessed September 27, 2021. https://www.un.org/press/ en/2021/sgsm20891.doc.htm 5 Stories defined, told and orchestrated by the patriarchy for the benefit of the patriarchy 6 Helen Briggs, “Coronavirus variants and mutations: The science explained,” last modified May 6, 2021, https://www.bbc. com/news/science-environment-55404988 7 Globalisation the cause and the cure for COVID-19,” University of South Australia, last modified May 7, 2020, https://www.unisa.edu. au/Media-Centre/Releases/2020/ globalisation-the-cause-and-thecure-for-covid-19/ 8 “Everyone Included: Social Impact of COVID-19,” United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Social Inclusion, accessed December 1, 2021, https://www. un.org/development/desa/dspd/ everyone-included-covid-19.html 9 Kristen Pickles et al., “COVID-19 Misinformation Trends in Australia: Prospective Longitudinal National Survey,” in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, (January 2021), Introduction https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC7800906/, Examples such as: “framing the pandemic as a leaked bioweapon, a consequence of 5G wireless technology, a political hoax, and that the pandemic has been made up by governments to control people… ineffective measures that individuals can take to prevent or treat the disease, such as exposing themselves to sunlight or taking vitamin C.” (This quote can be found in the articles Introduction) 10 Excessive, unreliable and misleading information.

11 Groups or populations that are deemed outside of mainstream definition, highly vulnerable and systematically excluded.

12 The pandemic and infodemic.

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Scene 2: Unveiling I am spectator (Figure 3)

In 2020, amid perpetuating social, political and environmental injustices, (locally and globally) there was a timely interruption to the momentum of the semi conscious state of society; an unwritten manifesto, unleashed across our global community. It was this interlude which birthed, if only temporarily, perhaps, the greatest awakening of our modern civilisation. Within that juncture, humanity was momentarily united through fear, as vulnerability was unveiled (Figure 2). This reckoning, unlike human engineered crises’ (wars, famine, social unrest, consumerism and climate change), came from nature; a naturally mutated6 virus to be known as COVID-19. A virus which, as a result of globalisation,7 was able to in its infancy, violate each and every human personally, socially and/ or economically, to varying degrees, through a lived and somewhat shared experience of fear, loss, isolation, death, trauma and hardship.8 Nature’s reminder of its eminence, within our shared sphere.

For a moment humanity stood in a shared space. Then, inequitable access to services and support, parallel to overwhelming information and misinformation9 about COVID-19 persuaded and divided diverse populations across the globe and across all aspects of society. The pandemic was aligned with an ‘infodemic’,10 which was and continues to be delivered through social media platforms and information systems of western development. Misinformation infected 12

society, as people experienced the wrath of the pandemic and sought security and safety, whilst trying to make sense of the changing landscape. And it was and is, the marginalised11 groups who have been most impacted by the economic and health implications these two endemics12 have created.13 Those living in poverty, with disabilities. Those with limited education alongside the Indigenous and aging populations.14 These people in our global and local communities, the most at risk in terms of not only their lack of access to services and support, but also in relation to knowledge of digital and health literacy.15 These marginalised groups place a great deal of relational trust in political and scientific authorities, so when western society pits the economy against public health, it is the vulnerable who are stripped bare.

For these most vulnerable, the definitive impact of COVID-19 is yet to come, but according to Oxfam’s study, The Inequality Virus,16 the world’s 1,000 billionaires, mainly white men, recovered their fortunes, to that of their pre pandemic state, in only nine months.17 Worldwide billionaire wealth increased by $3.9 trillion between March and December of 2020.18 When these statistics are viewed alongside the current United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects as of Mid 2021 Report,19 where it is noted that 114.4 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty, as a result of the pandemic, it heightens the urgency for writing and enacting a new story, or new chapter to this His-story. One where capitalism and neoliberalism are not the glorified protagonists of our script.

Figure 3. ‘Environmental Spectator’ 13

Having highlighted above, the short term and long term impacts of COVID-19, Joshua Gans’ text, Economics in the Age of COVID -19,20 delineates a postulation of the known notion that preparedness is crucial for reducing impact. Gans examination of COVID-19, foregrounds that perhaps this virus did sit obnoxiously on the edge of our tomorrow, ignored by those with the knowledge and power to prepare for it, for fear of economic impact. Academic papers, such as Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks: Readiness for 2030: Proceedings of a Workshop,21 support this point.

“Our human existence continues to remain vulnerable to pandemics and with an increase of over thirty zoonotic diseases in the past twenty years, preparedness is vital for mitigating future risk.”22 In an authentic example, the knowledge collected from the management of diseases, such as SARS and Ebola, has been somewhat instrumental in the existing management processes of COVID-19 across the globe.23 The longterm impact, however, witnessed now in social unrest, compromised health, loss of life and sustained economic hardship, has and will create adversity, for many in the time to come. We, as a global community, have reread this script time and time again, told this His-story through our oral narratives, so it is indoctrinated into our human culture. We have been, audience, cast and producers of humanitarian and environmental crises such as war, discrimination (based on sex, 14

A range of studies highlight the impact of COVID-19 as an economic crisis impacting low income earners directly as a result of housing affordability and economic instability with employment downturns: “Emerging from COVID-19: Insights Snapshot,” The Smith Family, last modified May 2021, https://www.thesmithfamily.com. au/-/media/files/about-us/media/ the-smith-family_insights-snapshot_may-2021.pdf 14 “The Social Impact of COVID-19,” United Nations, last modified April 6, 2020, https:// w w w.un.org/development/ desa/dspd/2020/04/ social-impact-of-covid-19/ 15 Bertie Vidgen et al., Understanding vulnerability to online misinformation, The Alan Turing Institute: March 2021, https://w w w.turing.ac.uk/ sites/default/files/2021-02/ misinformation_report_final1_0.pdf 16 Esmé Berkhout et al., The Inequality Virus Bringing together a world torn apart by coronavirus through a fair, just and sustainable economy, (Oxfam GB for Oxfam International: January 2021), https://oxfamilibrary. openrepository.com/bitstream/ handle/10546/621149/bp-theinequality-virus-250121-en.pdf 17 Esmé Berkhout et al., The Inequality Virus Bringing together a world torn apart by coronavirus through a fair, just and sustainable economy, 9 18 Esmé Berkhout et al., The Inequality Virus Bringing together a world torn apart by coronavirus through a fair, just and sustainable economy, 12 19 United Nations New York, World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2021, (Department of Economic and Social Affairs: 2021) https://www.un.org/development/ desa/dpad/document_gem/ g l o b a l - e c o n o m i c - m o n i to r i n g unit/world-economic-situationa n d - p ro s p e c t s - w e s p - re p o r t / world-economic-situation-andprospects-wesp-mid-year-update/ 20 Joshua Gans, Economics in the Age of COVID, (Cambridge,Massachusetts: MITPress First Reads, 2020) Accessed, September 2, 2021, ProQuest Ebook Central 13

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gender, race and ethnicity), economic, social and political unrest, exclusion and climate change. (Figure 4) We have indeed sat amongst stalls of wisdom, yet at best, we have been reactive engagers, rather than proactive initiators for social justice and change. And, at worst we have chosen not to attend at all, but to stay within our own immune spaces. So, whilst COVID-19 is but only one scene within our human production, it has made visible our collective human vulnerability and needs, as well as the inequities created by a patriarchal society. As this society continues to face social and political unrest, in the face of economic instability, we are challenged to reflect on the commonalities of the human race.

A space where human centred design, as we know it, is challenged for our environmental future and human survival.

“As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.” - Norman Foster.24 Norman Foster’s words give cause to reflect on the nature of architectural theory and practice. The landscape is a changeable space and adaptability is a crucial skill in navigating it but innovation is deeply embedded in what we already know. Our knowledge of moments and learnings of the past, provide insight and clarity. To look at the whole, allows us to understand the fragments and their relationships, which create experiences in and with space. Is the future really essentially unknown? Or have we just stopped looking back to values and spaces we shared in the beginning, to establish who we might each become in 16

the end? As students of design, we stood together at the very same beginning, one filled with opportunity. But, the very nature of the industry, driven by capitalism and a patriarchal story, pits each of us against the other, producing divisions in the theory, study, practice, the creation of architecture and ultimately our society.

The time was yesterday to accede what is truly known. We must move from the ‘stories’,25 of the past. We must begin by looking back to our very beginnings, in the presence of the present, whilst anticipating the known unknowns, of the future.

Then, now, next.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks: Readiness for 2030: Proceedings of a Workshop, (Washington DC, The National Academies Press: 2019) Appendix A, https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544060/ 22 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks: Readiness for 2030: Proceedings of a Workshop, Appendix A 23 This is most noted in areas such as agency of care, gaps in healthcare systems and screening technologies, as noted in, Alvin Qijia Chua et al., “ How the lessons of previous epidemics helped successful countries fight Covid-19,” in BJM, Issue 372, March 2021, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n486 24 Norman Foster, “My green agenda for architecture,” Filmed January 2007 at TED Munich, Video, 0:07, https:// w w w.ted.com/talks/norman_ foster_my_green_agenda_for_ architecture?language=en#t-2170 1 25 A story of untruth or embellishment.

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Figure 4. ‘Corona City’

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ACT 2

What is known Scene 1 Human Fraternity Temporal beings Embodied beginnings and ends.

A cast of thousands.

Moments On moments of moments Fill us Are one - within us Float with And between Wonder Confrontations Of our truths Of our loves Of our knowingness And the freedom of our authenticity Our centrednesswholeness Our one organic genesis

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“Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”26 Brené Brown The precise nature of ‘human centred design’, a term coined and embedded in contemporary architectural practice, is ambiguous. Variations of the term, ‘people centred architecture’, ‘humanitarian architecture’, reference the need for a response to a range of social-political issues and prejudices, both inherently historical27 and contextually present.28 ‘Human centred design,’29 used by Professor John Arnold, at Stanford University in 1958,30 has evolved in its terms to design thinking. It takes its position in architecture within the design process and considers research methodologies,31 focusing on the relationship between researcher/designer/ user and immersion in the environment. Such methods gain insight about the subjective physical, emotional and cognitive responses to space. In current architectural practice, ‘human centred’ moves from the design thinking space of subjectivity, to one of objectivity. Constituted design principles are mirrored to what is known

as ‘current practice’ and indoctrinated within a western social order. It is at this intersection authentic human centred design is negated. To dissect this point, it is important to draw on the etymology of the key words, human and centred.

If we are to look at the meaning of the word ‘huma’ from which the term human centred derives, there is evidence of its evolution, as a parallel to architecture’s western story. The etymology of ‘human’ is derived from the word ‘dhghem’ (Indo European roots) meaning ‘earth’.32 The Latin origin is from the roots ‘humus’ meaning earth and ‘humanus’ meaning man.33 Further exploration of the relationship of each will be examined in context throughout this discourse.

‘People’, a collective term for human being and, ‘human being’34 “an individual of the genus Homo sapiens.”35 The word ‘centred’ describes a position relational to place,36 the ‘centre’ where an object is involved and to a state, within a space where there is no object.37 Here, the origins of language are consequential to this discourse, emphasising the relationship between both nature and human.

Azriel Reshel, “Show the World Your Real Self First,” accessed 17 September 2021 https:// u p l i f t . l o v e / b re n e - b ro w n on-true-belonging/ 27 To be documented but not necessarily taken with you 28 Context within a moment 29 Julia P. A. von Thienen, William J. Clancey, Christoph Meinel, “Theoretical Foundations of Design Thinking Part II: Robert H. McKim’s Need-Based Design Theory,” in Design Thinking Research (Springer, Cham 2018), https://doi.org/10.1007/9783-319-97082-0_2 30 The application of the term originates from an engineering discipline, as a process to creative problem solving. As denoted in the chapter: von Thienen, “Theoretical Foundations of Design Thinking Part II: Robert H. McKim’s Need-Based Design Theory.” (see 29) 31 Such as ethnography: an immersive, descriptive study of humans, place, society and culture to understand a phenomena 32 Online Etymology Dictionary, “Human”, accessed September 15, 2021, https://w w w.etymonline. com/search?q=human 33 Online Etymology Dictionary, “Human” 34 Dictionary Online, “Human Being”, accessed September 15, 2021, h t t p s : / / w w w. d i c t i o n a r y. com/browse/human-being 35 “... distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.” Dictionary Online, “Human Being” 36 Dictionary Online, “Centre”, accessed September 15, 2021, https://www.dictionary. com/browse/center 37 Dictionary Online, “Object”, accessed September 15, 2021, https://www.dictionary. com/browse/object# 26

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Scene 2 I am human Bubbles,38 is the first text in the Spheres Trilogy, by contemporary German writer, philosopher and cultural theorist, Peter Sloterdijk and is the focal text for this writing. I first read Bubbles, alongside Economics in the Age of COVID -19, during the pandemic (and consequential lockdowns), permitting me to focus on the writing of both authors in the parallel, amongst the peripersonal39 spaces of interiors, I inhabited. The intersectionality of my thinking in this space is ensuing in my writing. Whilst Bubbles focuses on microspheres of intimacy (relations between beings and things), the preceding texts Globes40 and Foams,41 are centred on macro-spheres (global systems) and spatial plurality (social arrangements), respectively.

Much like Gans, Sloterdijk’s examination of western civilisation and its avant gardism is delineated as an apotheosis, from which his ideology of microspheres and spatial ontology is developed. This notion is offered as salvation- the presentment of new and challenging thinking to his invited audience. Indeed, Sloterdijk in the least, captured my attention, declaring evocative and thought provoking ideas of our existence. These complex ideas, often controversial, are embedded within 20

his erudite writing and difficult at times to comprehend. Difficult at times to dissect.

Sloterdijk’s thinking moves between shades of orange and red,42 or into a murky grey,43 as opposed to black and white.44 However, Sloterdijk has no difficulty in calling to account our modern world and its values. Within the introduction of the text, his examination of the history of civilisation proclaims that today’s globalised humanity has lost its way.

“Modernity is characterised by the technical production of its immunities and the increasing removal of its safety structures from the traditional theological and cosmological narratives. Industrial scale civilisation, the welfare state, the world market and the media sphere: all these large scale projects aim, in a shelless time, for an imitation of the now impossible, imaginary spheric security…... Because the old….is irretrievably lost.” 45 Sloterdijk’s reference to a “shelless time,”46 in the above quote, draws to significance the eradication of security for all our humanity. He states that we are no longer protected within our “domes”47 (communities, local spaces, homes) as a result of globalisation.48 This ideology resonates with my own observations, particularly for the marginalised within local and global societies. In Eastern and Western cultures, people are without protection, underfoot to the march of the patriarchy. Outside of COVID-19 in mainstream media, the fall of Kabul and rise of the Taliban,49 alongside the Australian Parliament sexual harassment and assault investigations,50 provide just two adverse examples. Whilst local and

global crises51 have created a spotlight on these inequities, through media and social movements, the diverse and continued suffering of people and environment has become the unconscious theatre, to which privileged pockets of society have become a disengaged audience.

For the conscious,52 there is no denial, we live in a desperate time, persistently teetering on the edge of conscious unconsciousness, of what is known and the anticipation of the unknown. That is, how our collection of experiences form knowledge, which in turn impacts on our decisions and ultimately our story. Or so one would think. Perhaps our demise rests in the theatre of Plato’s Cave53 which has transcended our being and continues as a revival in our contemporary time. The actors exoterically represented and the audience hypnotised by the intoxicating rhetoric that has infiltrated society. What is concerning here is the encapsulation of philosophy, free thinking, that has also succumbed to the dogma of the patriarchy. Examining the nature of our being and our place, within the spaces we have engineered for ourselves, we have created, as Sloterdijk claims, an “artificial civilizatory world”.54 Whilst this may be a criticism of globalisation by Sloterdijk, I look beyond this interpretation to deeper beginnings. The artificial world has been created in part, by globalisation, but it is globalisation, which is driven by a patriarchal society and capitalism. We have indeed migrated from our collective being, our organic human core, to self fulfilling interiors as Sloterdijk refers to “greenhouses of autogenous atmosphere.”55

Sloterdijk’s distinct metaphoric sphere ideology intends to reposition the value of creating insular spaces, of intimate relationships and experiences.

Conceptually, this presents the archetypal value of security, however, there is a danger in this thinking, as insulation, through inside/outside, also divides. The “greenhouses of autogenous atmosphere,”56 may present as an ideal space of optimal and self fulfilling growth for some but replicate the same damage to the environment and society beyond their boundary, as greenhouse gasses do to climate change.57 The plants on the inside may thrive, to the detriment of the environment on the outside, beyond the boundary.

Peter Sloterdijk, Spheres Trilogy: Volume 1 Bubbles, trans.

Wieland Hoban (Semiotext(e): 2011).

39 A term explored by Harry Francis Mallgrave in “Feeling for Space” From Object to Experience: The New Culture of Architectural Design (Bloomsbury: 2018), chap. 6, 11-12, Kobo Books, meaningthe immediate area around ones body where objects/ individuals/spaces and the like can be touched and vice versa.

40 Peter Sloterdijk, Spheres Trilogy: Volume 2 Globes trans.

Wieland Hoban (Semiotext(e): 2014).

41 Peter Sloterdijk, Spheres Trilogy: Volume 3 Foams, trans.

Wieland Hoban (Semiotext(e): 2016).

42 The colours here are metaphors to represent the shift in Sloterdijk’s writing between capitalist and socialist views.

43 Sloterdijk’s stance is often unclear or lacking conviction.

44 ‘black and white’ as metaphors to the structuralist view of binary oppositions, most commonly understood by western society.

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Sloterdijk’s ideology has emerged from the work of Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time,58 (as an elaboration of spatiality) and the work of biologist Jakob von Uexküll.59 Centred in biosemiotics, Uexkülll’s analytics focused on the relationship between living things and their environments, the notion of ‘Umwelt.’60 Uexküll’s studies explored sensory engagements in relation to experiences of the subject, specifically how they come to know the world, beyond human interactions. These experiences occur within spaces, which all have an exterior boundary.

Sloterdijk’s theory continues to build on Uexküll’s research and a boundary ideology, defined as microspheres, initiated as bubbles. (Figure 5) These spaces become “the incubators of experiences and coexistence”.61 What is understood is that the boundary is created through the intimacy of relationships with and within a space; a spatial understanding of ontology. This is supported by Marjin Nieuwenhuis and clearly articulated in “Taking Up The Challenge Of Space: New Conceptualisations Of Space In The Work Of Peter Sloterdijk And Graham Harman,”62 that is, “to be with something and to be in something,”63 “gives meaning to existence.”64 The essentialism of relationships for a meaningful existence is captured here. It is of course from relationships, experiences are born. In other words, relationships and experiences are reciprocal, and do not exist one without the other.

The experiential transcendence of moments, forever embedded in self, becoming one with self. My own existence is in a consistent, yet temporal state of flux. My moments upon moments- bubbles waiting to burst; as all moments of existence have a beginning and ending. The consideration is that our existence is experienced as fragments of time within spaces and remembered as lived moments.

Perhaps, in actuality, memories are stored and 23 Figure 5. ‘... Microspheres’

distributed in archives, retrieved through the familiarity of sensory triggers, as explored in “The neuroscience of body memory: From the self through the space to the others,” by Giuseppe Riva.65 My own personal examples resonate as; The musical interlude of the ice cream truck and my whimsical childhood or that particular bird call and my grandparents’ graveside burial.

These experiences become snatches of moments, tucked away into the pocket of nostalgia, for nothing more than a later time, when Consciousness66 is ready to view them. Regardless of the differences between where these moments are stowed or how these are retrieved, they do take part in each of us, nourishing us and connecting us, as humans and with all matter. And, clearly Sloterdijk requires us to move beyond our human relationships, to the relationships with our environment; a reciprocity for the survival of all. There is no doubt that in our current context this ideology holds heavy weight, with the alignment of human behaviours and attitudes to ‘at all costs’ battle for financial wealth and prosperity, where most people, the environment and the earth are compromised. For this reason, I too postulate the significance not only of our human relationships, but our existence alongside our earth, as environmental and human ecologies - a relationship of reciprocity, for the survival of all.

And how is security defined in society today? A patriarchal hierarchy of socioeconomic stance67 is the most valued commodity in this present time. Here media and technological advances 24

in engagement have created spaces where everyday propaganda has made its way into every aspect of our human psyche. Dominant ideas are the thoughts that have engulfed neighbourhoods, where within western societies, ‘Keeping Up With The Jones’, creates divisions and exemplifies how culture shaming has merged the thoughts of one, to the thoughts of another, then of all. As society remains committed to this space, our immunity is being compromised and the state of unknowingness draws us to the conceptions of the world as told in our histories- and as Sloterdijk refers to as’ “the warmth of old human illusions…”.68 COVID -19 has indeed highlighted this from both an economic and health perspective.

“Who gave us the sun to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained the earth from its sun? Where is it moving now? Where are we moving to? Away from all suns?

Are we not continually falling? And backwards, sideways, forwards, in all directions?”69 - Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science There is a clear disposition by Sloterdijk to create accountability, not only for the patriarchs, but for the marginalised, who have succumbed to industrialisation and globalisation in an unconscious quest for banality or as Sloterdijk states, the “fixating on ghost lights that appear to them in the form of names, identities and business,”70 and where it is “less important for people to know who they are, than where they are.”71 This reasoning constitutes a shorttermist view of thinking, the existence of shallowness over deep considerations,

Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 25.

Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 25.

47 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 25.

48 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 25.

49 “The fall of Kabul: The last days of the war in Afghanistan,” ABC News, last modified September 8, 2021, https://www.abc. net.au/4corners/the-fallof-kabul:-the-last-daysof-th e -war- in/13532434 50 “Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces,” Australian Human Rights Commission, November 2021, https://humanrights. gov.au/sites/default/files/ document/publication/ahrc_ set_the_standard_2021.pdf 51 COVID-19, black deaths in custody, sexual assualt, genocide, AIDS epidemic, civil wars, colonisation, invasion, rejection of refugees, marriage inequality, climate change, terrorism, plagues, gender and domestic violence, natural disasters, political and social unrest, hate crimes 52 Having an awareness and knowledge of and/ or seeking change through voice and action 53 The allegory of Plato’s Cave (Republic, 514a-520a) presents an epistemological and political view of the effect of education and the lack of it within our human nature. Without philosophical enquiry, observation, interpretation and perception curb comprehension of the reality of human nature.

54 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 24.

55 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 46 56 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 46.

57 S. Montzka, E. Dlugokencky, and J. Butler, “Non-CO2 greenhouse gases and climate change,” in Nature, Issue 476, (2011), https://doi.org/10.1038/ nature10322, 43–50.

58 Martin Heidegger, Being and Time, trans. John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson (SCM Press: 1962).

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46

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which manifest in the day to day life of the ‘Capitalocene,’72 such as driving a car to the shops, updating technological devices at the release of the latest version, not engaging with neighbours or community. Architecturally, the same is observed. Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul73 by Elizabeth Farrelly, expressing “…long held concerns about the state of our governments, our cities and our environments,”74 as stated by current Lord Mayor of Sydney and City of Sydney Councillor, Clover Moore.

Increasing house sizes, unnecessary75 and poor infrastructure and urban planning,76 all whilst knowing that the choices are detrimental in the long term to our environment and human existence. As we become more enslaved to the infected media and His-story, we move further away from the truth and the opportunity for all to flourish.

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Jakob Von Uexküll, Theoretical Biology, (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1926).

60 the biological foundations of a living organism and the space or environment in which they exist, becomes the subject of that space- nature.

61 Isabella Harris, This is Utopia, (Canvas: 2020) 2.

62 Marijn Nieuwenhuis, “Taking Up The Challenge Of Space: New Conceptualisations Of Space In The Work Of Peter Sloterdijk And Graham Harman,” in Continent, Issue 4.1 (2014) 16-37.

63 Nieuwenhuis, “Taking Up The Challenge Of Space: New Conceptualisations Of Space In The Work Of Peter Sloterdijk And Graham Harman”, 16-37.

64 Nieuwenhuis, “Taking Up The Challenge Of Space: New 59

Figure 6. ‘Extractivism’

Conceptualisations Of Space In The Work Of Peter Sloterdijk And Graham Harman”, 16-37.

65 Giuseppe Riva, “The neuroscience of body memory: From the self through the space to the others,” in Cortex, Volume 104 (July: 2018) 241-260.

66 Here, Consciousness is capitalised highlighting it as an entity; the keeper of truth 67 Examples: inflated house prices, rapid living, climate change 68 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 26.

69 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, trans.

Josephine Nauckhoff, Adrian Del Caro (Cambridge University Press: 2001) 120 70 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 27.

71 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 27.

72 Term refers to the capitalist system which human activity has impacted climate and environment in: Helen Gordon, Notes from Deep Time, (London: Profile Books, 2021), 234.

73 Elizabeth Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul, (Sydney: Picador

by Pac Macmillian, 2021) 74 Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul, Cover 75 Sporting facilities for world events where thousands of people are displaced (without aid) killed or enslaved. Or cities where appropriate facilities already exist, yet governments insist on building new venues 76 A recent example: Barangaroo is described as an ‘outie,’ (the typical sexual connotation of male plugs in electrical or plumbing terminology) by Elizabeth Farrelly, a space not to be ‘within’. “Not only was the urban design - as a proud Lendlease executive told me during the development process applied as an afterthought once the buildings had been approved.” Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul, “Inside and Out,” 291

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Scene 3 An Architectural Bubble “Today we live in an elaborate ‘crystal palace,’ which also functions as a hothouse, rather than under the open sky.”77 - Clayton Crockett, a review of Bubbles, by Peter Sloterdijk

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Sloterdijk’s spherical bubble representation creates a tangible visualisation of an interior space with definitive boundaries. These bubbles fabricate interiors of insulation and immunity from the harsh exteriors of the western world, created by the patriarchy, through exclusion and for exclusion (Figure 6). Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace78 London, exemplifies the reality of such repression. An artificial ecology of interiority, The Crystal Palace was a hyper interior of capitalist endeavour for an aristocratic society. Built in 1851, designed by Paxton, the building was the embodiment of the beginnings of the industrialised and globalised world we inhabit today. The structure provided a global stage for exhibitors and artisans, a space where human existence was interiorised and disconnected from the outside world and natural environment.

All that was required to ‘prosper’ could be located within The Crystal Palace.

Interactions within the space were purposeful, offering trade, education and entertainment. The extravagant structure provided opportunities for which to take part in, to be with and within. The relationship here for participants as receptive entities was enabled. Experiences within, manifested from the fragments or moments of

engagement.

Perspectives formed around ethics, values and culture became the result of the relationships with and within the space. Infact, in the current landscapes of environmental, biotechnological and humanitarian crises, the ideology of Sloterdijk’s spheres, represented architecturally as The Crystal Palace, offer an enticing and idyllic opportunity for intimate relationships, experiences and insulation, an escape from a “shelless,”79 time.

Through COVID-19, society has experienced varying degrees of sphere representations, at a micro and macro level, created through the impacts of the pandemic and ‘infodemic’.

Simultaneously, these conditions have demanded the creation of spaces of internal coexistence and external isolation- an artificial and dividing refuge.80 Insulation creates an interior and exterior, cultivating inclusion and exclusion, these binary oppositions place the economic growth of some, before the personal growth and wellbeing of all.

Binary oppositions are situated in a relationship of polar state. These are societal measures of relationality- the grouping and categorising, from which to give a position and view objects, subjects and experiences. The juxtaposition of the two elements, inclusion/exclusion, draws significance to the relationship of each.

Here, the theory of hermeneutics resolves that, in order for one to have a presence, neither can be absent. Derived from Aristotle and known as Aristorian logic,81 we see, hear and live this logocentrism everyday in political platforms and sociocultural ideologies of our western culture;

Figure 7. ‘Interiors of insulation’

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male/female, rich/poor, black/white left wing/right wing. For French philosopher Gilles Deleuze such thinking manifests accordingly in that, no two things are identical, but all are relational, as all matter is connected.

This ideology pitches dichotomies against one another, each perceived in either a negative or positive space.

“Space is all about relationships.”82 Traditionally, architecture relates to the practice of establishing boundaries, which create spaces of interiority in part, or objects to be admired, in whole. These may provide insulation from the outside, but have been generally created by/for the patriarchy.83 Often, the remainder of society is isolated; those who do not find their place within the symbolic orders of society, are not considered in the design or do not have access.

Will this story, His-story continue to be the legacy, which architecture creates, as both puppet and puppeteer,84 a duality of unconsciousness, which feeds the engineered virus of capitalism? (Figure 7) What Paxton’s design, Sloterdijk’s sphere theories, architecture and our current social landscape fail to deliver is inclusion.

The privileged remain within the spaces of security and nourishment, their own bubbles, with no connection or perhaps no conscious engagement with the spaces, people and environment beyond.

With a focus on the whole, the object, we 30

Figure 8. ‘The puppet and the puppeteer’

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must consider the missed opportunities to create a focus on the experiences with and within, of all participants, a new value of etho aesthetics.85 In architecture today, this should be further explored by establishing a focus on the metaphysics of relational experiences of all subject(s), as opposed to the materialism of the object. Spaces which are ultimately inclusive and which enable all to flourish.

Exploration of the womb, an interior from which we all came to exist, presents a consideration of this truth, for which we are continually searching- the experiences and knowledge which take part in us and through which we experience the world. To know the truth we must look to the past, to our beginnings the space from which all humans have realised life.

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Clayton Crockett, “In the World Interior of Capital: For a Philosophical Theory of Globalization,” review of Spheres Trilogy: Volume 1 Bubbles,

by Peter Sloterdijk, trans. Wieland Hoban. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 39, No. 1 (January 2015) 42–54 http://www.internationalbulletin. org/issues/2015-01/201501-048-sloterdijk.html 78 Joseph Paxton, English architect, designed London’s iconic, aristocratic Crystal Palace which held the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The building housed more than 17,000 exhibitors from around the world displaying samples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution and was known for its scale, monumentality and use of glass and steel.

79 Sloterdijk, Bubbles, 25.

80 Lockdowns have created ecologies within homes whereby coexistence becomes essential for functioning, and whilst the disengagement from the world beyond the interior of the home provides protection, it also creates divisions between sociopolitical, economic constraints.

81 Robin Smith, “Aristotle’s Logic”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (Fall Edition: 2020), ed. Edward N. Zalta, https:// p l a to . s t a n f o rd . e d u / a rc h i v e s / fall2020/entries/aristotle-logic/ 82 Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul, “Inside and Out,” 281 83 Examples of this may be as simple as public bathroom design, to urban planning, whereby space as a commodity is prioritised over public domain.

84 Will architecture (the puppet), continue to be dominated and controlled by the western canon, including a focus on capitalist gain of infrastructure?

Will architecture (as the puppeteer), continue to enable the canon through patriarchal traditions- male dominance in industry, focus on architecture as a statement/object over engagement/experience?

85 Moving from the socially valued visual representations of form, to the value of experiences, shared and individual, which engage participants.

77

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Figure 9. ‘The archetype’

Scene 4 The womb Utility within Often masked, yet Contained For some perhaps no consequence Of containment For some perhaps anticipated beginnings Which Takes part of Takes part in Freedom, chance, expectation or power Yet, Does not define Perhaps an empty abstraction untenanted a container Not to be filled.

The geometry Science, of organised knowledge Yet not a measure of identity But a measure of each Their existence Their being Of bounty Hope A soliloquy Returning each Deeply, to within the bosom Of their abode.

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Scene 5 I am female.

As a human, I have been born from a womb. As a female, I have inherited a womb and the stories of this organ. And whilst in a world of binary oppositions, being female categorises my biology, a fragment of self, it does not define my entirety, my wholeness, nor the identity of those born female. My position is the psyche of freedoms, expectation, chance and power, of our His-story.

The socio-cultural perspective of the womb has been enslaved to a His-story of culture-political, religious, economic and medical stories marginalising and inflicting discrimination toward the female.

In our western society it is our Christian story told within The Bible, which has built this model of a patriarchal hierarchy.

The creator of all is deemed a male. His creations are first male, then female; Adam and Eve. We are told Eve is created from an insignificant fragment of the male. Here, her existence is only made possible through the male, Adam.

This doctrine not only reduces the value of the female, as based on a biological fallacy, but as Lana Thompson states, in “The Wandering Womb: A Cultural History of Outrageous Beliefs About Women,”86 places Eve, through the story of temptation, as “the source of all his frustrations and temptations.”87 (Figure 8) Here, the pronoun ‘his’, identifies the male and the statement constructs an exemption to accountability, for the pain, 36

suffering and objectification bestowed on females as historically, universal.

Has there not been the creation of a sweeping immunity for the actions and inactions of a patriarchal society? The social norms today justify abuse and inequality, rape culture,88 domestic violence (inclusive of coercive control),89 human trafficking,90 victim blaming and gender pay gaps.91 Whilst these issues impact a diverse population, it is females who are overwhelmingly the victims.92 The spaces of infiltration are exhaustive.

A patriarchal society which creates ethical immunity for males, gives cause for the social wars of our current time, when it enables injustice and exclusion.

To look back to our past and the spaces of our collective beginnings as humans, is to look to the womb. The relational ontological of spheres, Bubbles, within the womb an archetype of human centred design. The womb biologically centred in position, occupies an otherwise empty space within the female body.

In Chapter 4, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,”93 the broad ideology of microspheres is narrowed to the space of the womb. Sloterdijk advocates that through his voice and the title’s intent,94 referencing ‘negative gynecology’, the female sex is not objectified, as the female and indeed womb (the biology is not divisible from the form, although not

Lana Thompson, The Wandering Womb: A Cultural History of Outrageous Beliefs About Women, (Prometheus Books, Amherst, N.Y: 1999) 87 Thompson, The Wandering Womb: A Cultural History of Outrageous Beliefs About Women 88 Louise Newman, “Mission impossible? Dismantling the rape culture in Australia” in The Sydney Morning Herald, (October 2021) https:// www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/ life-and-relationships/missionimpossible-dismantling-therape-culture-in-australia20211020-p591it.html 89 Explored more recently by: Jess Hill, See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse.

(Black Inc Books: 2019) 90 UN Women, “Trafficking in women and girls: Report of the Secretary-General” (United Nations: 2020) h t t p s : / / w w w. u n w o m e n . org/en/digital-library/ publications/2020/07/a75-289-sg-report-trafficking 91 “Australia’s Gender Pay Gap Statistics,” The Australian Government, last modified 27 August 2021, h t t p s : / / w w w. w g e a . g o v. au/publications/australiasgender-pay-gap-statistics 92 “Devastatingly pervasive: 1 in 3 women globally experience violence. Younger women among those most at risk: WHO,” The World Health Organisation, last modified March 9, 2021, https:// www.who.int/news/item/0903-2021-devastatinglypervasive-1-in-3-womenglobally-experience-violence 93 Peter Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” in Bubbles, translated by Wieland Hoban (Semiotext(e): 2011).

269-342

Figure 10. ‘Eve.’

86

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acknowledged by Sloterdijk) become ‘non-objects’. Yet, the references in text to female biology the vulva and cervix as the “magical gate,”95 or the “horrifying and inviting portal,”96 clearly project abhorrent objectification; the sexualisation97 offensive. Does Sloterdijk’s arrogance within this theatre, intend to evoke a response? That would be the preferred assumption, however ensuing rhetoric suggests otherwise. Examples herein, include the metaphor of the womb as a container,98 suggesting the womb is a space to be filled. Although some may interpret the comparison as a strengthening of the ideology of a boundary within a space. I view it as a controversial pairing, to the point of being misogynistic; echoing Jennifer Bloomer’s thinking in “Architecture and the Feminine: MopUp Work.”99

“There is a grand tradition of figuration of the female body as container, as vase… tied to… the earth as female body, as receptacle. This points toward… the creation of (other) containers, i.e., architecture (which is then also figured as female, a container)... Where is the place of the female human being in all of this? She has been cast aside as unnecessary, as irrelevant.”100

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Sloterdijk’s views sway between declarative feministic acknowledgments, anthropological and philosophical references of womb culture101 to provoking thoughts of the biology of the female; glorified and objectified. The

juxtaposing, intersecting tones throughout the chapter, capture the patriarchal view which Sloterdijk unashamedly uses, to address the sensitivity of the anthropological value of the female.102 Sloterdijk situates the male as the determining sex for fertility and reproduction.103 Here, he anoints the male as the lead actor, the more dominant procreator, pitting female against male when referencing only the male sex, disregarding the female as an “ilk,” or “co-subject.”104 Sloterdijk does not stand in this space alone. The repression of females, their displacement is the doctrine of our His-Story and the story within architecture. As a female student of architecture, my represented sex, female, is a minority. Over four years of study I have never been assigned a female lecturer.105 Over that same four years of study, my studio lectures have never contained reference to or examples of precedents and designs by female architects.

Perhaps, this may be just coincidence or an unconscious deliberation, that is, if we were not also absent from the professional spaces of design.106 Sloterdijk’s refers to the microsphere of the prenatal sphere, the womb, as a utopian model,107 for all spheres (dyadic, triadic and multipolar structures),108 “a place of truth,”109 within the early writings of this chapter. Throughout Bubbles, he connects the utopian spaces we engage with and inhabit throughout our lifetime; attempting to emulate the womb.110 This bold branding of the womb as utopian, is ambitious, to say the least, given the neologism coined by Thomas Moore in ‘Libellus Vere Aureus Nec

Peter Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology, Excursus 2, Noobjects and UnRelationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,” in Bubbles, translated by Wieland Hoban (Semiotext(e): 2011). 269321. In Sloterdijk’s terms, Negative Gynecology relates to the birth; negative is to be removed from the uterus.

Sloterdijk’s direct explanation is given within his text (301).

95 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 269 96 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 275 97 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 282-283 98 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 269-342 99 Jennifer Bloomer, “Architecture and the Feminine: MopUp Work,” in Architecture New York, No. 4, (January/ February 1994), h t t p s : / / w w w. j s t o r. o r g / stable/41846073, 8-11 100 Bloomer, “Architecture and the Feminine: MopUp Work,” in Architecture New York, 8 101 References to ideology about the womb through various historical points within the chapter.

Inclusive of womb motifs connected to nature,cultural tales, origins of identity.

102 Throughout the chapter, references are made to the biology of the womb without reference to the female. Sloterdijk tries at times to separate the womb from the sex of the female preferring to reference the male in the realms of fertility.

103 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 269-342 94

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Minus Salutaris quam Festivu,’111 has long been debated through academia.

The claim however, extends an invitation to explore Sloterdijk’s theories.

Sloterdijk’s touches briefly on the dyadic relationship of female and the fetus, however, the principal focus is on the relationship of the placenta and fetus.

This perspective draws attention to the relationship of subject (fetus) and object (placenta), contained within the womb, removing perhaps the objectification of the female, previously noted. While this view creates a central focus on the womb and its spatial ontology for exploration, it suppresses the role of the female within the relationship. Again, this raises concerns.

The biology of the female can not be separated from the female form itself. To consider the triadic relationship of female, placenta and fetus, is to acknowledge the “intimate ecology of mental, social and environmental well being, much like Feliux Gauttari’s discourse of etho-aesthetics of existence.”112 That is, the lineage between humans and nature is communicated as the central biology that enables life. This clarification extracted from the writings of Joshua Motsafa, in Sphere Theory: A Case For Connectedness-113 “by denying the significance of the placenta, we deny our fundamental connection to the world around us.”114 Here, the relationship between earth, ‘humas’ and man115 human, ‘humanus’ is illuminated.

And whilst it is important to make note of such controversial writing, it is also consequential that the terms of focus within the following discourse remain implanted in the realm of the womb; its biology and the relationships of 40

parts therein, which reveals an offering of truth, as the space in which every mammal inhabits and develops.

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” - The Bible, New Testament, John 8:32 What is significant, is that the womb must be acknowledged in order to reclaim its prominence in a metaphysical time, the sphere of modernity, amongst the disease of societal psychosis. (Figure 9) That is, a place116 to which we gravitate, where we are secure in self; where our well being is optimised. Is this the source of truth? A place where we are accepted and what we know about ourselves forms part with and within our unconscious and conscious selves- a containment of knowing and unknowing.

We are all formed and develop within a womb. We are born from a womb.

The womb harnesses and preserves life.

Sloterdijk, “Introduction,” 43 In reference to being employed by the university 106 In Australia, over 40% of architectural students are female, but only 33 % are represented within the workforce, according to Dr Gill Matthewson in the “Parlour Census Report 2001-2016: Women in Architecture in Australia.” last modified 5 November 2018, https:// 104 105

archiparlour.org/wp-content/ uploads/2018/11/Parlour_ Census_Report_Final2.pdf.

Globally the results are even more alarming with less than 10% of women being represented in architecture at a leadership level as indicated in Marcus Fairs’ “Survey of top architecture firms reveals ‘quite shocking’ lack of gender diversity at senior levels.” November 16, 2017. Dezeen, https://www. dezeen.com/2017/11/16/ survey-leadingarchitecturef i r m s - r e v e a l s shocking-lac k-genderdiversity-senior-levels/ 107 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 271-276 108 The varied forms of relational being with.

109 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology,” 272 110 Caves, huts, tribal communities, walled villages and cities 111 Thomas More, Libellus vere Aur venus Nec Minus Salutaris quam Festivu.

(A Fruteful and Pleasaunt Worke of the Beste State of a Publyque weale, and of the newe yle called Vtopia.) Trans.

Ralphe Robynson. (London: Ptd. by Abraham Vele, 1551) 112 Isabella Harris. This is Utopia (Canvas 2020) 3 113 Joshua Motsafa, Sphere Theory: A Case For Connectedness, review of Spheres Trilogy: Volume 1 Bubbles by Peter Sloterdijk, Los Angeles Review of Books, 21 August 2012 114 Motsafa, Sphere Theory: A Case For Connectedness, review of Spheres Trilogy: Volume 1 Bubbles by Peter Sloterdijk 115 In reference to the meanings of manremoval of man to the inclusive term of human.

116 The balance of well being that of ‘ease’, being disrupted

Figure 11. ‘The female ecology’

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My own unconsciousness resonates in this womb space.

A return to the relationships my beginnings momentarily between scenes more than a nostalgic glance into the past.

Connectedness Earth mother, family, nature.

Bounded.

Of warmth breath, silence.

Rhythmic stillness.

Encircle Enfold.

Onward to Anticipate All tomorrows Rehearsed within The moments Of nourishing.

Figure42 12.

‘The return’

Returning to my place of knowing, whether that be in a physical sense, such as the return to home during 2020 and COVID-19, or the memories of moments, we each have places which bring nourishment. Perhaps it is being within the physical spaces which nurture our identity, our culture or our well being.

We bring the fragments of our interior experiences to whole in order to emulate these to the exterior. To lose our origins, our identity, is to lose our well being, our belonging. (Figure 10) To find our way, we look to the past. To find the niche of comfort and reassurance, to restart, to make amends and as a measure, by which we evaluate experiences of present and future. Spaces with which we connect. In which architecture promotes well being and health. For all.

“People like to feel safe, which is no doubt why we have so many versions of the created interior.

So the maternal qualities of cities become significant in ways that are emotional and symbolic as well as physical. Such cities were also often physically and conceptually round, womb-like.”117 - Elizabeth Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul

Within the interiorisation of the womb, it has been established that subject and object(s) are inseparable, their coexistence intimate, essential. Life becomes a biological connectedness with matter. Acknowledging the placenta as in a relationship with the fetus, is not only scientifically undisputed but also centralises the biology of the

Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul, “Inside and Out,” 272 118 Le Corbusier, Vers Une Architecture (Towards a New Architecture) 1923, trans.

Friedrich Etchells 1927 and John Goodman 2007 (Getty Publications: 2007) 119 Farrelly, Killing Sydney: The Fight For a City’s Soul, “Solid and Void,” 29

117

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female, as opposed to a focus on the mother or woman. This creates a possibility for detaching a patriarchal view of the objectification of females as “machines for living,”118 as well as, a critique of visual beauty, or sexualisation, as foregrounded in history. Shifting from the aesthetics of the female, as a whole, to the female biology, as a fragment, the ecological design becomes the focus. But just as placenta and fetus are inseparable, so too are female and womb. A division would only bolster the ‘stories’ of the patriarch. The embodiment of this biological ecology postulates a dualism of female and nature, from which all humanity derives, as opposed to male and culture, elucidating the emancipation of His-story for our future.

“...obsessing over the solid rather than the void- valuing the buildings but not the space- has come to seem the natural and default mode of architectural perception. Indeed, as architecture drifts ever further into fantastical Frank Gehry-eque pavlovas of fibreglass and titanium, the more emphatic the doughnut, the more meagre the hole.”119 - Elizabeth Farrelly, Killing Sydney

In an ever changing landscape and search for the ultimate form of humancentred architecture, the design of the womb has remained constant in time and across cultures, providing a space which enables life (Figure 11). The womb is a successful archetype, one which has not been replicated. Its design principles together with the experiences it provides, juxtapose the norm of the aesthetics of females,women and architecture, as objects.

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Figure 13.

Figure 8.

‘Transcend’ ‘transcending’

timeless...

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INTERMISSION

What does the womb provide?

What does the womb provide? Taking a moment to reflect.

To understand the biological phenomena of the womb, I engaged in conversation with Doctor Theresa Larkin from the School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health at The University of Wollongong.120 The womb provides the dualism of insulation and isolation from the outside world. It’s main function, to house the fetus within a space of coexistence, providing nourishment, all that is required for human life to flourish. As outlined in Biomechanics of the Human Uterus,121 the womb adapts to the diverse demands122 of a developing human and is endogenous in nature. It provides an adaptable interior environment, responsive to the needs of the fetus, as well as providing protection through its biological and physiological forms.123 As an ecosystem, it harnesses interdependency, through the amalgamation of dependence and independence; coexistence with the placenta, an exchange organ (and umbilical cord) and fetus- a direct relationship of interiority, contained with and within the womb, with and within the female.

Connecting the fetus and placenta is 46

the umbilical cord, consisting of two arteries and a vein. The arteries carry blood from the fetus to the placenta and the vein from the placenta to the fetus; here reciprocity is key. Blood from the female, providing oxygen and nutrients is filtered by the placenta, whilst carbon dioxide and waste products are removed from the fetus’ blood. Toward the end of the pregnancy the placenta also passes antibodies to the fetus, further protecting it to the exterior environment, beyond the womb. In its authentic form, all elements are balanced and resources for life are provided (nutrients, oxygen, protection), through experiences of coexistence. Doctor Larkin indicated that the greatest threats to the fetus do not come from within the womb, but rather from external teratogens,124 such as drugs, chemicals and viruses. The unique identity of each fetus is influenced through the relationships of coexistence.

Sloterdijk states, within chapter 4, “Excursus 2: Noobjects and UnRelationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,”125 that the cohabitation126 provides first experiences of bonding through spatial boundaries, fluid transfer, psychoacoustic127 episodes and breath,128 which he explores through the works of Thomas Macho (cultural philosopher and anthropologist).129 The sensory experiences connected to the interior/exterior environment; acoustics, light, touch and taste, are transferred to the fetus through the triangulation of female, placenta and womb. These are positioned alongside the sociocultural lineage of the parents. Inherited experiences such as trauma, violence and genocide, from the past generations,

other wise known as epigenetics,130 are also said to impact genetic identity, although research in this area is still in its infancy.131 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA),132 and genomic imprinting,133 also shape the fetus from conception in the interior to the exterior microspheres beyond.

A study by the University of California in 2019, exploring fetal evolution, titled, Extensive intraspecies cryptic variation in an ancient embryonic gene regulatory network,134 explains that as a species, humans have both identical (shared) and unique (individual) genome sequences.

A review of the study indicates:

“Indeed, although members of the same species are identical across the vast majority of their genomes, including all the genetic instructions used in development, Rothman and his colleagues found that key parts of the assembly instructions used when embryos first start developing can differ dramatically between individuals of the same species.”135 Whilst Sloterdijk’s allusion to a utopian womb is a prodigious claim,136 the transference, is that the womb provides an archetype in which all flourish; space which does not deconstruct differences.

The womb does not discriminate against gender, sex, race, religion, socioeconomic or socio-political status. Rather, it’s design focuses on our commonalities.

Uniting us as a human fraternity, alongside celebrating our unique identities and our

individualism. This individualism, the fragments of experiences, inherited and lived, conscious and unconscious, have shaped our being. And whilst the womb focuses on developing and preserving life, providing collective human needs through its core principles, it is at the intersection of these,where contextual experiences are created. Collectivism and individualism are within a parallel existence.

Doctor Therese Larkin, Phone call, October 22, 2021.

121 Kristin M. Myers, David Elad, “Biomechanics of the human uterus,” in WIREs System Biology and Medicine, Volume 9 Issue 5 (2017), https://doi. org/10.1002/wsbm.1388 122 Its structure responds to biological, chemical, hormonal, electrical and mechanical signals in and out of reproduction cycles.

The structure supports transport of embryo, remodelling and adaption for fetal growth, protection.

123 Biology referring to human anatomy and physiological the function of the organs 124 Environmental agents (natural and engineered) which can cause abnormalities in a fetus.

125 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology, Excursus 2, Noobjects and Un-Relationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,” 291-299 126 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology, Excursus 2, Noobjects and Un-Relationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,” 293 127 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology, Excursus 2, Noobjects and Un-Relationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,” 296 128 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology, Excursus 2, Noobjects and Un-Relationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,” 297 129 Sloterdijk refers to Macho’s text: Thomas Macho, “Zeichen aus der Dunkelheit.

Notizen zu einer Theorie der Psychose,” in Wahnwelten im Zusammenstoss, Die Psychose als Spiegel der Zeit, ed.

Rudolf Heinz, Dietmar Kamper and Ulrich Sonneman (Berlin:Akademie, 1993) 223-240

120

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It is at this point I acknowledge the discourse of Bubbles and the thinking of Peter Sloterdijk alongside the various authors who have engaged with his writing. The sphere ideology, and specifically the focus on the womb, has been the impetus for the development of my own thinking, in relation to womb phenomenology. Sloterdijk’s philosophical focus on beginning and life as opposed to ending and death is celebrated.

However, here I make a conscious decision to depart his theatre, whilst he speaks to his unconscious, patriarchal audience. For Sloterdijk’s claim of insular spheres, which are constructed through relational experiences, in theory, rest upon the questionable assumption that these are inclusive spaces. In practice, spaces which define boundaries, focused on the object, exclude rather than include, as expressed by Diana Agrest in “Architecture from without: Body, Logic and Sex,” in Assemblage,137

“For something to be excluded two parts are necessary: something inside, some defined entity, and something outside.”138 To achieve ultimate human centred design we are challenged to create conceptual design principles, which transcends architectural theory and practice across universal platforms and timeframes.

The womb is an inclusive space which supports our collective and individual being.

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Epigenetics focuses on the impact of behaviours and environment on your genetic makeup.

131 Irene Lacal and Rosella Ventura, “Epigenetic Inheritance: Concepts, Mechanisms and Perspectives” in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, (September: 2018) https://doi.org/10.3389/ fnmol.2018.00292 132 DNA- is a molecule that contains the biological instructions that make each of us unique. DNA is passed from adult organisms to their offspring during reproduction.

133 Genomic imprinting is when a gene is differentially expressed based on whether it has been inherited from the mother or from the father.

134 Yamila N Torres Cleuren, Chee Kiang Ewe, Kyle C Chipman, Emily R Mears, Cricket G Wood, Coco Emma Alma Al-Alami, Melissa R Alcorn, Thomas L Turner, Pradeep M Joshi, Russell G Snell, Joel H Rothman “Extensive intraspecies cryptic variation in an ancient embryonic gene regulatory network,” elife, August 15, 2019, https://elifesciences. org/ar ticles/48220#content 135 University of California, “Undercover evolution: Our individuality is encrypted in our DNA, but it is deeper than expected”, last modified September 3, 2019, https:// phys.org/news/201909-undercover-evolutionindividuality-encrypted-dna.html 136 Sloterdijk, “The Retreat within the Mother, Groundwork for a Negative Gynecology, Excursus 2, Noobjects and Un-Relationships: On the revision of Psychoanalytical State Theory,” 291-299 137 Diana Agrest, “Architecture from without: Body, Logic and Sex,” in Assemblage, no. 7 (MIT Press, October 1988) 28-41, https://doi. org/10.2307/3171074 138 Diana Agrest, “Architecture from without: Body, Logic and Sex,” in Assemblage 130

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NEW THEATRE

Come in from the dark wings Understudy Show your face Do not waiver It is your time Your audience awaits.

Many, One. Wondrous sage Dispel the sadness Their disillusion Awaken our sons Speak only of the joy In each.

A reunion of you of them of us And the moments lived Now, Tomorrow And always Our belonging.

and

Tr i a n g u l a t i n g and converging what is known,139 the womb perspicuously provides a triadic space of function, coexistence nourishment.

(Figure 12)

The collective needs of all humanity.

The interdependence of these three principles creates an ontological sphere, an intimate ecology for all to flourish. To exist, one principle must not be without the other.

To acknowledge relationships, coexistence b e c o m e s as central to nourishing, as to purpose and function.

Fig 15.

The womb, an archetype, a paradigm.

The very first architecture we experience.

A blueprint for all design.

Fig 14.

The construct of the womb

The fetus coexists with the placenta, with and within the womb, with and within the female; the biological mother.

The fetus is nourished through the coexistence with the placenta, with the female, the biological mother, with and within the womb.

The function of the womb is fulfilled through the coexistence with the placenta, with and within the

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female

and

the

biological

mother.

The purpose of the womb, to harness and preserve life, is made successful through the ecology of the female. All three principles underpin the ideology of the construct for ultimate design; the archetype of the womb. At the intersection of each principle, coexistence, nourishment and function, contextualised experiences are generated. (Figure 13) The experiences, sensory and inherited, are the moments of moments, conscious and unconscious, which take part in us, part of us. It is the experiences created both collectively and individually, which should be the focus of design, shifting from what the object projects to what the subject experiences.

(nourishment) and service (function), in response to our collective and individual needs and experiences. (Figure 14) In this space, binaries and diversity are included and celebrated through the unity of our common space. Which we will come to know as, The Space Between.

The inherent simplicity of the womb construct, juxtaposes the complexity of the womb structure, whilst mirroring the tangibility of ultimate design for all.

Human centred design, as previously referenced, is reflected in the biologically centred womb, occupying an otherwise empty space within the female body. The navel also centred in all human forms, connects the fetus, to placenta, to female.

This construct postulates a speculative lens and an interlude, through which to view and create ultimate architecture and design. This extends to our human relationship with the environment, with a focus on the mirrored ecologies of the womb and the earth. Both sustainable entities, stewards of resources and producers of life.

An archetype for all design, the womb can be considered to merge the art of relationship (coexistence), science

Figure 16. The construct

139

and

Philosophy, Architectural

Science Theory

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Figure 17.

‘Wo-man’

Act 4 WHAT WE KNOW Our global and local communities discriminate and exclude.

This exclusion140 is the dis-ease of society.

Built on the His-story of a patriarchal narrative.

Of colonisation.

Our stories Disillusion.

Exclusion Scene 1: I am woman But not necessarily mother.

I stand under His white sky In His shadows Time lagging, Time stealing, as I queue in the long line.

Shuffled herethen there.

To take a place.

To have a turn.

To move between As wo(man) identity What I know of self And what is perceived.

My worth far from …His consciousness.

As I am more than you care to see.

Your gaze dismisses my mind.

Woman, wo-man Waiting.

Upon a shelf My silent voice Of an invisible world Crying out through me.

The moments imprison, But I remain.

Here With rainbows141 With dignity With hope.

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It is with conscious thought, I reference and acknowledge the female authors who have sat within this theatre. Those who have been instrumental in creating a greater awareness, within our narrative, of the suppression and non representation, of not only females, but marginalised people, impacted by a patriarchal society.

Their voices, with and within this space have allowed me to conceptualise my thinking.

To gain clarity and my own voice.

Diana Agrest,142 Jennifer Bloomer,143 Audre Lorde,144 Karen Burns,145 bell hooks,146 Jane Rendell,147 Hélène Frichot148 and Elizabeth Farrelly149 Exclusion is a deeply embedded experience. Historically, it has been indoctrinated into the fabric of society, at macro and micro levels, enabled through religious, political and social agendas. It is nothing short of a crisis for humanity and the relational entities with which we engage. Driven by inequity, exclusion is unmasked in the everyday experiences of political, cultural and socioeconomic unrest.150 (Figure 15) As already established, with much of the world media focused on the health crisis of COVID-19, it is the economic impact which is widening the gap of exclusion for our most marginalised people and countries around the world.151 Patterns of food insecurity impacted by recessions, climate change and conflict are driving excessive costs and impacting wellbeing. And whilst the United Nations implores that as a priority, our human fraternity, “must ensure equity and inclusivity is at the heart of all we do,”152 understanding the relationship between 54

inclusion and exclusion is necessary for change. Inclusion and exclusion, as identified through the example of Paxton’s Crystal Palace, are binary oppositions.

They are relational. Interdependent.

Each does not exist without the other.

Jacques Derrida, a French philosopher approaches binary oppositions from a space of deconstruction,153 whilst acknowledging the hierarchical relationship within these systems. He attempts to dismantle binaries, as Bruce Baugh explains, “in a way that liberates the dominated or subordinate term.”154 When binary oppositions become the focus, a universal societal view becomes inauthentic and inequitable. Diverse ideals, values and people, identifying outside the binary pairs, or deemed inferior within the binary pair, are not considered or acknowledged in terms of their needs and consequently are marginalised by the very society and spaces they inhabit. Security becomes critical in these instances and is often found within the shells of insular spaces, where one is inside or outside. The result, an engineered society, indebted to a western canon of patriarchy, dominated by a capitalist socio-cultural society.

Architecture has played a lead role in this production, this pantomime.155 The His-story of architecture is represented through inclusion and exclusion. From theory to practice.156 This architectural logic, considered ideal by the very patriarchy who have dominated the discipline and its representation within our society, throughout time. For architecture, exclusion is not only defined by the boundaries of spaces, the interior

and exterior, but by the prioritisation of the object over the subject, or the subjugation and repression of a subject, by another within the relational space of being. In architecture, the relationships of inclusion and exclusion are relational, as is the binary of male and female, whereby the female is not excluded, but rather repressed, as explored in Diana Agrest’s, ​​Architecture from without: Body, Logic, and Sex,157 situating the discipline from theory to practice, in a phallocentric sphere. It is this binary, which launched feminist movements during the 1960’s and 1970’s, under the umbrella of Second Wave Feminism.158 It is not surprising to the conscious audience that exclusion has been written under the guise of inclusion in architectural theory. That is, the production of Exclusion is the norm, as being written by the patriarchy, whereby the female is mentioned throughout texts, as a token of inclusion. Nor is it remarkable that the literature undertaken to expose the subtext,159 or the lines between the lines, has been scripted by the acknowledged female authors,the protagonists, (to some- antagonists)160 of the production, in this contemporary space.

From architectural theory to practice, the western canon is built on exclusive principles.

Theoretically, architecture holds the contextual beginnings of His-story of colonisation within its realms and the engendering of literature associated with the structural norms of architecture.161 Agrest’s text draws clear delineations between idealisms throughout the structure or architecture, which assigns a negative relational binary, or erases the

A state of being- driven by unequal power economically, politically, socially and culturally.

141 Colourful representation symbolic of the LGBQTI+ Allies 142 Agrest, “Architecture from without: Body, Logic and Sex,” in Assemblage, 28-41.

143 Jennifer Bloomer, “Abodes of Theory and Flesh: Tabbles of Bower,” in Assemblage, no. 17 (MIT Press, April 1992) 6-29. https://doi. org/10.2307/3171221 144 Audre Lorde,“The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” in Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (CA: Crossing Press: 1984) 2. 2007. Print. https:// collectiveliberation.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/ Lorde_The_Masters_Tools. pdf 145 Karen Burns,“A Girl’s Adventure, Gender in the Contemporary Architectural Theory Anthology,” in Journal of Architectural Education.

Vl. 65 issue 2. (March: 2013) https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1531-314X.2011.01187.x 146 bell hooks, Ain’t I Woman? (USA: South End Press, 1981) 147 Jane Rendell, Feminist architecture: From A to Z, accessed November 23, 2021, Reading Design https://www.readingdesign. org/feminist-architecture-a-z 148 Hélène Frichot, Creative Ecologies: Theorizing the Practice of Architecture, (London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2018) 149 Farrelly, Killing Sydney 150 Poverty, racial and gender discrimination/ abuse, disability and elder abuse, sexual exploitation, sexual bias, terrorism, genocide, famine and violence, just some of the occurrences of and related to exclusion, faced by growing populations across our globe.

140

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significance of the female; such as the story of Eve previously dissected. The parallels between Sloterdijk’s relational ontology and Agrest’s theory, megre the significance of the reproductive biology of the female and the embodiment between the archetype of the womb, however, through the symbolic order of architectural history the female body has been repressed, not only within the social order but in the physical representation.

My interest herein, lies with the relationship between architecture and the human body. This presents the greatest significance in light of the female form, which houses the womb and the beginnings of all human life; the fetus.

My concern here is that the entrenched human form of Vitruvius,162 is awarded the title of the perfect human specimen.

(Figure 17) A title which to this day is upheld through the representation of anatomical figures in biology and medical textbooks. This notion recently explored in an article by Dr Therese Larkin, in “Anatomy texts should show sex as a spectrum to include intersex people.”163 This study analyses the anatomy of the human body as being represented in texts as mainly muscular, white and male; excluding the diversity of the human biological form, sex, race and gender.

Furthermore in doing so, it continues to contribute to the His-story by denying the biological science of human existence.

That is, a closer and more critical examination of the representation of body and form, in architecture is to acknowledge that we are all born of a female form and that in the space of binary oppositions, neither male or female can assume a 56

According to the The World Health Organisation and United Nations, more than 2.3 billion people in 2020 did not have access to substantial food sources, with the most disadvantaged groups, women and children.

World Health Organisation, United Nations, “UN report: Pandemic year marked by spike in world hunger: Africa posting biggest jump. World at critical juncture, must act now for 2030 turnaround,” last modified, July 12, 2021, https://www.who.int/news/ item/12-07-2021-un-reportpandemic-year-marked-byspike-in-world-hunger 152 Rajesh Mirachandani, “Five Global Issues to Watch in 2021,” United Nations Foundation, December 23, 2020. https://unfoundation. org/blog/post/five-globalissues-to-watch-in-2021/ 153 Leonard Lawlor, “Jacques Derrida”, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2021 Edition), last modified Aug 27, 2021, ed.

Edward N. Zalta, https:// plato.stanford.edu/archives/ win2021/entries/derrida/ 154 Bruce Baugh, review of Deleuze and Derrida: Difference and the Power of the Negative, by Vernon W. Cisney, Edinburgh University Press, 2018. https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/ deleuze-and-derridadifference-and-the-power-ofthe-negative/ 155 Pantomimes are created with absurdity. Exclusion is absurd, without clarity. It makes no sense.

156 Representation of females/women in practice, 151

Figure 18. ‘Perfect’

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hierarchical position, given that each is relational and each can not exist without the other; human life is dependent on the relationship each share to create life.

Whilst, the female is the central entity to preserve life through the womb, all genders are centrally connected, via the naval (umbilical cord) to the placenta within the womb. Indeed this observation draws us to focus on the commonalities between all human life, a distraction from the rigour of isolating the differences (yet still acknowledging these), an alignment with the underlying principles of the concept of the construct of the womb.

There is a clear and distinct need to inverse or even deny the current system of architecture, transferring the focal point from the object of the male (body and mind) and its visual aesthetics to that of the experiences shared by all humans as provided within the womb. Experiences, which are inclusive for all and represent what we promote as human centred architecture.

This much needed shift from the projection of object to the experience of the subject, for to continue to focus on the object as either a representation of beauty, through ornamentation164 or a model of wealth, is to concede to the patriarchal ideology, which has bridged us from then to now.

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architectural design and public infrastructure inclusive of urban planning. Nuclear housing, inaccessible design, public amenity and gated communities.

157 Agrest “Architecture from without: Body, Logic and Sex,” in Assemblage, 28-41 158 Second Wave Feminism during the 1960/70’s, was strong through the western world. The focus was on rights of women related to sexuality, wages and reproduction choices.

Patriarchal views and men generally were the centre of critique.

159 Texts by female authors to expose the western canon for its truth.

160 Aren’t women labelled at difficult or dramatic is they question or try to make a point about discrimination or exclusion? Antagonistsvillains as opposed to the heroic male.

161 Architectural texts document the norms and histories which genders the dominant male as representative of architecture, through conscious and unconscious deliberations. Examples include Greek Temples, labelled in terms of gender, generating an ideology of hierarchical dominance.

162 The ideal human body 163 Theresa Larkin, Allison Rutherford, Goran Štrkalj, Nalini Pather et al.,“Anatomy texts should show sex as a spectrum to include intersex people” in The Conversation, (October: 2021) https:// theconversation. com/profiles/theresalarkin-952095/articles 164 Various representations through Architectural periods,such as Classical Greek architecture( Doric and Ionic representations) to the sexualisation of women through adornment, imagery and visual representations.

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Scene 2 I am feminist (Figure 18)

“In order to understand the meaning of artistic products, we have to forget them for a time, to turn aside from them and to have recourse to the ordinary forces and conditions of experience, that we do not usually regard as aesthetic.”165 -

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John

Dewey,

Art

As

Experience

Me Too166 We call, they call For the second time For the third time167 From the street To the shadows Of the mind Me Too From within their castles Over shoulder Walking on the shells Of the next moment Or the blah, blah of words, pushing downward To the unconscious grave Me Too Shamed- that dress - that skirt That gaze.

Me Too Opportunity for wisdoms Antiquitous deliberations Of knowing.

To be a Swallow168 To build a nest To come fourth169 Of warmth Of empowerment But yet To fly, to venture Into the open, confidently Without hesitation or heaviness Without boundaries For Me Too You too We too The dismantling of yesterday and today To discover our bones Our truth.

Figure 19. ‘Freedom.’

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The projection of the human body as a metaphorical representation of architecture, draws value to the exteriority of the object for its aesthetic value and symbolisation of a patriarchal society. The dominance of the exterior, public projection, celebrates the value of the object, as opposed to the value of intimate experiences with and within architecture, those told in legends such as that of Lao Tzu.170 The Chinese legend of Lao Tzu, within the text, Bubbles,171 tells of the interior space of the womb, a sphere of triadic engagement which provides wisdoms, with Lao Tzu being birthed at conception, as opposed to birthing outside the womb, in the exterior space of the western world.

For Taoists, the womb is a sacred space of wisdoms. The knowledge gathered from within the womb, is all that is needed to exist with and within the world.

The juxtaposition of interiority (superior) and exteriority (inferior), as binary opposites, again draws significance to the relationship of each and the experiences created between, in order to migrate between spaces, in order to flourish through life in authentic spaces.

To be object oriented is to be situated within the space of a tangible and measured relationship with materialism. A space where economic growth, wealth is prioritized over humanity, health, as seen in modern society as capitalist venture.

Architectural structures, in particular cities, have very much ventured away from the humanistic components from which we have evolved, to that of economicallypolitically driven infrastructures (living organisms) which produce rather than 62

nurture. It is noted by Farrelly that, “... yet still architectural conversation centres almost exclusively on the physical aspects of place: size, structure, material, colour, mass, texture and the look of the building-as-object.”172 Whilst Farrelly identifies that the “object matters,”173 attention is drawn to the interiority of space, our relationships within and how such interiors “shape our experiences as humans,”174 as this is where we, as inhabitants, spend most of our time; “It is where we are; where we dwell.”175 Architecture, in particular modernism,176 has widened and defined the gap of marginalisation of the human fraternity.

Farrelly defines the architectural values of modernism as “height and speed,”177 which in turn results in “separation, gender separation,178 instrumentalism, profit and misogyny.”179 The rise of capitalism, propped up by architecture, creates a greater divide in the accumulation of wealth, which foreshadows access to human well being and health, in a physical, mental and social capacity. Farrelly states that prior to 2012, there was “...roughly $20 billion worth of development was underway,”180 within Sydney, excluding the “WestConnex…new light rail… tree-canopy removal including giant, century-old fig trees,”181 where such developments consumed the streets of the inner city. These developments indicate the rapid rate at which planned density living was compromised for profit in the face of the early 2000s. In today’s context, the, “massive Packer casino on public waterfront land.. Star casino tower opposite… Waterloo public housing site- now a metro station…and the redevelopment of the North Parramatta

Vittorio Gallese, “Visions of the body. Embodied simulation and aesthetic experience,” in Aisthesis 1 (July: 2017) 41-50. 10.13128/ Aisthesis-20902 166 A feminist movement centred around the sexual harassment and objectification 167 A reference to second and third wave feminism 168 The Swallow is a species of bird which symbolises freedom, exploration (journeying- as a migratory species) and transformation (connections to Greek and Roman mythology, afterlife and form). A unified symbol.

169 Reference to the move toward fourth wave feminism, with a clear critique on patriarchy as opposed to men.

A movement which advocates respectful relationships of humanity and environment. Creating knowledge through literary texts/social platforms and information which dispels misinformation.

170 The legend tells of Lao Tzu’s (Daoism) birth occurring at conception within the womb and the aging within the gestational period being equivalent to a lifetime on earth.

171 Sloterdijk,Bubb l e s , 3 0 2 - 3 0 4 .

172 Farrelly,“Inside and Out,” 268 173 Farrelly,“Inside and Out,” 268 174 Farrelly,“Inside and Out,” 268 175 Farrelly,“Inside and Out,” 268 176 A time period to define an architectural movement 177 Farrelly, “Inside and Out, 287 178 Farrelly uses the example of the suburban push and its effects on women and children 179 Farrelly,“Inside and Out,” 287 180 Farrelly, “Preface,” 10 181 Farrelly, “Preface,” 10 182 Farrelly, “Preface,” 11 183 Vittorio Gallese, “Visions of the body. Embodied simulation and aesthetic experience,” in Aisthesis 1 (July: 2017) 41-50. 10.13128/ Aisthesis-20902 184 A literary theorist (referred to by Gallese in “Visions of the body. Embodied simu165

Figure 20. ‘The unconscious city.’

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heritage precinct,”182 are just a handful of examples that highlight a greater divide in the accumulation of wealth, where capitalist venture dominates public infrastructure and space. This foreshadows access to human well being and health, in a physical, mental and social capacity. It distances the relationship between people, for without access and knowledge to a state of being, one is unable to connect or empathise. (Figure 19) A focus on health and nurturing in our current time is a necessary journey of urgency, particularly in light of the previously stated crises.

Human experience should be central to human nurture, as these experiences are embedded in the relationships we establish with and within. Vittorio Gallese, a professor of Psychobiology at the University of Parma Italy, explores our engagement and our comprehension of each other and the world, as referred to in “Visions of the body: embodied simulation and aesthetic experience,”183 as relational to the theories of Hans Gumbrecht.184

“When presence predominates, world objects chiefly acquire their sense in virtue of their intrinsic sensorimotor inheritance to perceivers, and not through interpretation.”185 To move beyond the object, or aesthetic symbolism, to experience, involves the engagement with all matter, relational ontology and the convergence of lived sensory and emotive experiences, some which are also drawn from our memories 64

and inherited genetic imprinting, as formally established. Such a focus enables an inclusive experience for users, a move away from a western canon of aesthetics, empowered through shared and individual contexts.

As a feminist standing within what is known the Fourth Wave of Feminism,186 inclusivity is closely equated to equity, for all. That is, the opportunity and access for individuals to resources and experiences in order to flourish, as emulated in the construct of the womb. The premise is not anchored solely in women’s rights, but rather the inclusion of all people regardless of their gender, sex, race, religion, socioeconomic or socio-political status and the intersectionality each creates; our coexistence with each other and with all matter. For Fourth Wave Feminism, the dismantling of the western canon and patriarchy is essential for the future of our society and environment; our existence.

Engaging in conversations of storytelling, oral and written will liberate us. As to dismantle His-story, is to create a disruption to the power it has established. It is the acknowledgment of our stories, lived, interited, but always told. For in the words of Audre Lorde:187

“For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”188

lation and aesthetic experience”) who focused on but not limited to, philosophy, semiotics, literary and cultural history, and epistemologies 185 Gallese, “Visions of the body. Embodied simulation and aesthetic experience,” 48.

186 The current feminist movement concerned with the dismantling of the patriarchy. Prominent campaigns include- #Slutwalks, #MeToo #Stand with Wendy.

187 Yet another example of gender bias and racism: As indicated by Jane Rendell in Feminist Architecture: From A to Z, “Audre Lorde wrote these words in 1984, as a response to a Humanities conference at New York University Institute where she and one other black woman had been asked to participate at the ‘last hour’.”

188 Lorde,“The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” in Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

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EPILOGUE New Opportunities The Space Between It is of knowing Heeding the place The interchange Between walk and run Context Differences Sameness Poles, which situate You and me He and she Night and day Us and them Arrivals, departures Measures of existence Appear and disappear With and without Warning Captured Moments Experiences of Self and other Always relational Never alone Our unity In the commons of The Space Between

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I am Thinker I am Designer The womb unites humanity in a common space. It demands a focus on our commonalities as a human fraternity, our relationship with each other and within the world we inhabit. The womb is an archetype of inclusive design.

A space which supports all life, one which does not discriminate. One which acknowledges and nurtures our individuality. As living entities, we are relational beings. Creators of our stories, shared and personal. We are keepers of the moment, of moments, and the experiences which define us. Which are with and within us. We need to move from our insular defining spaces, to venture into our common space. To align the naturally mirrored and common ecologies of the womb and earth. To unite for the survival of life.

For to truly know ourselves, we must first know and celebrate each other, our fraternity, our earth. To be with and within, we must focus on experiences of inclusion. Nourishment and coexistence, over the object, which defines and excludes. For, as we teeter together, on the edge of potentiality, as designers, from theory to practice, everything is possible, in The Space Between. (Figure 20)

Figure 21. ‘The Space Between’

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THE IMAGES Figure 1 ‘...teetering’ - William Mulready, Sepia drawing of Nude Woman, 1860. Giclée Print on paper, 60.69 x 45.72 cm. https://www.art.com/products/p12260927sa-i1634996/william-mulready-sepia-drawing-ofnude-woman-circa-1860.htm - Artist Unknown, Clock Drawing Traditional, Date unknown, Drawing, 600 x 871 px. https:// paintingvalley.com/clock-face-drawing#clock-facedrawing-2.jpg Figure 2 ‘...unveiling’ - Lucas Morten, Plinth Table, Photograph, date and size unknown, https://www.kookudesign.com/ lucas-morten/4354/plinth-table.html - Käthe Kollwitz, Mothers (Mütter), 1919. Lithograph, Sheet 52.7 x 70.1 cm, Image 43.6 x 57.7 cm. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/398148 - Artist Unknown, Social media communication digital concept. Network nodes greyscale plexus background. Global social media network space vector. Information technology design. Circle nodes and line elements, date unknown, Digital image, 39.1 x 39.4 cm. https://www.123rf.com/photo_127790900_stock-vector-social-media-communication-digital-concept-network-nodes-greyscale-plexus-background-global-social-m.html - Margaret Lazzari and Dona Schlesier, Drawing: A Sketch and Textbook, 2019, Drawing page 42, size unknown. https://learninglink.oup.com/static/5d083fd75a902c00119bd2b1/index.html - Hannah A Bullock, Azaibi Tamin, Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19, formerly known as 2019-nCoV. The spherical viral particles, colorized blue, contain cross-sections through the viral genome, seen as black dots, 2020. Image, size unknown. https://phil.cdc.gov/details.aspx?pid=23354 Figure 3 ‘The environmental spectator’ - Suwi19, Sandpaper vine flower, date unknown, Drawing and sketch with black and white line art, 50.8 x 33.9 cm, https://www.123rf.com/photo_88939663_stock-vector-sandpaper-vine-flowerdrawing-and-sketch-with-black-and-white-line-art-.

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html - Hilbrandbos, Fashion Illustration- Applying Lipstick: Girl sitting in front of mirror putting lipstick on, March 7, 2014. Digital illustration, Size unknown, https://hilbrandbos.tumblr.com/ post/78837936629/fashion-illustration-applying-lipstick-girl - PNGitem, Earth Drawing Doodle 3, date unknown, Line art digital drawing, 836 x 903 px, https://www.pngitem.com/middle/TixRbii_earthdrawing-doodle-3-line-art-hd-png/ Figure 4 ‘Corona City’ - Getty Images (Artist unknown), City Made of Money- Stock Photo, date unknown, Digital Image, 17.96 x 11.96 cm, https://www.gettyimages.com. au/detail/photo/city-made-of-money-royalty-freeimage/582780140 - Giulio Casserio (anatomist), Odoardo Fialetti (artist), Adriaan Van Spiegel (artist), Table 2: De humani corporis fabrica libri decem, 1631, Engraving on Copper, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/ historicalanatomies/spiegel_home.html - WHO Coronavirus Disease, artist unknown, digital image, date and size unknown, https://www.who. int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 Figure 5 ...microspheres’ - Bens Drawings, My Drawing of a Bubble, Drawing, date and size unknown, https://www. reddit.com/r/drawing/comments/ijjywr/my_drawing_of_a_bubble/ - Robert Berran, Family Stroll, 1923, Painting: oil on canvas, 28 x 20 cm, http://www.artnet.com/ artists/robert-berran/family-stroll-a-nv_7XSobisBVzAzFEK0M3Q2 - Max Seliger, A Young Boy Drawing, 1909, Black chalk on light brown paper, 262 x 216 cm, https:// www.stephenongpin.com/object/790769/0/ayoung-boy-drawing Abybak, Sketch Hands Computer Man Office Top View, date unknown, Drawn Vector Image, size unknown, https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/sketch-hands-computer-man-officetop-view-drawn-vector-5849168 - Makart, Walking Elderly Man, date unknown, Vector Image, size unknown, https://www.vectorstock. com/royalty-free-vector/walking-elderly-man-vector-26021433 - Pinterest: Stone.Paper.Feather, Bubbles, date unknown, Photograph, 500 x 646 mm, https://www. pinterest.nz/pin/131730357825248668/

- John Everett Millais, Bubbles, 1886, Oil on canvas, scanned from Bubbles by Peter Sloterdijk page 16

chain-command-pyramid-puppets-starts-workers-climbs-to-managers-up-mysterious-hand-everything-controlled-image184952199

Figure 6 “Extractivism - Temiropix, Fuel nozzle with leaking oil connected to a balloon representing the earth, date unknown, Digital Image, 33.9 x 25.4 cm, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/fuel-nozzle-leaking-oil-connected-balloon-52360264 - Italianestro, Planet earth balloon, date unknown, Digital Image, 40.1 x 29.1 cm, https://www. dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-planetearth-balloon-image5103745

Figure 9 ‘The archetype’ - TheExitWounder, Female Flower Uterus, date unknown, Drawing, size unknown, https:// www.redbubble.com/people/theexitwounder/ works/38112204-female-flower-uterus?asc=p&epik=dj0yJnU9SUhTeTJaazNLZlFzXzFCTWtrZUk4UXdwR1g2UFA0YUUmcD0wJm49c25veWlDVFFycEdEUUxSZkVWXzFSdyZ0PUFBQUFBR0NqSWNN - Uploaded Richard Thomas, A genuine old stained world map dated from the mid 1800s showing Western and Eastern Hemispheres with land colouring, date unknown, scanned map, 35.1 x 27.2 cm, https://www.dreamstime.com/royaltyfree-stock-photos-old-world-map-hemispheresimage29082608

Figure 7 “Interiors of insulation’ - Giulio Casserio (anatomist), Odoardo Fialetti (artist), Adriaan Van Spiegel (artist), Table 2: De humani corporis fabrica libri decem, 1631, Engraving on Copper, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/ historicalanatomies/spiegel_home.html - Joseph Nash, Louis Haghe and David Roberts, Dickinsons’ comprehensive pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851. 1852, Painting, size unknown, Dickinson, Brothers, Her Majesty’s Publishers, 1852. doi: https://doi.org/10.5479/ sil.495268.39088008102741 - Dominic Winter (Auctions/PA), “Replicas of the famous Abu Simbel statues of Ramessess II inside the Crystal Palace,” 1851, Photograph, size unknown, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/ jul/23/theme-parks-pubs-and-human-zoos-howthe-victorians-invented-leisure Figure 8 ‘The puppet and the puppeteer’ Belchonok, Female hand holding books, isolated on white, date unknown, Digital Image, 35.9 x 22.2 cm, https://www.123rf.com/photo_95307407_female-hand-holding-books-isolated-on-white.html Macida, Marionette control bar stock photo, date unknown, Digital Image, 18.55 x 14.09 in, https:// www.istockphoto.com/photo/marionette-control-bar-gm157562720-11861028 Zdenek Sasek, artistic sketchy pen and ink drawing illustration of generic city landscape with skyscraper buildings, date unknown, Vector Image, https:// www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/vector-artistic-sketchy-pen-ink-drawing-1087270265 Nuvolanevicata, Chain of command allegory of power, date unknown, Illustration, 38.9 x 32.7 cm, https://www.dreamstime.com/

Figure 10 ‘Eve’ - Albrecht Durer, An Engraving Depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 1504, Engraving, 25.1 x 20 cm, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ collection/search/336222 - Lucas Cranach the Elder, Adam and Eve, 1526, Oil on panel, 117 x 80 cm, https://courtauld.ac.uk/ highlights/adam-and-eve/ - Victorian Collections: Weekend Features (Peter Butters), Newspaper Article: A Matter of Inequality, 2003, Newspaper Clipping Print, https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5b988d0421ea6a14bc9b0014 - Courtsey of India Link via Asmita Ghosh, Untitled, 2019, Digital Image, size unknown, https://feminisminindia.com/2019/11/22/news-framing-understand-rape/ - New York Daily News, Oh, yeah you were raped?

Too Bad, Front Page Image, March 2016, size unknown, https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ equal-justice-kids-sexual-abuse-article-1.2581782 - Metro News: Nicole Le Marie, Children of ten are regularly having sex, Image of printed article, 2013, https://metro.co.uk/2013/04/29/children-of-tenare-regularly-having-sex-3697942/ https://stubagful.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/sexon-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper/ - Courtesy of Press Gazette via The Daily Telegraph: Claire Newell, The British #MeToo scandal which can not be revealed, 2018, Front Page Article Image Scan, size unknown, https://www.

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pressgazette.co.uk/telegraph-gagged-by-injunction-granted-to-leading-british-businessman-facing-sexual-harassment-allegations-from-staff/ - ABC News Western Plains: Alex James and Madeline Austin, Prison numbers have fallen during the COVID pandemic, but not for First Nations People, 2021, Digital article, https://www.abc.net. au/news/2021-11-08/prison-numbers-down-butnot-for-first-nations-people/100596344 - Jessica Hill, See What YOU Made Me Do, 2020, Book Cover Image, https://www.amazon.com.au/ See-What-You-Made-Me/dp/1728222265 Figure 11 ‘The female ecology’ - Artist unknown, Nihonga: Contemporary Botanical Art From Japan Kusabana Zu the East, size unknown, Painting, date unknown, https://biz-at-it. blogspot.com/2020/09/contemporary-botanical-illustration.html - Giulio Casserio (anatomist), Odoardo Fialetti (artist), Adriaan Van Spiegel (artist), Table 4: De humani corporis fabrica libri decem, 1631, Engraving on Copper, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/ historicalanatomies/spiegel_home.html - B. G. Seielstad, Pocket watch Cutaway: courtesy of “New triumphs in age-old quest for perfect timepiece” (Popular Science monthly, Volume 119, page 53) 1931. Drawing, size unknown, https:// books.google.com.au/books?id=ESgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53&redir_es-%20c=y#v=onepage&q&f=true Figure 12 ‘The return’ - Leonardo Da Vinci, The fetus in the womb; sketches and notes on reproduction, c. 1511, red and black chalk, pen and ink wash on paper, 30.4 x 22 cm, https://www.rct.uk/collection/919102/ the-fetus-in-the-womb-sketches-and-notes-onreproduction - StoHelit, Hand drawn flower bouquet stock illustration, October 10, 2017, Illustration, size unknown, https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/handdrawn-flower-bouquet-gm859821404-142156593 Figure 13 ‘Transcend’ - Rethinking the Future, Evolution of the field, date unknown, Digital Image, size unknown, https:// www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/architectural-community/a5001-career-guide-architecture/ - Uploaded by Lotte den Toonder (artist unknown), Untitled, date unknown, Drawing, 70

size unknown, https://www.pinterest.com.au/ pin/395050198534729931/ - Russel Drysdale, Aboriginal Woman Holding Digging Stick, 1968, Pen and ink, 15 x 12 cm, https://www.artrecord.com/index.cfm/ artist/4410-drysdale-george-russell-russell/medium/2-works-on-paper/?order=3&io=1&page=3 - Leonardo Da Vinci, The fetus in the womb; sketches and notes on reproduction, c. 1511, red and black chalk, pen and ink wash on paper, 30.4 x 22 cm, https://www.rct.uk/collection/919102/ the-fetus-in-the-womb-sketches-and-notes-onreproduction - TS.Abe, Untitled, date unknown, Drawing/ sketch, size unknown https://www.vice.com/en/ article/534ken/meet-the-artist-sketching-what-shesees-on-instagram - Tudor Rajapakse, Portrait of a Sri Lankan Woman, 1935, Oil on canvas, 58.5 x 97 cm, https:// artsandculture.google.com/asset/portrait-of-a-srilankan-woman/NwFNgDxb5v2wXQ - ArtsyBee, Vintage Lady, date unknown, Digital Image JPEG, 937 x 1920 pix, https://pixabay.com/ illustrations/vintage-lady-sepia-fashion-971636/ Figure 16 ‘The Construct’ - TheExitWounder, Female Flower Uterus, date unknown, Drawing, size unknown, https:// www.redbubble.com/people/theexitwounder/ works/38112204-female-flower-uterus?asc=p&epik=dj0yJnU9SUhTeTJaazNLZlFzXzFCTWtrZUk4UXdwR1g2UFA0YUUmcD0wJm49c25veWlDVFFycEdEUUxSZkVWXzFSdyZ0PUFBQUFBR0NqSWNN - Own sketch Figure 17 ‘Wo-man’ - BTRseller, “Light at the end of the tunnel,” Date unknown, Vector image, size unknown, https:// www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/light-atend-tunnel-vector-31206041 - Mary Evans Picture Library, “Earth conceived has having roots,” uploaded January 2018, scanned illustration, size unknown, https://fineartamerica. com/featured/earth-conceived-as-having-rootsmary-evans-picture-library.html Mary Oliver, “On home, land and the view out the window,” uploaded March 2019, Drawing, size unknown, https://www.terriwindling.com/ blog/2019/03/home.html - Duncan1890, “Cartoon, motley recruits lining up at the barracks,” date unknown, Stock

illustration, 49.65 x 39.72 cm, https://www. gettyimages.co.uk/detail/illustration/cartoon-motley-recruits-lining-up-at-the-royalty-free-illustration/1268489175?adppopup=true Figure 18 ‘Perfect’ - Peter Hendersons & Co, “Jars of Herbs,” 1891, Drawing, size unknown, http://www.reusableart. com/jars-of-herbs.html - Leonardo da Vinci, “Vitruvian Man,” c. 1490, Pen and ink with wash over metalpoint on paper, 34.6 x 25.5 cm, https://mymodernmet. com/leonardo-da-vinci-vitruvian-man/ Figure 19 ‘Freedom’ - Artist unknown, “Textured Bird Nest Drawing,” uploaded July 2009, Drawing, size unknown, http://1010drawing.blogspot.com/2009/07/texture-bird-nest-drawings.html - Luminita Ungureanu, “Swallow Bird,” uploaded approximately 2 years ago, Pen drawing, size unknown, https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ XB5rWY - D.R.3D, “Hand drawn realistic human bones ,” date unknown, Drawing, size unknown, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/ hand-drawn-realistic-human-bones-vector-428974228 Figure 20 ‘The unconscious city’ Artist Unknown, Vector Drawing of Generic Modern High Rise Buildings Around Half Circle or Globe, date unknown, Vector Image, 182 x 132 cm, https://wallsheaven.com/wall-murals/vector-drawing-of-generic-modern-high-rise-buildings-aroundhalf-circle-or-globe-C253372069

and Pieter Schenk, “Two Tightrope Walkers With Attributes And A Clown,” original date unknown (uploaded January 11, 2020) Drawing, size unknown, https://fineartamerica.com/featured/ two-tightrope-walkers-with-attributes-and-a-clownanonymous-and-gerardus-josephus-xavery-andpieter-schenk-ii.html - Glenn Cravath, “New York Tribune Illustration Tight Rope Walker,” date unknown, Pen and Ink, size unknown, https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=825281&gsub=122319 - Wilhelm Simmler, “Auf dem Hochseil,” 1914, Oil on panel, 110 x 110 mm, https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilhelm_Simmler_Auf_ dem_Hochseil.jpg - Phillip Boutte (Twentieth Century Fox), “Costuming sketches of Zendeya as Anne Wheeler and Zac Efron as Phillipe Carlyle in ‘The Greatest Showman,’” date unknown, sketches on paper, size unknown, https://www.courant.com/la-en-mn-costumes-greatest-showman-20170109-story.html - Phillip Boutte (Twentieth Century Fox), “Costuming sketches Keala Settle as Lettie Lutz, Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny Lind and Daniel Everidge as Lord of Leeds for the movie ‘The Greatest Showman,’” date unknown, sketches on paper, size unknown, https://www.courant.com/la-en-mn-costumesgreatest-showman-20170109-story.html - Thornton, “Joseph Clark, a contortionist,” date unknown, Line engraving size unknown, uploaded to Wellcome Collection, https://wellcomecollection. org/works/nbkef2am - Jo Halden, “Tightrope walking,” August 3, 2015.

Drawing, size unknown, https://twitter.com/calculex/status/628152948519006208

Figure 21 ‘Tightrope’ - Calvert Litho. Co., “Trapeze artists,” 1890, Lithograph, size unknown, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Trapeze#/media/File:Trapeze_Artists_in_Circus.jpg - Josef Micic, “Business risk vector concept with businessman walking on tightrope. Symbol of challenge, success, overcoming and danger,” date unknown, Digital Image, 56.4 x 42.3 cm, https:// www.dreamstime.com/business-risk-vector-concept-businessman-walking-tightrope-symbol-challenge-success-overcoming-danger-eps-image138463105#_ - Anonymous and Gerardus Josephus Xavery 71

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